Despite the barrage of plaguing incidents at Bristol Dale Earnhardt Jr. mastered a top-10 resurgence

Dale Earnhardt Jr. returned to the 'World's Fastest Half Mile' track, the Bristol Motor Speedway, for his maiden Xfinity race of this season. The #88 JR Motorsports Chevy driver encountered disappointments the moment the Food City 300 went green. Nonetheless, the two-time Xfinity Series champion surged from a dismal footing in the race to bagging a seventh-place finish.

The 300-lapper at the 0.533-mile oval witnessed Cole Custer snap the win and clinch the regular season title. After kicking off his run from second place, the Stewart-Haas Racing driver posted seventh and second-place finishes in both stages before surging for the win.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s run, however, was marred from the beginning. He started 13th but encountered problems while communicating through the team radio. The #88 Chevy driver entered the pitlane to address the issue but was caught speeding and was handed a penalty, leaving him "pissed". The radio never worked precisely despite several attempts by the driver and crew.

Moreover, while removing his first helmet to replace the radio, Junior's glasses were left in the helmet and were returned to him during the next pitstop on Lap 156. Moving forward, the radio fell on Chevy's floor, and the volume was increased to full, prompting the 29-year-old to ask the spotter to soften their tone. After getting hold of the radio, the piece fell into a water bottle which was misplaced inside the car.

Furthermore, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was disappointed with how Riley Herbst raced against him and expressed annoyance. However, he later offered a beer to the latter.

Placed seventh, Earnhardt Jr. outperformed all JR Motorsports drivers. Sam Mayer finished ninth, followed by Sammy Smith in 15th and Justin Allgaier in 30th.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. puts a question mark on his NASCAR future

Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired from NASCAR's Premier level after running his final full-time Cup Series racing for Hendrick Motorsports in 2017. However, he competed in at least one Xfinity Series race from 2018 onwards without fail, thanks to JRM's longtime alliance with Hellman's Mayonnaise and Unilever.

But that seems to be changing as Junior is not planning for an Xfinity return in 2025. Though the North Carolina native expressed surety about not coming to the track next year, he left the door open for the upcoming years, if his presence would align with JRM's sponsorship structure.

"I’m not planning on racing next year. I’ll be foolish to say I’m never going to run again because I don’t know well enough to stay away from it, and I’ll probably miss it next year and be absolutely willing to sign up because of anything that might be beneficial to JR Motorsports,"Earnhardt Jr. said via NASCAR.

"I have to remind fans and people that follow us that I run this race and have ran this race over the last several years because of the big benefit that it is to JR Motorsports," he added.

Shane van Gisbergen will sport Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s iconic #88 Chevy for his full-time Cup Series schedule for Trackhouse Racing next year.