Dale Earnhardt Jr. leads 96 laps, finishes 4th in NASCAR

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is not quite finished with the race.

The NASCAR fan favorite took the wheel Friday night, led 96 laps and finished fourth in an Xfinity Series race at Richmond Raceway. It was his first race since he had retired from the Cup series after last season and he became a father earlier this year.

"I'm probably going to run one more next year," said Earnhardt, mainly because the revenue he earns from races allows him to support another car for races of 8 to 10. "It's worth it to go out, to have fun, to run. "

It was particularly fun, he said, before the green flag was ever dropped because his wife, Amy, and his infant daughter, Isla, accompanied him.

"I was delighted to have Isla there," he said. "She will not remember what happened today, but if I never run another race, I have to have it at one event and we have a picture of the car before the race, she will be able to pass the rest of her life It does not matter to me if she thinks it's a big problem, but I want her to understand what I've done before she was born. "

It was a moment, he said, it was "weird, but rather cool".

Now working as an analyst for NBC Sports, Earnhardt said that he did not want to fool his new career.

"I like to drive and I do not want to make a ton.I want to be great on the stand.I know it helps a bit, but it also prevents me from … see the weekend in together, understand what is happening at all levels.

"That's where I want to be, I want to be in the stand for a long time," he said.

Earnhardt took the lead until Matt Tifft beat him away with about 30 laps to go. Christopher Bell then overtook Tifft after a recovery with 13 laps to go and won the first of seven playoff races in the series. It was Bell's fifth win this season and he completed a season sweep in Richmond.

"Being able to win a late start like that is really special," said Bell, who won the championship last year in the truck series. The 32nd place of Justin Allgaier also allowed Bell to take the lead of the series.

Ross Chastain was second, followed by Daniel Hemric.

For Chastain, succeeding in a race where one of the biggest stars of the sport was competing also had an added advantage.

"There is a man, I live near him, I help pay the bills there at JR Motorsports with my monthly rent check – I make a small contribution – and we meet from time to time" said Chastain. "I do not think he knows what I'm driving, but I make him sign that I'm waving to everyone on this bumpy and bumpy road."

This was not Chastain's first encounter with Earnhardt.

"I ran with him to Dover during my first Cup race," he said. "One race, we had our car really well, his car was really bad and I was able to clear it and I beckoned him in. About 10 laps later, I burned my tires before he came back by me and he beckoned for me and I was like: "Wow. That's Dale Jr. waving. "

The race was the 31st in the series for Elliott Sadler, a native of Virginia who grew up about 70 miles away and regularly attended races on the track. Sadler, who is retiring at the end of the season, was hoping to win his first career victory on a 0.75-mile D-shaped oval. He ran in the top 10 most of the race and finished sixth.