Dale Earnhardt Jr. will return in the famed No. 88 at Martinsville Speedway to compete in the spring NASCAR Xfinity Series race under the lights on April 8, 2022. The NASCAR Hall of Famer and two-time Xfinity Series champion will continue JR Motorsports’ long-time partnership with Unilever as part of the race.
“For our 75th anniversary, we are proud to welcome back NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. to join our celebration season on the track at Martinsville Speedway,” said Clay Campbell, Martinsville Speedway President. “Dale Jr. is one of the most popular and intense racers in the history of Martinsville, so we look forward to seeing him return to competition next season.”
“I love short tracks. When it comes down to it, short track racing is what I love to do,” said Earnhardt Jr., who broke the announcement during this week’s Dale Jr. Download podcast. “Races at Martinsville are always a blast, so I’m really excited about this opportunity. Unilever has been a great partner, and I’m thankful to them for allowing me to go race at Martinsville. I’m going to get in there in the thick of it and have some fun.”
Beginning today fans can vote on Earnhardt Jr.’s paint scheme that will run in the spring Xfinity Series race at Martinsville. By visiting hellmanns.jrmracing.com, fans can select one of three No. 88 Hellmann’s/Fridge Hunters-inspired paint schemes. The voting runs through Nov. 17 with the winning livery featured under the lights on the track at Martinsville Speedway (April 8, 2022) with Earnhardt Jr. behind the wheel.
Earnhardt Jr. has raced at least one NXS race with Unilever every year since 2009. Earlier this year, the NASCAR Hall of Famer drove a special United for America paint scheme honoring the victims of 9/11 at Richmond Raceway on Sept. 11, 2021, the 20th Anniversary of the terror attacks. For more information on Unilever U.S. and its brands visit: www.unileverusa.com
Earnhardt Jr. captured his Martinsville grandfather clock by winning the 2014 Goody’s Headache Relief Shot 500 NASCAR Cup Series race on Oct. 26, 2014. In his career, Earnhardt Jr. has 13 Top 5 and 18 Top 10 finishes at Martinsville Speedway.
Since retiring from full-time competition following the 2017 Cup Series season, Earnhardt Jr. has raced four times in the NASCAR Xfinity Series at Richmond Raceway (2018, 2021), Darlington Raceway (2019) and Homestead-Miami Speedway (2020). This will be his first post-retirement race at Martinsville Speedway.
For the 2022 spring race weekend, Martinsville will host its first-ever consecutive three race weekend of night races with all three premier series featuring the NASCAR Camping World Truck Series on Thursday, April 7, 2022, Earnhardt Jr. in the Xfinity Series on Friday, April 8, 2022 and the Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 NASCAR Cup Series race on Saturday, April 9, 2022.
2022 NASCAR race tickets are available for purchase via phone at 877-RACE-TIX or online at martinsvillespeedway.com.
2021 NASCAR Playoff Race Weekend
NASCAR returns this fall as Martinsville Speedway hosts the penultimate races of the NASCAR Cup Series, NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series seasons on Oct. 30-31. On Saturday, Oct. 30, Martinsville will host a doubleheader with the United Rentals 200 Camping World Truck Series Playoff race at 1:00 p.m. and the Dead On Tools 250 Xfinity Series Playoff race at 6:00 p.m. The Cup Series’ Championship 4 will be set in the Xfinity 500 on Sunday, Oct. 31 at 2:00 p.m.
NASCAR race tickets are available for purchase via phone at 877-RACE-TIX or online at martinsvillespeedway.com.
Stay connected to Martinsville Speedway on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About JR Motorsports
JR Motorsports is the racing operation co-owned by NASCAR Hall of Fame member and 15-time Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rick Hendrick. Now in its 20th year of overall competition, JR Motorsports competes in multiple divisions, including the NASCAR Xfinity Series where it currently fields four full-time teams and earned championships in 2014, 2017 and 2018. The company also races in Late Model competition and owns four championships in regional Late Model divisions and added a prized national title in 2020. To learn more about the organization, its drivers and its sponsorship opportunities, visit www.jrmracing.com.
About Martinsville Speedway
Founded by H. Clay Earles in 1947, Martinsville Speedway is the only NASCAR track to host NASCAR Cup Series races every year since its inception in 1949. At .526 miles in length, the track annually hosts two NASCAR race weekends featuring the NASCAR Cup Series, along with NASCAR Xfinity Series and NASCAR Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series races in the fall. Martinsville Speedway also annually hosts the ValleyStar Credit Union 300, the nation’s biggest, richest and most prestigious NASCAR Late Model Stock Car race. For more information about Martinsville Speedway, visit martinsvillespeedway.com.
About NASCAR
The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) is the sanctioning body for the No. 1 form of motorsports in the United States and owner of 16 of the nation’s major motorsports entertainment facilities. NASCAR consists of three national series (NASCAR Cup Series™, NASCAR Xfinity Series™, and NASCAR Camping World Truck Series™), four regional series (ARCA Menards Series, ARCA Menards Series East & West and the NASCAR Whelen Modified Tour), one local grassroots series (NASCAR Advance Auto Parts Weekly Series) and three international series (NASCAR Pinty’s Series, NASCAR Peak Mexico Series, NASCAR Whelen Euro Series). The International Motor Sports Association™ (IMSA®) governs the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship™, the premier U.S. sports car series. NASCAR also owns Motor Racing Network, Racing Electronics, and ONE DAYTONA. Based in Daytona Beach, Florida, with offices in eight cities across North America, NASCAR sanctions more than 1,200 races in more than 30 U.S. states, Canada, Mexico and Europe. For more information visit www.NASCAR.com and www.IMSA.com, and follow NASCAR on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat (‘NASCAR’).