Bristol Motor Speedway has always been a favorite stop on the NASCAR circuit for Dale Earnhardt Jr. So much so, Earnhardt has continually wondered why others haven’t tried to replicate the half-mile track across the country.

Coming off the first off weekend of the season, Bristol is the site of this weekend’s Food City 500 and on Tuesday’s edition of the “Dale Jr. Download,” Earnhardt and his wife, Amy, shared some of their favorite Bristol memories. Earnhardt scored a win at Bristol in the August 2004 race (ABOVE: Earnhardt’s No. 8 passes Rusty Wallace for the win), which was a weekend that saw Earnhardt become the first driver to sweep both the Xfinity and Cup Series races.

In recalling his Cup Series win, Earnhardt revealed what comes to mind isn’t the accomplishment itself.

“I remember that race because I had been burned in the Corvette that year, so I had this big open wound on my leg, and I was having to wrap it every day, about twice a day,” Earnhardt said.

The burns Earnhardt suffered occurred during the warm-up session for the ALMS race at Sonoma Raceway a month earlier. A NASCAR off weekend, Earnhardt joined Boris Said to compete in the race to earn more road course experience with the Corvette Racing team. The car spun on the first lap and hit the tire barriers before catching on fire, leaving Earnhardt with second-degree burns to his neck and legs (pictured below).

A week later at New Hampshire, Earnhardt started the Cup race to earn points but turned the car over to Martin Truex Jr. Earnhardt ran the full races at Indianapolis, Watkins Glen and Michigan, before winning at Bristol. (Below: Junior grabs a broom to celebrate his Bristol sweep.)

“At one point that weekend (at Bristol), like Friday or Saturday, I was getting in the car for practice, and I was trying to get my seatbelt tight, and one of my crew members came in there to help me and accidently punched me in the leg – and oh my god, did that hurt,” Earnhardt continued. “It started to just bleed so bad … I had the wound doing really well (up to that point), and that set me back.”

Earnhardt qualified 30th for the Sharpie 500 but charged through the field and led 295 of 500 laps. When asked by Amy what his car looked like after the race, referencing the rough nature of Bristol, Earnhardt said it might have only had a scratch or two on it.

“That (punch) busted it open, and it was bleeding like crazy, so I’m changing it out, but it’s sore and hurting,” Earnhardt said. “We win the race and champagne got down inside there in victory lane, so I’m standing in victory lane during all those pictures, and my leg is on fire because of the champagne going into that.

“It was terrible. It was so bad.”

The Bristol win propelled Earnhardt into the playoffs where he won twice more, Talladega and Phoenix. Although he took the point lead after Talladega, Earnhardt was penalized for cursing in victory lane and would ultimately finish fifth in the standings.

As for the burns, Earnhardt was left with scars but made a full recovery. He is still searching for a second win at Bristol.