Earnhardt Jr. to retire at season's end

Tuesday, 25 April 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Images by LAT, Getty Images for NASCAR

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will retire at the end of the season, Hendrick Motorsports has announced.
Voted the sport's most popular driver for the last 14 seasons, Earnhardt began his career with a start at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 1999. He has since accumulated 26 career wins, including two in the Daytona 500. He also captured a win in the All-Star Race as a rookie.

The 2017 season is Earnhardt's 18th in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series. His final race will be November 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Earnhardt, who turns 43 in October, shared the news with his team earlier today. He has driven for Hendrick Motorsports since 2008 after leaving his late father's team, Dale Earnhardt Inc.

 

Earnhardt Jr.: I'm retiring 'on my own terms'

Tuesday, 25 April 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Images by Getty Images for NASCAR

Not long after Dale Earnhardt Jr. decided he wanted to retire from Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series competition he drove to Hendrick Motorsports to do what he called the toughest part.


Earnhardt met with team owner Rick Hendrick in late March, where it was finalized that this season would be his last in the Cup series. But for as simple as Earnhardt’s reason was for making the decision, the 42-year-old was only thinking about how he didn’t want to disappoint his boss.

“You mean so much to me,” Earnhardt said Tuesday during his announcement at Hendrick Motorsports. “On March 29th, I drove over and had the conversation with him, and his response, he told me he loved me. Becoming a bigger part of your life has changed mine forever. You gave me guidance and direction that will reward me for as long as I live.” As for Earnhardt providing one of the most shocking – but not entirely unexpected – announcements, it was a classic case of the Earnhardts always doing things their way.



“I wanted the opportunity to go out on my own terms,” Earnhardt said. “I wanted to honor my commitment to Rick, to my sponsors, to my team, and to the fans. I'll admit that having influence over my exit only became meaningful when it started to seem most unlikely. As you know I missed a few races last year and during that time I had to face the realization that my driving career may have already ended without me so much as getting a vote at the table.

“Of course, in life we're not promised a vote, and that's especially true in racing. But during my rehab, I was given something else I wasn't accustomed to, and that was time. Time to understand what's important to me, time to realize the incredible support system I have in my wife, my team and my doctors. And time to work like hell to wrestle back some semblance of say-so in this whole matter. And so that became my motivation. The opportunity to stand here at this point to announce my choice rather than some fate that was decided for me.”

At peace with and comfortable in his decision, Earnhardt admitted he’s more worried about the fallout. The future of the No. 88 team is still to be determined, Hendrick said, and Earnhardt hopes the transition for the team, whom he called brothers and a privilege to drive for, as well as the organization, will be a smooth one. There are a lot of things for them to be excited about in the future, Earnhardt said.

Although he will compete in two Xfinity Series races next year for JR Motorsports, Earnhardt believes that will be the extent of his time behind the wheel. The decision is final. Upon making it and revealing his intention to Hendrick, Earnhardt has not second-guessed himself.

A two-time Xfinity Series champion and two-time winner of the Daytona 500, Earnhardt has amassed 26 career wins since making his first Cup start at Charlotte Motor Speedway in May 1999. Earnhardt joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2008 after eight season driving for his late father’s team, Dale Earnhardt Inc.

“Normally when there was – we just extended [his contract] – I get the call from [Dale’s sister] Kelley (Earnhardt Miller) saying, get the paperwork ready,” Hendrick said. “So, when he said he wanted to talk to me, I kind of had this inkling it might be pretty serious. I felt like a member of my family came and sat down with me and said this is what I’ve decided to do and immediately, I’m disappointed, I mean I’d love to have him drive for as long as I own a race team, but as the conversation went on I felt like we’re going to do things together and this this was going to come at some point.

“It was a tough conversation. Very emotional conversation, not tough, but just because of our relationship and how we care about each other.”

When the series rolls into Richmond International Raceway this weekend, Earnhardt said his press conference will be a distant memory. But it was still one where Earnhardt come off as composed and confident, carried many emotions.

“There are a lot. Very, very bittersweet,” Earnhardt said. “At a very young age all I wanted to do was make a living driving cars. I didn’t set goals like – I didn’t dream of winning championships or Daytona 500s or working with one of the best owners in the business, driving for one of the best organizations. I just wanted to do it right. I just wanted to do it.

“I guess what I’m saying is, I accomplished way more than I ever dreamed. Way more than I ever thought I would accomplish.”

 

[h=2]Earnhardt: Larson, Elliott are NASCAR's future[/h] Tuesday, 25 April 2017


Kelly Crandall / Image by LAT

Dale Earnhardt Jr. didn't hesitate when asked which drivers should have people excited about the future of NASCAR now that he's going to be joining Tony Stewart and Jeff Gordon in retirement.


"Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott just to name two of probably a dozen guys that I'm excited about," Earnhardt said Tuesday. "I think that's all I read about on Twitter yesterday, was how awesome the race was and how much fun it is to watch Larson, and it's true. He's a real talent. And all those guys have great attitudes, great personalities."


NASCAR will be in need of new stars with the recent year after year departures of some of its biggest names. Gordon retired following the conclusion of the 2015 season. Stewart after 2016. Carl Edwards also announced his shock decision to step away from racing this January. Greg Biffle, who was the oldest active driver in the series, left Roush Fenway Racing and has not competed this year.

Earnhardt has been the sport's most popular driver the last 14 consecutive seasons. But he's carried the banner far longer with an ever-growing fan base, nicknamed "Junior Nation," as well as large presence within the sport because of his personality and last name.

That will be gone after November 19 when he runs his last race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

"I feel like these are the guys that, they're the cream of the crop, and maybe I'm the only one that sees it in this room, but I really have a lot of confidence in the personalities that we have,' Earnhardt said. "I think that these guys that are coming in, they're really sharp and smart about how to utilize social media, how to engage fans. You see the stuff that [Ryan] Blaney and Bubba [Wallace] do, and they're not afraid to really show their personalities.

"We've just got to get them in front of the fans, let the fans get to know them, and I think the rest will take care of itself. But I'm thrilled. We definitely have tons of talent (in the sport). There's no question. But I love the people they are.

"Larson is cool as a cucumber. Easy to talk to, marketable. Chase is the same way. Chase is so easy and approachable. That's what you've got to be. These guys are effortless at it. So, once they start to pick it up and understand the power of what they have at their fingertips, the sky's the limit for NASCAR. I'm super excited about the future."

Team owner Rick Hendrick has spotted a few talented drivers in his career, including Gordon, and now with Elliott under his banner. He, too, sees the widespread talent in the sport.

"I can remember when the question was all of our drivers are in their 40s or they're going to be, what are we going to do when they retire?" Hendrick said. "I think we've got the answer. They're here, they're young, they're aggressive, they're fun.

 

Earnhardt: Focus turns to finishes, not points

Sunday, 30 April 2017


By Kelly Crandall / Image by John Harrelson, LAT

As an old B.B. King song goes, "If it wasn't for bad luck, you know I wouldn't have no luck at all." Nine races into the season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. knows the feeling.
Earnhardt finished 30th Sunday at Richmond International Raceway – the fifth time he's ended up 30th or worse this season. Everything that could have gone wrong did in the Toyota Owners 400: a speeding penalty, colliding with his teammate (Jimmie Johnson), cutting down a tire and going for a spin. Afterward, Johnson and Earnhardt talked it over, with Johnson telling Earnhardt he didn't even know the 88 was there before the two made contact coming off Turn 2.
"Just terrible luck," Earnhardt said of his day. "I don't know what to do, but we were probably going to finish anywhere around 10th to 15th, not all that awesome, but we just have such terrible luck."
It wasn't all bad. On Friday, Earnhardt made it to the final round of qualifying and earned the 12th starting position. But after moving forward on one run, the speeding penalty knocked Earnhardt outside the top 20, where he found himself stuck.

"We're supposed to run two yellow lights [on the dash], then when you get in the curve we go up to two orange," Earnhardt said. "I had two yellow and one orange, I was pretty conservative but they said we sped. We're real aggressive with our lights, we need to be maybe a little more conservative just so we can get through a couple of these races without issues like that. But all I can do is run the lights like the dash is programmed."
Before the car was torn up, Earnhardt admitted he was happy with how it had reacted to changes. The team was planning on using strategy to try and get to the end by staying out longer as the leaders began to pit, which worked until Earnhardt and Johnson collided, resulting in the cut right-rear tire that brought out the caution. He finished two laps down.
"Car took it well," Earnhardt said of the damage. "Tore the sway bar off it, so we finished the race without a sway bar, but still, luck this year is just awful. I don't know what else we need to do. We're out there taking care of ourselves and running along and something always seems to bite us."
Last Tuesday, Earnhardt announced this season would be his last in the Cup Series, but he's not content to just ride around. Performances like Sunday's are not going to cut it when Earnhardt says he wants to run well and win a few races before this year is over.
"[Crew chief] Greg [Ives] told me last week we weren't looking at them anymore," Earnhardt said of his position in the points. "We're just going to try win a race. We're so far back – if you're sitting 15th, 16th, 17th, probably can't help but look at points then.
"We're sitting so far back we just got to get this thing to where we can finish. Put some races together. I'm just going to concentrate on trying to get about five or six races put together in a row [of] top-15s. See what the points look like after that."