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Dale Earnhardt Jr. Accepts New Job For Sunday's Cup Series Race

Originally posted on The Spun | By Tzvi Machlin | Last updated Jun 18, 2025 1:57 PM ET

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be at Pocono Raceway for this weekend's The Great American Getaway 400. But he'll have a different role from the usual.

On Wednesday, JR Motorsports announced that Dale Jr. will be working as their team's crew chief for the No. 88 car being driven by Shane van Gisbergen. He will be replacing Mardy Lindley for the one race. Lindley was suspended for loose lugnuts following the Nashville race and will serve the suspension this weekend.

"This weekend, @DaleJr will be filling in for Mardy Lindley as crew chief of the No. 88 as Lindley serves his one race suspension for loose lugnuts following the NXS race in Nashville two weeks ago," JR Motorsports announced.

This weekend, @DaleJr will be filling in for Mardy Lindley as crew chief of the No. 88 as Lindley serves his one race suspension for loose lugnuts following the NXS race in Nashville two weeks ago.
— JR Motorsports (@JRMotorsports) June 18, 2025

Fans loved the move, though some jokingly asked what kind of punishment Dale Jr. might serve if he suffered the same incident as Lindley:

"So if they fail inspection at any point and Dale is suspended for 4 races will he still be able to call the Cup races in the booth. This is unserious question but still one that has to be thought about," one user remarked.

"Not a bad idea the 88s already locked into the playoffs and instead of finding a replacement for one week maybe Dale just wanted to give it a try for himself Hope Dale has a good time doing it," another wrote.

"Man Dale just out there doing everything he can in NASCAR... this is a really cool thing... I’m excited to hear how it goes after he does it. Will be a fun download next week hearing his recap of it all," wrote a third.

"That's awesome. Add that to the HoF bio."

Shane van Gisbergen secured his spot in the NASCAR Cup playoffs with his win at this past weekend's Mexico City race. So the No. 88 car team can afford to experiment a bit with their personnel for these final 10 races.

And if it means giving one of the team's co-owners some valuable experience working in the pit, then all the better for JR Motorsports.

What do you think of the idea?

This article first appeared on The Spun and was syndicated with permission.

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