MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 6, 2021) – In the first iRacing Pro Invitational race to feature NASCAR’s brand-new Next Gen cars, Dale Earnhardt Jr. started from the pole, led 48 laps and wound up a closing third in Wednesday night’s 120-lap event at the virtual Darlington (S.C.) Raceway.

After starting from the pole in a throwback paint scheme from his father’s 1984 Wrangler-sponsored Chevrolet that raced in the Daytona 500, Earnhardt Jr. paced the field for the first 48 laps amid a rash of caution flags as drivers got used to the new Next Gen machines, which had been introduced a few hours before the start. Several drivers were forced to use up their two fast-repair resets after three crashes took place in the first 21 laps. William Byron got past Earnhardt Jr. for the top spot on lap 49, but Earnhardt Jr. stayed close.

After pitting midway through the race, Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 88 Hellmann’s/Walmart Chevrolet developed a loose condition and he dropped through the field to the latter part of the top 10. A huge crash in the waning laps took out several cars and Earnhardt Jr. caught a piece of it, doing damage to the right side of the No. 88.

With just eight laps to go, Earnhardt Jr. stayed out for track position, despite the damage still affecting his No. 88 Chevrolet. On the final restart with four laps remaining, Earnhardt Jr. climbed through the field with eventual winner Erik Jones and battled with former JR Motorsports Late Model driver Anthony Alfredo for second before fending off a late challenge from another former JRM driver, Tyler Reddick on the charge to the checkered.

Reddick dropped to the inside lane in Turn 3 and pulled even, but Earnhardt’s momentum on the top lane carried him past into third at the finish.

Jones won the race going away, topping Alfredo’s wounded machine, with Earnhardt Jr. third, Reddick fourth and Chase Elliott fifth. Kurt Busch, James Davison, Talladega winner Brad Keselowski, Jesse Iwuji and Daniel Suarez comprised the remainder of the top 10.

Earnhardt Jr. will be back for more eNASCAR iRacing Pro Invitational Series action on May 18 at the virtual Circuit of the Americas. The race will air on Fox Sports 1.