Dale Earnhardt Jr. reveals whether or not he's done racing after P7 performance at Bristol
Hopefully, you enjoyed watching Dale Earnhardt Jr. race tonight. He might not do it again for another couple of years. At least, the NASCAR icon is taking a year off from racing in the Xfinity Series.
Even though Dale Earnhardt Jr. is retired, he likes to make a start or two each season in the Xfinity Series. It is fun for him, and allows him to understand the car as a team owner and TV broadcaster.
Tonight was another fun night of watching Junebug race at Bristol. He didn’t lead laps like last year, but a P7 result is more than a 49-year-old driver can hope for at any level of NASCAR.
“Yes, yes I did. I was worried because it was heading the wrong direction there quickly,” Earnhardt Jr. explained in his postrace interview. “But yeah I’m having some problems with my helmets and stuff and the wiring, ear plugs and all that stuff all year with my late model stuff. And um, there may be something in the harness. They said this was a winning harness from [last week] could have got some champagne or something in it from Watkins Glen.
“But you do your best, right? And we try not to lose any laps and try to figure out how to get it right. We finally got to where I could hear TJ and the balance of the car was really good. Dropped the track bar to try to help the free end, and didn’t need to do that. That probably cost me a spot or two. But I’m thrilled. Come out here and be competitive. Man, I don’t know how much longer I’l be able to be competitive. I can come out here another 20 years but you know, eventually these young kids they just get to be so good. So it’s fun to be able to run with them tonight.”
So, what about the future for Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Does he have another start in him?
Dale Earnhardt Jr. reveals future racing plans
Now, there is good news and bad news. I’ll give all of you the bad news first. Dale Jr. is not going to race in the Xfinity Series next year. His deal with Hellmann’s that required him to race once a year is ending. They no longer require him to race, starting in 2025, as part of the JR Motorsports deal.
But, he believes he will be back. Likely in 2026.
“No, I mean the thing is I’ve been doing this with Hellmann’s and Unilever, great partner. Been doing this, where I’ll run one race and they’ll do about six or eight races on the [No. 7]. Next year they say, ‘Hey, you know, we’re going to do the races, don’t need you to run.’ I said, ‘Man I just might sit out intentionally.’ I gotta work on my broadcasting, new patterns and all that,” Earnhardt explained. “So I want to be great. Been missing you guys at NBC and you know the CW and all that. I feel like I need to really focus on that. That’s really the priority. So, I want to do well in the booth and maybe I’ll get back in this thing. I’m sure I’ll miss it and end up signing up for something in 26 [2026].”
No Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the track, but he will be in the booth. Amazon Prime Video and TNT have hired Earnhardt for the summer slate of races on the respective networks.