For the first time in nearly a year, one of the most popular drivers in the history of motorsports was back in the driver’s seat for a NASCAR Xfinity Series race on Friday night at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. opened his Friday noting the evening’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway may be his final foray in a NASCAR national series race. The course of the 300-lap event threw him about everything imaginable: ongoing radio issues,

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and many NASCAR fans had circled Friday since it was announced that the Xfinity Series Bristol night event would be Junior's lone NASCAR race in 2024. The 49-year-old had a solid run, finishing seventh, but that result doesn't come close to telling the entire story of the Hall of Famer's night.