Dale Earnhardt Jr., who grew up racing at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, will return to the historic track to compete in a race on April 11.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame driver has entered the Tootsie’s Music City Showdown, where he will drive his No. 8 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet in the CARS Tour late model stock car race.
It will be the first time Earnhardt has raced at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway since competing in the 1999 BellSouth Mobility 320 Busch Grand National race.
“Obviously, the fan favorite that Dale Jr. is, we just think it will be a great night of racing,” Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway promoter Bob Sargent said. “The Nashville-area and the surrounding community have been wanting Dale to race here again for quite a while. We just had to get the right date to work in his schedule.”
Earnhardt co-owns the CARS Tour along with Trackhouse Racing owner Justin Marks, Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton. The group purchased the late model series to support grassroots racing and develop future talent.
Earnhardt, winner of 26 NASCAR Cup Series races and recipient of the most popular driver 15 consecutive times, has expressed support for NASCAR’s return to the Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway for several years. In 2021, he told The Tennessean he would compete in the O’Reilly Auto Parts Series race if the sanctioning body returned to Nashville Fairgrounds.
“I still remember the first time I came to race here,” Earnhardt said at the time. “We came out here and tested; Jeff Green and Mark Green came with me because they had a little experience with this race track. I fell in love with the place after the first lap.”
Earnhardt’s father, Dale Sr., also raced at Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway throughout his career.
“I knew about the history of the track, I knew about my father’s history here,” said Earnhardt in 2021. “I knew about Nashville and what Nashville was all about. So it was always kind of perplexing to me as to why were weren’t competing here in the Cup Series and why that went away for whatever reason.”
Earnhardt retired from NASCAR Cup racing in 2017 and now serves as a television analyst and owns JR Motorsports. He will face a talented field in the CARS Tour’s race, Sargent said.
“He’ll be racing against some very, very talented competition both from the CARS Tour regionally and along with all the Nashville (Fairgrounds) regulars,” Sargent said. “They’ll all have a shot.”
Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge owner Steve Smith said the honky tonk will make sure the drivers enjoy themselves in Nashville.
“I’m thrilled to be a part of the CARS Tour in Nashville,” Smith said. “This is some of the best racing in America, and it belongs at such an iconic track and an iconic city. I grew up across the street from Fairgrounds Speedway and am a huge supporter of racing in Nashville. I can’t wait to watch these guys race and to host the teams at Tootsie’s afterwards.”
For ticket information, visit Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. is returning to Nashville Fairgrounds to race
