NASCAR: Dale Jr. at risk of not racing at Martinsville?

Fear not; even if qualifying is rained out at Martinsville Speedway, Dale Jr. would be locked into the field for Friday night’s NASCAR Xfinity Series race. Here’s why.

This Friday night, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to make his fifth one-off appearance in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since retiring from full-time Cup Series competition in 2017.

Earnhardt has competed in one race per season for the team he co-owns, JR Motorsports, going back to 2018. He finished in fourth place at Richmond Raceway in 2018, fifth at Darlington Raceway in 2019, fifth at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2020, and 14th in his return to Richmond Raceway in 2021.

This time around, he is set to compete in the Call 811 Before You Dig 250 powered by Call811.com at Martinsville Speedway, a track at which he has never previously competed at NASCAR’s second highest level.

But there are 43 cars on the entry list and only 38 are able to compete in the race.

So could Earnhardt’s spot in the 250-lap race around the four-turn, 0.526-mile (0.847-kilometer) oval in Ridgeway, Virginia be at risk if qualifying is rained out?

With the #88 Chevrolet which he is set to drive sitting in 39th place in the owner standings, one may think that it would be. However, JR Nation need not fear, as even in the event of rain, the 47-year-old Kannapolis, North Carolina native would still be locked into the race.

There is a past champions provisional spot in the Xfinity Series field. Now, despite being a two-time series champion who competed in a race last year, Earnhardt wouldn’t qualify for this spot. The reason for this is the fact that neither one of his two championships came within the last 10 years; he won them in 1998 and 1999.

But again, fear not.

This 10-year rule only applies if qualifying happens. If it gets rained out, that rule does not apply to the past champions provisional spot, and therefore, Earnhardt would be safe.

And of course, if qualifying does happen, Earnhardt should be pretty safe behind the wheel of a JR Motorsports Chevrolet.

Qualifying for the Call 811 Before You Dig 250 powered by Call811.com is set to be broadcast live from Martinsville Speedway on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 6:00 p.m. ET this evening. The race itself is set to be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 beginning at 7:30 p.m. ET tomorrow night. Begin your free trial of FuboTV now!