In the final race of NASCAR's regular season at Richmond, Earnhardt made his debut with a Nationwide-sponsored No. 88. He raced to a 12th-place finish, after what was a long, difficult night for the team. Despite struggling at the 3/4-mile track, Earnhardt seeded third in the Chase grid, behind series leader Brad Keselowski, and tied with Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Joey Logano for 2nd place. He started the Challenger Round of the Chase with an 11th-place finish in Chicago. The following week at New Hampshire, Earnhardt finished a solid 9th-place finish, giving him a comfortable advantage to make the Contender Round after Dover. At Dover, he finished 17th to make it to the next round.