“Time to burn some fuel and rubber!”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares ‘anxious’ message ahead of CARS Tour first race weekend for 2025 

Former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his excitement and nerves about the 2025 zMAX CARS Tour season on social media. The season will open this Saturday, March 1, at the New River All-American Speedway. It will feature 19 full-time Late Model Stock drivers, including last year’s runner-up and JR Motorsports driver Connor Hall.

Earnhardt Jr. opened up about his anxious morning and wrote a message on X:

"I woke up so damn anxious this morning. The first practice day of the new @zMAXFormula @CARSTour season is here. I hope it goes smooth for our staff and competitors. So much work goes into each offseason. But it's time to burn some fuel and rubber!"

Last year, Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared his plans to compete in a few CARS Tour races this year, including at Cordele Motor Speedway in Georgia on April 12.

"It’s exciting to have the chance to take the zMAX CARS Tour to Cordele. Fans in the area are really looking forward to it, and so are our teams. I’m thrilled to add this race to my schedule for next year," Earnhardt Jr said (via Racing America).

Earnhardt Jr. will also race at Florence Motor Speedway in August 2025. The 50-year-old had a 10th-place finish in the zMAX CARS Tour Late Model Stock Car event last September. Earnhardt Jr. also returned to the track in November 2024 for the South Carolina 400 in his iconic red Budweiser No. 8 scheme.

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"Laying in bed with a fever watching the 1988 NASCAR season" - Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalls pastime amid sickness

Dale Earnhardt Jr during practice for the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway - Source: Imagn

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been under the weather and battling a fever for the past couple of days. His wife, Amy, shared an update on his health during their new podcast, Bless Your Hardt.

In a previous post on social media, Earnhardt Jr. wrote how he was passing his time while resting.

"Was laying in bed with a fever watching the 1988 NASCAR season as one does when they are ill. During the Martinsville broadcast they mentioned that Neil Bonnet was rumored to be going to Hendrick Motorsports the next season. I asked Rick and he didn’t recall that being a thing, and they did keep the same lineup in 1989. But just fun to imagine if that had some true," Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrote.

The 1988 NASCAR season was the 40th year of stock car racing. Hendrick Motorsports' driver lineup for the season was Geoff Bodine in the No. 5 Chevy, Darrell Waltrip in the No.17, and Ken Schrader in the No. 25. That year, Bill Elliott won the championship for Melling Racing.

The season also had a tire war between Goodyear and Hoosier, as teams could switch between brands from race to race, unlike today.