Earnhardt Jr. back on track but Burton wins Hooters 250 in shootout to open Homestead weekend
Dale Earnhardt Jr. got the thrill of a last-second shootout Saturday in one of his rare post-retirement NASCAR races.
The caution with seven laps to go at the Xfinity Series Hooters 250, however, ultimately cost JR Motorsports a one-two finish to open weekend at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Rookie Harrison Burton in the No. 20 Toyota of Joe Gibbs Racing took the win in the two-lap finale, edging out Austin Cedric and Noah Gragson in a three-wide fight in the race’s final moments.
“I don’t know what I was doing, honestly,” Burton said of the battle going into that final lap. “What a race.”
It was Burton’s second win of the season. He has finished in the top 10 in all nine Xfinity Series races this season.
“We’re still hungry,” Burton said. “We still want to be the best teams. ... It’s fun to steal a win like that.”
Cindric finished second, 0.179 seconds behind Burton. JR Motorsports’ Noah Gragson, who had a nearly 12-second lead over Earnhardt Jr at the time of the caution, finished third. Earnhardt Jr. finished fifth.
“I was rusty, all the way through,” said Earnhardt Jr., who retired from full-time racing after the 2017 season.
Even at that, Earnhardt Jr.’s performance Saturday at times felt like another one of those races that NASCAR fans came to expect from him during his Cup Series career, one that included 24 wins, 93 top-10 finishes and a third-place finish in the Cup Series standings in 2003. He also won a pair of Xfinity Series titles in 1998 and 1999 before moving up to the premiere series.
Earnhardt Jr. started the race in Position 12 but quickly worked his way to the front pack of drivers and stayed among the top five for the majority of the race.
He had a rare lead going into the start of the third stage after being the first off pit road. It lasted less than a lap after being quickly passed by Ross Chastain in Lap 87, the first lap following the restart.
Overall, it was a similar performance to his last two Xfinity Series races since retiring from the NASCAR Cup Series. He finished fourth at Richmond Raceway in 2018 and fifth at Darlington in August.
“There ought to be something in the rule book to keep this from happening,” Earnhardt Jr. said from his car on the Fox broadcast during pace laps. “I haven’t been in a race car since last year. I’ve got no laps. I have no idea what’s going to happen. I’ve been nervous as hell for weeks.”
Briscoe works back after rough start
It was a tough break for Xfinity Series points leader Chase Briscoe. His No. 98 Ford dropped pieces of ballast on the race track during the pace laps leading to the start of the race, forcing him to go to pit road before the green flag to address the issue.
He entered the race in Lap 6, six laps behind the lead group. To make matters worse, he had to pit for a penalty for having too many crew members over the wall.
He made an impressive run to get back into contention, making it back to the lead lap and at one point climbing back up to sixth place. He had to pit with 16 laps left to replace tires and finished seventh.
Briscoe entered Saturday leading the Xfinity Series standings with 340 points through eight races, just four points ahead of Gragson. He won two of eight races and finished in the top five two other times.
Briscoe wasn’t the only driver with early problems. Tommy Joe Martins suffered a mechanical failure and never took the green flag. He was pushed to the garage at Lap 5.
What to know for Sunday
▪ A second Xfinity Series race, the Contender Boats 250, will take place at noon Sunday ahead of the Dixie Vodka 400, which is slated for a 3:30 p.m. start. The Contender Boats 250 will air on Fox Sports 1. The Dixie Vodka 400 will be on Fox.
▪ Soon-to-be Pro Football Hall of Fame inductee Jimmy Johnson, the one-time head coach of the Miami Hurricanes (1984-1988) and Miami Dolphins (1996-1999), will serve as the virtual Grand Marshall for the Dixie Vodka 400.
“As someone who lives in South Florida, I’m excited to be a part of one of the biggest events in the area,” said Johnson. “I’ve given many locker room speeches and seen many spectacular sports moments, but I can’t wait to add the distinction of reciting the most famous words in all of motorsports.”
▪ Eight of the 36 drivers scheduled to be in the Dixie Vodka 400 have won at least one race at Homestead-Miami Speedway, with Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch each taking first twice.
Kurt Busch, Matt Kenseth, Jimmie Johnson, Kevin Harvick, Martin Truex Jr. and Joey Logano have each won once.
▪ Hamlin will start the race on the pole, with Logano, Brad Keselowsi, Kyle Busch and Chase Elliott rounding out the top five.
This story was originally published June 13, 2020 at 6:10 PM.
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