Despite years since his retirement, Dale Earnhardt Jr. remains one of the most loved superstars in NASCAR. His opinion is respected, his name sells merchandise, and his driving still sends the crowds into a frenzy. It is why the fandom went bonkers when he made cameos at Bristol in the Xfinity Series over the past two years. The question is, will he continue appeasing us?
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A fan asked this on a recent episode Dale Jr. Download and got a clear answer, albeit not a very encouraging one. Junior has no plans to race again. He thinks that he has had his fill and just wants to sit back for now.
He said, “I’ll be honest. In those races, driving that car, I’d be running along Stage 2, halfway through the race, and I’m sitting there thinking to myself, ‘I wanted to do this. I’m here. I got in the car, and I drove it, and I’m good,’ you know.
“And so, nothing about it was, I guess, you know, sitting there running around and going, ‘Man, you know, I’ve had fun. I’m pretty content. I could pull over, get out and not care about the end result.”
The 50-year-old legend continued to speak about his Bristol race in 2024 and awed at how he had fought off hurdles to finish in seventh place. He then declared, “But I’ve no plans to come back and do it.”
All that being said, Junior is aware of the possibility that he could live to regret this decision sometime in the future. He was sure that if anyone asked him 15 years from today if he wished he had raced more, he would say yes.
That’s because he loves racing and it’s all the fun and competitiveness he needs in life. Moreover, the Bristol track is a venue that he holds very close to heart.
More about Junior’s final race in Bristol
The 300-lap Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2024 was Junior’s final foray into a national series event. It threw every possible issue imaginable at him. He battled radio issues, had to swap his helmet, change the wiring harnesses, and deal with missing glasses.
And yet, when Dale Jr. stood on the frontstretch after the checkered flag had flown, nothing could wipe that wide grin out of his face. He had raced the No. 88 Chevrolet to a hard-fought seventh place finish.
He said, “Just as frustrating as that is, it was important not to give up and lose a lap or anything and try to salvage what we could because we had a top-10, top-five car. And I’m glad we were able to get a good result with those issues.”
Without question, it was a fitting final appearance for Junior.
