NASCAR: Could Dale Jr. miss the Martinsville race?
By Asher Fair
If qualifying is rained out, would Dale Earnhardt Jr. still get to compete in Friday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway?
For the fifth time since retiring from full-time NASCAR Cup Series competition at the end of the 2017 season, 15-time Most Popular Driver Award winner and two-time Daytona 500 champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to return for a one-off appearance in the Xfinity Series driving for JR Motorsports, the team he co-owns.
Earnhardt made his initial return to the series at Richmond Raceway with a fourth place finish in September 2018, and he came back again in August 2019 at Darlington Raceway, where he finished in fifth.
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In June 2020, he competed at Homestead-Miami Speedway and finished in fifth place, and last September, he placed 14th at Richmond Raceway.
Now he is set to get the opportunity to compete at Martinsville Speedway, a track at which he has never previously competed in the Xfinity Series.
However, the weather forecast for the race weekend isn’t exactly promising. Qualifying for the 250-lap Xfinity Series race around the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) oval in Ridgeway, Virginia is scheduled to take place on Thursday evening at 6:00 p.m. ET.
The race itself, the Call 811 Before You Dig 250 powered by Call 811.com, is scheduled to take place on Friday evening beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET.
There are 43 cars on the entry list for this race, and 38 will get into the race. But the #88 Chevrolet which Earnhardt is set to drive ranks 39th in owner points.
43 Xfinity cars entered for 38 spots for Friday night at Martinsville. DaleJr making his one appearance for the year. Ryan Truex in the 18 this week. pic.twitter.com/thUaEu7Vpa
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 4, 2022
So could he potentially not even get the opportunity to compete?
There is a past champions provisional spot in the Xfinity Series field, provided that the past champion competed during the previous season. And Earnhardt is a two-time series champion who competed in one race last year.
Forecast for Thursday afternoon/night still pretty good for Martinsville. But if it did rain, DaleJr would get in as a past champion. In Xfinity, ALL past champions get in when it rains as long as they raced once the year prior. https://t.co/nYo9heohvt
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 4, 2022
There is one caveat: in order for the past champions provisional spot to go to Earnhardt, he would have had to win a championship within the last 10 seasons. As the champion in 1998 and 1999, he does not meet that requirement.
But there is yet another “however”, however. This 10-year rule only applies when qualifying actually takes place. If it gets rained out, this rule about winning a title within the last 10 seasons does not apply to the past champions provisional spot.
The 10-year rule for the Xfinity past champion provisional is when there is qualifying. When qualifying is rained out, there is no 10-year rule. https://t.co/HpUOMjPTq0
— Bob Pockrass (@bobpockrass) April 4, 2022
Therefore, Earnhardt would still be in.
So fear not, JR Nation. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to compete in Friday night’s Xfinity Series race at Martinsville Speedway whether he has the chance to qualify for it or not.
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As of now, qualifying is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET on Thursday, April 7, and the race itself is set to be broadcast live on the same network beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET on Friday, April 8. Start your free trial of FuboTV now if you haven’t done so!