The reports of Dale Earnhardt Jr. ‘s swan song at Bristol Motor Speedway seem to have been “greatly” exaggerated.
The NASCAR Hall of Famer, who turns 50 on Oct. 10, said Friday he has no plans to race on a national level next year, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stay off the track for good.
“I’m not planning on racing next year,” Earnhardt said. “I’ll be foolish to say I’m never going to run again, because I don’t know well enough to stay away from it, and I’ll probably miss it next year and be absolutely willing to sign up for anything that might be beneficial to JR Motorsports.”
Earnhardt’s appearance in Friday night’s Food City 300 had been rumored to be his last national series race, but Earnhardt said before the NASCAR Xfinity Series event that he wouldn’t rule out racing in the future—even if he stays on the sidelines until 2026.
Earnhardt pointed out that his decisions to drive have been influenced heavily by his responsibilities as an Xfinity team owner. In 2025, however, he doesn’t have any sponsor demands to race.
“I don’t have a requirement to run next year, so I may just not do it,” Earnhardt said. “I will miss it terribly, regret that I didn’t race and probably in 2026 find me somewhere I can go compete in the Xfinity Series again.”
“If I just run all the laps, I’m happy,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t really look at results as much anymore. I’m happy about a great result, for sure. But when you only get to go to the ice cream store once a year, you want to eat the whole thing.
Whether he races or not, Earnhardt’s expectations and perspectives have changed.
“So I want to run all the laps and see the checkered flag, and I’ll be happy about that.”
Bubba Wallace gets a contract extension from 23XI despite charter limbo
With 23XI Racing remaining one of two teams yet to sign NASCAR’s new charter agreement, Bubba Wallace expressed concerns about his future as a NASCAR Cup Series driver.
Those issues were laid to rest this week when Wallace signed a multiyear contract extension with the organization, announced by 23XI in a social media post on Wednesday.
Though Wallace failed to make the Playoffs this season, while teammate Tyler Reddick won the regular-season championship, team co-owner Denny Hamlin gave Wallace a vote of confidence before NASCAR Cup Series practice on Bristol.
“The 23 team needs to make the Playoffs every year,” Hamlin said of Wallace’s Cup effort. “I think that is our expectation, and then make a deep run and finish in the top 10 in points. That is kind of our expectation of where we are at. Just getting in, it is hard for me to say that is the only expectation, but it is an expectation given the standards we are giving ourselves.
“He knows that he needs to get better. I think he has gotten better, so long as he continues that. We know that, given the stats he has had, the laps that he has led—everything has improved over what he had last year. Just have to take the next step.”
GEICO to end Cup Series premier sponsorship
As reported in Sports Business Journal at the end of the week, GEICO will end its premier partnership with NASCAR after this season, marking the first time the racing circuit will lose one of the top-tier partners from the system it started in 2020.
The Berkshire Hathaway-owned insurer has been involved in the sport since at least 2009, and it became the official insurance of NASCAR in 2019 before stepping up to the premier partner level in 2020. That year, NASCAR began using an IOC- or NCAA-like sponsor model for its Cup Series instead of the single title sponsor model it had employed since 1971.
The current spend of GEICO is unclear but the company was paying NASCAR low seven figures annually for the official insurance category rights in 2019, so its costs are likely at least at that level now.
The company also formerly had a full-season team deal with now-defunct Germain Racing that ended after 2020 and it dropped a title sponsorship of a Monster Energy Supercross team that year. Since then, the company has gone through several major changes in its marketing department, including bringing on Damon Burrell as CMO and making changes with the external agencies it uses.
NASCAR confirmed GEICO’s decision to end the premier partnership after this season, telling SBJ in a statement: “The partnership between NASCAR and GEICO has demonstrated the immense value and weekly excitement that two consumer-driven brands can create, and we are proud of the extraordinary brand value, exposure and growth opportunities we’ve built together.”
Corey LaJoie, Justin Haley making team switches, effective at Kansas, for the rest of the season
Two teams are making changes for the remainder of the season now and not waiting until 2025..
Rick Ware Racing has acquired driver Corey LaJoie from Spire Motorsports, and Spire Motorsports has procured driver Justin Haley from RWR. The switch will take place going into Kansas with eight races left on the 2024 NASCAR Cup Series calendar.
