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Dale Jr. takes restored Nova for a drive, gets set for Darlington pace-lap duty

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Staff Report NASCAR.com March 5, 2021 at 4:26 PMDale Earnhardt Jr. took his father’s newly restored Chevrolet Nova racer out for a spin Friday as the black and silver No. 8 rumbled back to life. The sound should be sweet music when the car takes a more public drive in two months, right back at home at Darlington Raceway.
https://www.nascar.com/wp-content/up...ge-235x300.jpgRacingOne | Getty ImagesEarnhardt indicated Friday that the vintage car is set to be

on May 7-9 at the South Carolina track, leading the pace laps for the May 8 race for the Xfinity Series. Dale Earnhardt Sr. was a three-time Darlington winner in the series, and twice drove a GM Goodwrench-sponsored No. 8 to Victory Lane there.

RELATED: Throwback Weekend shifts to May

The No. 8 Nova has undergone a painstakingly thorough restoration at the JR Motorsports fabrication shop, a process that Earnhardt Jr. has

on social media. He indicated that the car was once bodied as a Pontiac Ventura, and

through the use of archival photos.

Earnhardt Jr. won 24 times in his Xfinity Series career and was the tour’s champion in consecutive years (1998-99). His father is credited with 21 victories on that circuit since its rise to a national series in 1982.

The car’s planned Darlington appearance won’t be the first time a NASCAR Hall of Famer has presided over the pace laps in a historic car. Richard Petty was a memorable part of the 2017 Throwback Weekend, when he was

for taking one pace lap too many in his No. 43 Plymouth Belvedere.