TIMMONSVILLE, S.C. — At Florence Motor Speedway, NASCAR fans were briefly thrown back to the mid-2000s with the return of one of the sport’s most recognizable programs.
Among the 41-car field for the South Carolina 400 was the iconic No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet that NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove. popularized during the early years of his career. Earnhardt Jr. was joined in Florence by his devoted fan base who enveloped the stands in a sea of red once common at NASCAR races across the country.
Earnhardt Jr. couldn’t help but be immersed in the atmosphere generated by Budweiser No. 8’s first race since 2007. The tribute almost ended when Earnhardt Jr. took the beloved plan to Victory Lane, but he found satisfaction in what the weekend meant. himself and those who invested in his legendary career.
“I had a great feeling about the car,” Earnhardt Jr. said. ‘I picked as many of them as possible. The car was excellent and many guys started to have trouble with the balance of their car. For the second half we would sit there in second place. When it was time to apply pressure (leader Treyten Lapcevich), I could probably get him loose, drive out of the corner and beat him.
“It was time to turn it on, but then the fuel pump broke.”
A starting position of 40th did little to deter Earnhardt Jr., who weaved through the field with relative ease, settling into second position midway through the break as he was cheered on by his jubilant fans. Earnhardt Jr. remained second for the rest of the evening, until a broken fuel pump knocked him out of the race with 31 laps to go.
The final showing of the 28th wasn’t the outcome most members of Junior Nation expected, yet the South Carolina 400 turned out to be more about the journey for Earnhardt Jr.’s followers. instead of about the destination.
Although Earnhardt Jr. spent more time in a Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet during his Cup Series tenure, the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc. the place where he first built his identity.
During his eight full-time years at DEI, Earnhardt Jr. 17 wins, 76 top fives and led more than 5,000 laps. Earnhardt Jr.’s most notable achievements in the Budweiser No. 8 Chevrolet, his first of two Daytona 500 victories came in 2004.
BACK IN BUD: Photos of Dale Jr. in Florence
Earnhardt Jr. retired from DEI at the end of the 2007 season, but the memories of his success in the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet have never faded. Nearly two decades after Earnhardt Jr.’s last appearance at DEI and NASCAR events, spectators still grace the iconic No. 8.
One of those fans is David Faulkner, who traveled five hours from Hampton, Virginia, to get Budweiser No. 8 to be seen for at least one last time. Faulkner, a lifelong follower of the Earnhardt family since the 1970s, admitted that seeing Earnhardt Jr. driving a red No. 8 brought back memories of the victories he had the privilege of personally witnessing.
“I remember the victories in Richmond because Richmond is my home track, about an hour away [from Hampton]” said Faulkner. “Just looking at the Budweiser car driving around brings back a lot of memories.”
Earnhardt Jr. many stories like Faulkner’s awaited as he spent the afternoon greeting fans in Florence. A woman with whom Earnhardt Jr. had been in contact, waiting for his signature since the Budweiser No. 8 made its formal Cup Series debut at the 1999 Coca-Cola 600.
Earnhardt Jr.’s Impact on NASCAR extends far beyond just spectators. Since returning to his Late Model Stock origins in 2022, Earnhardt Jr. approached by countless competitors, young and old, with every conversation Earnhardt Jr. gave a healthy perspective on how he shaped the world around him.
“I qualified really poorly and was pretty angry with myself,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I finished, drove around and one of the other drivers [Gary Greenwood] who qualified poorly got out and said, ‘Keep your head up. I race because of you. I lost my father and listening to your podcast really helped me. That’s why I got this car.’
“I was so angry about qualifying, but sometimes it’s good to be reminded that it’s not that important.”
For Dylan Braswell, who ventured to Florence from the small town of Nashville, North Carolina, he never witnessed Earnhardt Jr. drove the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet, but was long familiar with the Earnhardts and NASCAR through his late grandmother Dianne.
The two watched Earnhardt Jr.’s final Cup Series race. at Homestead-Miami Speedway in 2017, a few months before Dianne passed away. Braswell saw his trip to the South Carolina 400 to honor Dianne’s love of racing and to hear firsthand why the No. 8 was so special to so many people.
“My grandmother got me into NASCAR and she was always a big supporter of Earnhardt Jr.,” Braswell said. “I used to have to watch the VCRs and all that stuff, so that’s kind of where the No. 8 car is for me, when I watch it on TV.
“I immediately bought tickets as soon as I heard.”
Braswell and the rest of Earnhardt Jr.’s fan base, known colloquially as Junior Nation, were treated to an exciting performance from their favorite driver as he fought to make his own history in the South Carolina 400.
Until a few months ago, not many in the NASCAR industry expected Earnhardt Jr. would bring back the plan that kickstarted his career for whatever reason. Circumstances brought Budweiser No. 8 back to life, an opportunity not many Earnhardt Jr. fans were willing to pass up, as evidenced by the sellout crowd at the South Carolina 400.
Saturday was perfect for people like Faulkner because it allowed him and others to reflect on pleasant memories and cherish how part of the past was reborn in the present.
“I’ve been waiting for this since I saw a little hint in April [Earnhardt Jr.] threw a bunch of Budweiser stuff on the internet,” Faulkner said. “I thought he was going to bring the Budweiser car back and now here I am.
“It’s iconic.”
RELATED: Dale Jr. over the years
Aside from the broken fuel pump and poor qualifying effort, Earnhardt Jr. everything he wanted by bringing the Budweiser No. 8 Chevrolet to the South Carolina 400. The goal of the initiative was to give back to the fans, many of whom traveled from Florence to see what Earnhardt Jr. could do in his iconic plan.
The performance Earnhardt Jr. put together on Saturday gave him a much-needed jolt ahead of the four scheduled Late Model Stock starts in 2025. While he’s not sure when that Budweiser plan will next hit the track, Earnhardt Jr. planning to return it. before inevitably deciding to quit racing altogether.
“At some point you’re going to get older,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I don’t know why that happens or how it happens, but I don’t know when that happens. Maybe I still have three, four, five years left. If I have anything to do with it, they’ll see that Bud car again.
When or where Earnhardt Jr. the No. 8 Budweiser next unloads, the stands will be red and black, filled with loyal spectators eager to see if the famous car will make its way to Victory Lane just like it did in the 2000s.
