Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on Twitter Wednesday night that he still plans to compete in next weekend’s Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway, despite experiencing a bruised back from the plane crash he and his family survived last week.
Earnhardt said his back has “lots of swelling and I just need that to go down and the pain to chill out. I been treating the area every day solely to get well to race.”
Earnhardt, who is set to drive the No. 8 Chevrolet in the Aug. 31 race on NBC, said “I have a plan B but hope not to use it.” That plan would be someone else racing the car.
The race would be Earnhardt’s first since he competed in the Xfinity race at Richmond Raceway last fall.
He is set to drive a throwback paint scheme to his father’s first career Cup start in the 1975 Word 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
Yes. I plan on driving still. My lower back is bruised up real bad. Lots of swelling and I just need that to go down and the pain to chill out. I been treating the area every day solely to get well to race. I have a plan B but hope not to use it. https://t.co/O1J7jZU4kR
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) August 22, 2019
Someone else drives the car
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) August 22, 2019