One of the most iconic nights of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career went down at the Bristol Motor Speedway back in 2004. The fan-loved driver had just grabbed winning honors in the Cup Series race after doing the same in the Xfinity Series race the day before. He drove his red No. 8 Chevrolet to the victory lane and climbed out when an NBC reporter asked him why the win meant so much.
Advertisement
He replied, “It’s Bristol, baby!”, and gave the fandom a chant to hype up the world’s fastest half-mile by for decades to come. Earnhardt was the first-ever driver to race in both Xfinity and Cup on the same weekend at the track. “I never thought I would win a Busch race and a Cup race in the same weekend at Bristol. Good Lord,” he said. There are solid reasons why Bristol is a track so close to his heart.
It was where he made his first Xfinity Series start in 1997 and where he competed side-by-side with his father for the first time in the Cup Series in 2000. The high-banked track had always been high on the list of places that he wanted to win at and the emotions translated into soon-to-be popular words on the victory lane. Winning at Bristol was as big as winning the Daytona 500 or even better for him.
He made his final start at the 0.533-mile oval in 2017. “I have a lot of fond memories there,” he said prior to the final race. “I’m glad I’ve got a trophy from that race track and that will be one of the tracks that I miss running at more than some others for sure.” Thanks to his exploits and that of his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., Bristol will always be synonymous with the Earnhardt name.
The high value that the Bristol Motor Speedway places on Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2021. Jerry Caldwell, the executive vice president and general manager of the Bristol Motor Speedway, had expressed his congratulations to the driver at the time through a touching message.
He wrote recalling several memorable moments, “Whether it’s celebrating in Victory Lane with his pops, watching his father’s famous bump-n-run on Terry Labonte in 1999 or celebrating his historic sweep here at the Night Race in 2004 with his memorable Victory Lane celebration, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been an important part of Bristol Motor Speedway history.”
He noted that getting inducted into the hall was a well-deserved honor. From being a child who ran around the garages of the Last Great Colosseum to taming it as a driver, Earnhardt has given himself a special stature at the venue.
