EARNHARDT RETURNS: Dale Earnhardt Jr. will return to competition driving the No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet SS in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 26. After missing the final 18 NASCAR Cup Series races of the 2016 season while recovering from a concussion, Earnhardt was medically cleared to return to competition following a test at Darlington Raceway on Dec. 7, 2016. The Kannapolis, North Carolina, native also had another chance to prepare for the 2017 season when he got behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevy for a two-day NASCAR test at Phoenix International Raceway on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1. But the biggest highlight of Earnhardt’s offseason came when he married his wife, Amy, in a ceremony on New Year’s Eve.
NATIONWIDE DOCUSERIES: To celebrate Earnhardt’s return, Nationwide has developed a six-part docuseries, “Unfinished Business,” which includes behind-the-scenes content chronicling Earnhardt’s recovery process and preparations for the Daytona 500. The first, second and third chapters debuted on Jan. 24, Jan. 31 and Feb. 7, and another episode will be released via the Nationwide88 social channels each Tuesday leading up to the Daytona 500, with two episodes coming out the week of the race.
BRINGING IT TO THE BOOTH: Earnhardt may not be behind the wheel during The Clash, but he won’t be missing any of the action. The two-time Clash winner will be serving as a guest driver analyst in the FOX Sports broadcast booth alongside Mike Joy, Darrell Waltrip and Jeff Gordon during FS1’s live coverage of The Clash on Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. ET. Earnhardt has experience in the television booth, as he served as an analyst for an XFINITY race for FOX Sports and two Cup races for NBC Sports last season.
NATIONWIDE SCHEME: Earnhardt will hit the track in the new 2017 Nationwide primary paint scheme during Daytona Speedweeks. The new scheme features a clean look with a white base coat, Nationwide blue hood and roof, and blue “RPM bar” along the doors and rear quarter-panels.
HEADING TO THE BIG APPLE: Earnhardt will visit New York City on Tuesday, Feb. 21, to promote the Daytona 500, making appearances on the “TODAY Show,” “The Dan Patrick Show,” “Watch What Happens Live with Andy Cohen” and others. Follow the Hendrick Motorsports social media channels for updates and tune-in information.
AT DAYTONA: Earnhardt qualified third for each of his two superspeedway points races last season, at Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway. While he encountered misfortune in both events, the 42-year-old driver has a stellar record at superspeedways, earning four wins in points-paying races at Daytona and six at Talladega along with two in The Clash exhibition . He has two Daytona 500 victories, in 2004 and 2014, and most recently drove the No. 88 Chevrolet SS to victory at Daytona in July 2015.
DUEL PROWESS: Earnhardt has five wins and 11 top-three finishes in 17 starts in the Daytona 500 qualifying races known as the Duels. He has finished outside of the top 10 just twice, and is a two-time defending winner after scoring victories in 2015 and 2016.