This race weekend marks one year since Dale Earnhardt Jr made his last NASCAR National Series start at Bristol Motor Speedway in 2025. While he has no plans to race in the future, the 49-year-old reflected on his time racing part-time in NASCAR and spoke about the potential to make another start in the future.
Dale Earnhardt Jr is by no means retired from racing, but his future racing in NASCAR’s top divisions remains uncertain. Last fall, Earnahrdt made his most recent one-off start at Bristol Motor Speedway, but was open about the fact he had no plans to race in the NASCAR Xfinity Series in 2025.
This has remained the case throughout the season, as both of his numbers, the No. 8 and No. 88, have raced full-time with JR Motorsports this year, and the team’s part-time No. 9 has played host to Trackhouse Racing drivers. Though he has remained active racing Late Models in the CARS Tour, questions remain about his future racing on a national scale.
When asked about missing this weekend’s race at Bristol during this week’s episode of The Dale Jr Download, the NASCAR legend reflected on his time racing part-time, and left the door open to racing in the future.
Earnhardt opened by saying that these starts throughout the past few seasons were fun, but once he started getting into the depths of the race, he was just happy he went out and started the race, no matter the result.
“I’d be running along about stage two, halfway through the race, and I’m sitting there thinking to myself, ‘I wanted to do this. I’m here, and I got in the car, and I drove it and I’m good, you know?’ . . . I guess sitting there running around and going, ‘Man, I’ve had fun. I’m pretty content. I could pull over and get out and not care about the end result.'” – Dale Earnhardt Jr
At 49 years old, Earnhardt seems content with the efforts he made racing one, and sometimes two, races in the Xfinity Series from 2018 to 2024, and reassured fans that “I have no plans to come back and do it.” Though this doesn’t mean that he won’t, as he says he will “probably regret” not racing a few more times when he is older.
He even went as far as to say, “I probably should run one or two more,” though he doesn’t know what track that would be at. Earnhardt has said numerous in the past that if the series went to North Wilkesboro, he would like to race, though he backtracked on those past statements during this episode, saying he wouldn’t due to the track’s repave.
But to this point, Earnhardt said that down the line, the pavement could wear down again, and that he doesn’t “have any problem with getting in my Xfinity car in eight years and running a one-off.”
Interestingly enough, the former two-time Xfinity Series champion listed two tracks in Tennessee as ones he’d like to race. The first track, to no surprise, was Bristol, while the second was Nashville Fairgrounds Speedway, a track the series has not raced at since 2000 and is currently attempting a NASCAR revival of its own much like North Wilkesboro did.
Since his retirement from full-time NASCAR competition and the NASCAR Cup Series in 2017, Earnhardt has, of course, made his name in NASCAR media, working with NBC from 2018 to 2023 and Prime Video/TNT Sports this season. But, this hasn’t kept the racing icon off the track.
He made eight Xfinity Series starts from 2018 to 2024 at Richmond, Darlington, Homestead, Martinsville, and Bristol. In these typically one-off races, with him having made two in 2023, Earnhardt scored a best finish of fourth at Richmond in 2018, and averaged a 10.1 finish for JRM.
Though he failed to win during this stretch, he showed speed and looked like a potential winner before a fire led to his only DNF of this period at Bristol in 2023.
Prior to 2022, Earnhardt started racing late models again, something he has kept doing into this season. Since 2022, Earnhardt has made 14 late model starts, finishing a best of third at North Wilkesboro in 2022 and averaging a 12.1 finish.
This season, the NASCAR legend has made three starts in the CARS Tour, finishing a best of 10th at Anderson Motor Speedway last month. He has one more race on his schedule this season on October 4 with the CARS Tour at Tri-County Speedway.
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It wouldn’t be Daytona without some weird, wacky, and headline-grabbing fallout. From viral Victory Lane moments to renewed debates about driver approval, NASCAR’s biggest race once again delivered more than just on-track drama. And with Michael Jordan celebrating a Daytona 500 win, the spotlight burned brighter than it has in years.
Jordan’s presence mattered. When the most iconic athlete of a generation shows genuine emotion upon winning the Daytona 500, it reminds the wider sports world that this race still matters. That kind of authentic publicity cannot be manufactured. It resonated far beyond the garage. Meanwhile, the O’Reilly Series race added fuel to another ongoing debate. The massive Decker crash, Cleetus McFarland’s Truck debut incident, and past approval inconsistencies have once again raised tough questions. Consistency, transparency, and accountability are now front and center. Add in Austin Hill’s dominance and Ryan Ellis’ career-best sixth-place run to open the season, and Daytona gave fans plenty to talk about on and off the track.
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Adam wasn’t just the grandson of Richard Petty or the son of Kyle Petty; he was a young driver building his own path, fresh off his Cup debut at Texas Motor Speedway and preparing for a future with Dodge and Petty Enterprises. His passing stunned the garage and deeply impacted fans who saw the Petty family as part of their own. From the unanswered mechanical questions to the emotional aftermath that eventually led to the creation of Victory Junction, this is where the Firestorm begins. The fear, the controversy, and the transformation of NASCAR safety all trace back to that Friday in Loudon.
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The O’Reilly series race at Daytona turned into a breaking point. One crash, one late reaction, and suddenly the conversation wasn’t just about race results, it was about standards, accountability, and who truly belongs at this level of NASCAR competition.
The Decker incident reignited long-standing perception issues, especially when outside commentary from figures like Mike Davis amplified the embarrassment factor. At the same time, NASCAR has stepped in before, blocking Wallace, sidelining others like Jennifer Jo Cobb, yet those interventions feel inconsistent. Wright’s pit road mistake added fuel to the argument that funding can outweigh readiness. McFarland, meanwhile, represents a different case, raw but potentially coachable, with time to develop if he chooses that route seriously. Money has always shaped racing careers, but when sponsorship outweighs preparation, the sport risks its credibility. Should NASCAR tighten its standards, or is this simply the cost of doing business in modern motorsports?
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