Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought his glittering NASCAR career to an end in 2017 but kept the spark alive with one-off appearances in the Xfinity Series each year. Sadly, it has been over a year since he last took to the wheel, and the signs suggest that he has finally decided to retire full-time. That said, there is still a “probably” attached to it.
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Earnhardt Jr.’s last race was at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 20, 2024. On his podcast the same year, he admitted to the possibility of it marking his final Xfinity outing.
Junior was pretty sure that was it, though he planned to keep running his late model “for a little while.” He also revealed he had no plans to return to the Xfinity grid in 2025, though 2026 remained on the table.
In the NASCAR legend’s words, he would be foolish to rule it out entirely, because he knows the itch to race never fully fades, and if a run could benefit his team, JR Motorsports, he’d be the first to sign up.
In his latest podcast, Dale Jr. almost cemented those thoughts by sketching out a shortlist of tracks where he might want to return. “I probably should run one or two more, but I don’t know if and when I’ll do that,” he began.
“I don’t really want to run Wilkesboro with a new pavement, but there’s a chance that by the time I’m 55 or 58 years old, maybe that payment’s kind of worn out a little bit, and I just hop out there and do it.”
“I don’t have any problem with getting in my Xfinity car in eight years and running a one-off… I’d run Bristol again. I’d run Wilkesboro once the pavement wears out. If they ever did go to Nashville, I’d probably contemplate going and running that one as well.”
Junior also entertained the idea of tackling a Truck Series race, but confessed he couldn’t settle on the right venue. Martinsville, he stated, fits his style, but he dislikes how the racing plays out there. In his view, the races are too short, never forcing drivers to truly wrestle with tire falloff.
Even so, Earnhardt Jr. acknowledged he’d enjoy running the Xfinity race at Martinsville, despite its own shortcomings. “It is miserable because the stages are too short,” he explained, remarking that drivers never reach the point where skill behind the wheel takes over.
Instead, once the tires lose grip and rear drive, the brakes overheat, the tires balloon with air pressure, and the entire balance falls apart. So, while Dale Jr. has not confirmed anything yet, he might return to Xfinity in 2026. Considering how big a draw he is, one can only hope he does.
