“Off his game” Dale Earnhardt Jr. makes his ‘lost’ feelings known amid iconic Budweiser return

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has broken down his underwhelming qualifying performance at Florence Motor Speedway. Earnhardt Jr. admitted he was 'off his game' and 'lost' during the session, resulting in him starting at the back for the race.

Earnhardt Jr. is a 50-year-old former NASCAR driver who just got back to racing in the Budweiser No. 8 car. However, his return was off to a bad start after qualifying in P40 for the South Carolina 400 late model race at Florence Motor Speedway.

In the latest episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, the Kannapolis native said he wasn't feeling good driving the car during the qualifying session.

"We went there knowing that qualifying's been a struggle for me. When I went out there to qualify, I had no idea how fast the car was through one and two. I felt like I did okay through there. It wasn't great, it didn't feel perfect. It didn't feel good but it wasn't bad," Earnhardt Jr. shared.

The 26-time Cup race winner pointed out that he was trying to hit the chip on the rev limiter, which helps regulate the engine rpm for better performance. However, he couldn't utilize the chip and later, after the session, found out it was swapped for a bigger variant.

"We have a chip in the car. There's a chip for the rev limiter. I hit that on a good lap [...] And I'm coming up down the back straightaway and I'm waiting for that chip cause I'm wanting it to hit it cause that's going to be the sign that we're on a decent lap, right? And I never hit the chip."

He added:

"That never happened [hitting the chip] and I panicked. And I thought this f****** lap is so slow [...] At this point, I am totally off my game... like I am lost." [0:49]

While the qualifying session was disappointing, Dale Earnhardt Jr. picked up the pieces and charged from 40th to 2nd in the race. However, his No. 8 car had a mechanical issue involving a fuel pump, which forced him to retire.

This wasn't the only race scheduled for the returning Bud car. Dale Jr. is set to run a limited series of late model races until 2025.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares how a random driver pushed him to race following a disappointing qualifying

Due to a bad starting position, Dale Earnhardt Jr. considered not entering the Florence Motor Speedway. However, one of his fellow competitors talked him out of quitting the race, saying he should keep his head up and get over the qualifying result.

In a post-race interview by Sportsnaut's Matt Weaver, Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared:

“I wish I could remember the guy’s name drove that 19 car tonight when he got in the race. I think it was him anyway, the local guy that runs here. It was this fella. I'm sitting there. I made that qualifying run. I was mad as hell... He comes up to me, and he's like, 'Hey man, I want to tell you something, man. You need to keep your head up.'" [2:24]

The former No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports driver added:

“I was like, all right, he's like, 'I'm doing this because of you,' and he's like, listening. I lost my dad, and listening to your podcast really helped me, and he's like, 'Don't worry about that qualifying lap'; he's like, 'You know the things you're doing are good, and you're helping people, and you're helping me.'”

If it wasn't for his fellow competitor, Dale Earnhardt Jr. would've missed the speed demonstrated by the No. 8 car on track, climbing from P40 to P2. After the South Carolina 400 at Florence, young driver Treyten Lapcevich won the race and earned the $10,000 prize money.