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NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. took part in last weekend's Call 811 Before You Dig 250 powered by Call811.com at Martinsville Speedway in Virginia. It was one of the few appearances the veteran made in the Xfinity Series.
The race itself was chaotic, with numerous caution flags, crashes and restarts. The biggest highlight of the 250-mile race came during the first restart in overtime, causing a huge pile-up into turn one.
With the race due for a restart, Earnhardt Jr. recalled a bitter memory from years ago when he thought NASCAR officials had made the wrong decision. He went onto elaborate on the incident over team radio and said:
“We were at Watkins Glen and 10th, 15th, (in season standings) coming up like two races to go to the playoffs, and we were racing a bunch of cars that were in front of us for points. And they had a big wreck, and Clint’s (Bowyer) car got tore all to hell. He was slow. And we passed him back in the chicane, way on the backside of the track. A lot of cars passing him. Come back, got the yellow, and the race is over. And they put his ass in front of us. I was so pissed.”
Following the red flag during which the track was cleared, Earnhardt Jr.'s spotter notified him of his restart position, to which the 47-year-old excitedly responded, saying:
“Hey! We got a gift. Well, I’m a tell you what. That right there makes that whole s**t at Watkins Glen about 15 years ago, alright. We’re even NASCAR. Thank ya.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. ultimately finished just outside the top-ten in P11 in his Xfinity Series cameo.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on 11th place finish in Martinsville
4-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently made one of his few cameo appearances in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. The 47-year-old managed an eleventh-place finish in the chaotic race.
The No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro driver spoke to Bob Pockrass post-race to summarize the evening and said:
"So, I got turned around, just the way it goes on them late restarts, everybody jacked up. I was trying to push the #39 and everybody that was behind me was coming."
Watch the interview below:
Watch NASCAR go live from Bristol Motor Speedway this Sunday for the Food City Dirt Race at 7 p.m. EST.
