Now this is freaking cool…
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is officially getting back behind the wheel of a late model stock car and heading up 421 to race at North Wilkesboro Speedway later this month.
He’ll race a JR Motorsports entry in CARS Tour action during North Wilkesboro’s Racetrack Revival on Wednesday, Aug. 31st… and I can’t wait to get there and watch him live in action.
He said a little while back that he would be interested in entering a few races at the newly-revived track, and prior to that, had mentioned that he would love to get his old sponsor Sun Drop back for old times sake.
Sun Drop is a popular soda here in North Carolina and throughout the southeast, and sponsored his dad, Dale Earnhardt Sr., for many years during the prime of his racing career. Sr. won five Cup Series races at NWS in total.
And the coolest part about all of this is that they also sponsored Jr.’s #3 Chevy back in 1993, and the car Jr. will race this month looks very similar to the one he ran at the iconic original NASCAR short track back in 1993.
The nostalgia of it all is a huge part of what makes this so damn cool:
And of course, the track holds a lot of special memories for Jr. from his childhood, so he’s ecstatic to team up with Sun Drop and head back to Wilkes county to race:
“I came to North Wilkesboro so many times as a kid. It’s a special place. I never thought I’d get a chance to race around here again.
To put this program together with Sun Drop, who sponsored my late model in ’93, I wouldn’t want it any other way. They were with my dad for years and one of my first sponsors.
Seeing the Sun Drop Chevy at Wilkesboro again will bring back some great memories for me.”
His older sister Kelley also shared some of her excitement on Twitter, echoing Dale Jr.’s sentiment that the times they spent racing late model cars at NWS were some of the best of her life:
You can find all schedule and ticket information on the track’s website, and they’re actually kicking off the first day of racing this evening.
If you’re anywhere near the area, make sure you get to at least one or two races over the next few months. The reopening of this track is something special, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to see some racing back at the place where it all started.
