“I cleaned him out” - Dale Earnhardt Jr. reflects on race-ending contact with Josh Berry during NASCAR Xfinity race at Homestead

Former NASCAR Cup Series driver and owner of the Xfinity Series team JR Motorsports, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s most recent appearance behind the wheel yielded impressive results. "Junebug" as he is often referred to, Earnhardt Jr. managed to clinch a top-five finish during the second event of the Round of 8 on Saturday, October 21.

The Contender Boats 300 saw the #88 Chevrolet Camaro driver finish inside the top five for the first time since 2020, while JR Motorsports had a fine overall weekend. Sam Mayer managed to clinch his spot in the Championship 4 round after winning his first race on an oval so far.

However, not all went well for every JR Motorsports driver as Josh Berry was sent into the wall by none other than his teammate and boss, Dale Earnhardt Jr. during the 300-mile-long event. Earnhardt was seen fighting a sliding car during the restart on lap 171 out of 200 in the event, during which Josh Berry was trying to go around the outside of his boss.

What ensued next was Earnhardt Jr. making contact with Berry, sending him into the outside wall and ending his race. The 49-year-old veteran took full responsibility for the wreck after the race and told NBC Sports:

"I cleaned him out, I didn’t know he got there. I got loose, but I thought I was clear all the way up. So when I got loose, I was like, I got plenty of room to catch this, chase the car up. I thought (Berry) was coming through the middle. When I got a little loose, I was like I’ll just come up and leave him all that room. I didn’t know he was out there. We hit really hard. I thought it flattened my tires. I know it killed his car."

Josh Berry ultimately qualified in P32 after the event.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on when fans can see him behind the wheel once again

As is often said by many in the motorsports industry, drivers cannot get enough of racing despite retiring from the sport, and that is certainly the case with Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Elaborating on when he will be willing to jump back in the car next, the 49-year-old told NBC Sports:

“I’ll go about six months and forget how hard it was and be like, ‘Yeah, let’s do that again.’”

Meanwhile, Xfinity Series heads ever closer to crowning its 2023 champion, with just one round left before the championship decider.