Saturday’s Bass Pro Shops Night Race at Bristol Motor Speedway will be the last race for each driver with their current organizations. Beginning with next weekend’s Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas Speedway in Kansas City, LaJoie will take over the No. 51 Ford Mustang Dark Horse for RWR, and Haley will drive the No. 7 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 for Spire Motorsports.
LaJoie’s pending partnership with RWR will mark his first stint with the team while Haley’s upcoming drive with Spire Motorsports will serve as a homecoming of sorts.
Haley began his NASCAR Cup Series career with Spire Motorsports, winning the 2019 Coke Zero Sugar 400 at Daytona International Speedway in just his third career NASCAR Cup Series start.
Ty Norris moves from Trackhouse Racing to Kaulig Racing
Kaulig Racing has hired seasoned and experienced racing professional and executive Ty Norris as its chief business officer, a role he had held until recently at Trackhouse Racing.
In the announcement, Kaulig Racing said that Norris will focus “on partnerships and long-term strategy along with owner Matt Kaulig and team president Chris Rice.”
The team stated that hiring Norris “is one of several major moves Kaulig and Rice are making to solidify the trajectory of its NASCAR Cup Series program well into the future.”
Norris had been with Trackhouse Racing from the team’s inception. He is also known for his work behind the scenes at Michael Waltrip Racing, with Dale Earnhardt Inc., just to name a few.
Harrison Burton joining AM Racing for 2025 season
If you’ve been wondering about Harrison Burton’s future after the announcement he was leaving the Wood Brothers at the end of the season and winning a Cup race to qualify for the Cup Series Playoffs, worry no more.
AM Racing announced that Burton will join the organization to pilot the team’s flagship Ford Mustang entry full-time in the Xfinity Series beginning with the season-opener at Daytona International Speedway on February 15, 2025.
The Huntersville, N.C., native will join AM Racing for its third year of full-time competition in the Xfinity Series. After several years as a mainstay in the Craftsman Truck Series, the family-owned team graduated to the Xfinity Series in 2023.
Burton will join the Statesville, N.C., team following a three-year stint in the Cup Series, driving the famed No. 21 Ford Mustang for the Wood Brothers Racing team.
William Sawalich wins 2024 ARCA East championship at Bristol Motor Speedway
Toyota Camry driver William Sawalich won his second-consecutive ARCA Menards Series East championship with a win at Bristol Motor Speedway Thursday evening. Sawalich’s back-to-back title is the fourth consecutive ARCA Menards Series East title for a Toyota driver.
Coming off an impressive season last year that ended in a championship, Sawalich upped the ante in 2024, with incredibly consistent performances across all ARCA Menards Series racing. In ARCA East races,
The Minnesotan captured three victories and seven top-fives in eight starts this season. He was also dominant on the national ARCA tour, winning eight races, including four in a row (Salem, Elko, Springfield and Milwaukee), and only finishing outside the top-five once.
With his ARCA success, Sawalich is also improving his race craft by making appearances in NASCAR’s Truck and Xfinity Series. The 17-year-old has already made 11 career starts in the Truck Series with TRICON Garage with a career-best finish of sixth at the Indianapolis Raceway Park in 2023. Sawalich will also compete in the Truck Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway where he qualified fourth and finished 11th.
Sawalich will make his Xfinity Series debut later this season at Homestead-Miami Speedway after turning 18.
Nick Sanchez to drive for Big Machine Racing in 2025 Xfinity Series
Nick Sanchez will drive the #48 Big Machine Vodka SPIKED Coolers Chevrolet in the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Series as announced today by Scott Borchetta, CEO/Owner of Big Machine Racing.
The Miami, Fla., native will move into the driver’s seat, replacing Parker Kligerman, who said earlier in the week that he is retiring from the sport.
Sanchez, 23, joins Big Machine Racing from the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series where he has won twice this season, driving the No. 2 Gainbridge Chevy Silverado with Rev Racing.
He is the 2022 ARCA Menards Series Champion and drove for Big Machine Racing in the same year, when he drove the #48 in six NASCAR Xfinity Series races.
He competed at Bristol on Thursday night in the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, qualifying sixth and finishing fifth, making the Playoffs.
The team also announced Gainbridge®, a Group 1001 company, as an associate sponsor on the #48 entry.
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