Dale Earnhardt Jr. admits his ‘body’s just not conditioned’ to fight at the top of the Xfinity Series

Dale Earnhardt Jr. scored his first top-5 finish since 2020 on Saturday..

Dale Earnhardt Jr. admits his ‘body’s just not conditioned’ to fight at the top of the Xfinity Series

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Via IMAGO)

NASCAR Hall Of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. made his second Xfinity Series start of the 2023 season with his team, Junior Motorsports at Homestead Miami. He finished the race at P5 despite starting at a disappointing P23. It was his first top-five finish since 2020, which also came at the Florida track. The solid finish came after an incident with his driver, Josh Berry, on lap 177.

The two-time Xfinity Series champion had a strong day at the track that saw him extract the best performance from the car and slowly move up during the race despite the wrong adjustments at the start. He finished P12 in the first stage and P16 in the second stage. Dale Jr. was able to run most of the final 90 laps in the top 10, a testament to the incredible consistency he showed on the day.

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After the race, he pointed out that not being in the best physical condition cost him a better finish on Saturday. He said that not working out and not racing every week made him less capable of fighting on the track. Dale Jr. claimed that if 2021 Cup champion Kyle Larson were on the seat, the win would’ve been his.

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The driver wasn’t at his best physically. I kind of got tired. Not doing this every week, my body’s just not conditioned, and I certainly don’t work out. (The car) might have been able to run second, third or fourth. Heck, if (Kyle) Larson was driving, it probably would have won the race, but I’ll take a fifth place; 49 years old, only do this once or twice a year, hardly no practice
Earnhardt Jr. said, as reported by NBC Sports.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. claims his car is capable of winning one or two races in a full-time season

Dale Jr., while explaining how he felt about the No:88 Chevy, claimed that if he was a full-time driver, winning two or three races with the car is possible. He also praised the teams and drivers who are racing full-time for their dedication and hard work.

Charlotte Motor Speedway Day 1
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Credits: countrymusicnation.com)
We had good speed. Run these things every week might win a race or two in this series. It’s a lot of work. I really admire the drivers and teams that compete every week. Just come and do it once; it takes a lot.

Earlier, while talking about his race and his loss in qualifying, he said that he made some mistakes at the end of stage one that cost him track positions. He claimed that his crew made some solid adjustments to help him get back to the top. Dale Jr. later confirmed that he will race in 2024 as well, in the Xfinity Series, most probably at Bristol.

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