Dale Earnhardt Jr. teases “doing another one” after remarkable comeback run at Bristol

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished 7th in what the fans thought would be his last start behind the wheel of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevrolet. However, following Saturday's Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway, Jeff Gluck of The Athletic put up a tweet that left fans wheeling their heads.

After running 631 races over 17 years as a Cup Series driver, Earnhardt Jr. retired in 2017. Since then, the two-time Xfinity Series champion has been competing in at least one race each season under the banner of JR Motorsports, an Xfinity team that he owns alongside his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Rick Hendrick of Hendrick Motorsports.

For now, the veteran racer will focus on his deal with TNT Sports and Amazon Prime's broadcast teams. However, here is what Junior said moments after delivering his top-10 finish as reported by Gluck on X:

"After finishing P7, Dale Jr. teases on the team radio that he "might do another one in a couple years. That wasn't too bad.""

Despite leading 47 laps last year at Bristol, Earnhardt Jr. placed 30th after getting ejected early from the race due to a mechanical issue in his car that ultimately resulted in a fire in his cockpit. This year, he wasn't able to put his car upfront but he certainly had a comeback from the last time he was at Bristol.

Reigning Xfinity Series champion, Cole Custer won the regular season title ousting JR Motorsports driver, Justin Allgaier from the regular season championship battle by three points. Custer will now advance to the Round of 12 with a 15 playoff-point bonus.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. reconfirms future NASCAR return

Standing next to his car on the pit road, a 'thrilled' Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressed his desire to return as a part-time NASCAR driver. However, that is not going to happen in 2025.

"I'm thrilled (to) come back here and be competitive," Earnhardt Jr. said during a post-race interview with CW. 'Maybe I'll get back in this thing. I'm sure I'll miss it. (I'll) probably end up signing something in 2026."

"I can come out here for another 20 years, but eventually, these young kids get to be so good," he smiled.

NASCAR will now make a trip to Kansas City for the opening race of the Round of 12 at Kansas Speedway on 28 September. John Hunter Nemechek, driver of the No. 20 Joe Gibbs Racing's Toyota Supra in the Xfinity Series, is the reigning champion at the 1.5-mile superspeedway.

Fans can watch the 200-lap race live on CW from 4 PM ET onwards. The Kansas Lottery 300 is going to be the second race of the year to feature on CW. Radio updates will be available on MRN and SiriusXM NASCAR Radio. Fans can also purchase tickets to the grandstands from the official website of Kansas Speedway.