This Might be Dale Jr’s Final Career Race

What’s Happening?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has continued making one or two starts in the NASCAR Xfinity Series since he retired from full-time racing in 2017. This year, Earnhardt chose Bristol for his race, but this might be it for the NASCAR Hall of Famer.

• Since stepping away from full-time racing, Dale Earnhardt Jr has not entirely quit racing. Along with short-track racing, Jr has entered the occasional Xfinity Series race. This race usually happens at Bristol, Martinsville, or Richmond.
• Earnhardt also hosts the popular Dale Jr. Download podcast. On this podcast, Earnhardt frequently speaks about his future in racing. Be that a short track he may go to in the future, or what his next Xfinity one-off race will be.

Where did Jr say this?

On the Sept. 3 episode of The Dale Jr. Download, Dale and his wife, Amy, were talking about Earnhardt’s entry at Florence Motor Speedway this past weekend.

Along with his part-time starts in the Xfinity Series, Earnhardt has entered multiple ZMAX CARS Tour Late Model races in the past three years. Earnhardt, along with fellow drivers turned media members Kevin Harvick and Jeff Burton, are part owners of the CARS Tour. The trio have grown the brand in their short time at the helm.

On the podcast, Earnhardt discussed how hot Late-model racing is. He remarked that there are options for cooler races at Florence and that he may look at those for future race dates.

Earnhardt also mentioned his upcoming Xfinity Series race at Bristol when discussing his forthcoming schedule. His wife, Amy, said she had forgotten that Bristol was happening. In response, Earnhardt might have slipped up on what his future in NASCAR looks like.

“That’s like the sign that maybe it’s time to, like, all right, we’ll close the book on racing in the Xfinity Series. … So everybody’s like, is this really your last race? I’m like… Probably. Yeah. I’m pretty sure, at least I’m.. keep running my late model for a little while.” — Dale Earnhardt Jr. on The Dale Jr Download

If this were Earnhart’s final NASCAR-sanctioned event, it would be worthwhile to watch. Bristol’s Food City 300 will be Sept. 20 at 7:30 p.m. ET. The race will be on a new network as the CW takes over Xfinity Series broadcasts for the rest of the season.

While Earnhardt isn’t leaving the sport entirely, if this really is it, an era in racing will end that night in Bristol.

**NOTE: A typo in a prior version of this article stated that the race was Sept. 30, rather than the actual date of Sept. 20.