It’s official.
The 2017 season will be Dale
Earnhardt, Jr.’s last a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver.
The third-generation driver met
with team owner Rick Hendrick to inform him of his decision on March 29 of this year, and the
team confirmed just moments ago that
after 18 seasons and more than 600 career MENCS starts, Earnhardt
will step away at the end of the 2017 campaign. Earnhardt has driven for HMS
since 2008, collecting nine of his 26 victories with the organization.
One
year ago, concussion symptoms forced Earnhardt from the cockpit of his No. 88
Chevrolet for the second time in his career. NASCAR’s 14-time Most Popular
Driver missed the final 18 races of the season, prompting widespread
speculation that he would never return to competition.
“You
want it to be on your terms,” said Earnhardt during the lengthy recuperation
that followed. “You want to be able to say, ‘Alright, I’ve had enough. I’m
done.’ If you get hurt and are forced to quit, that’d be incredibly emotional.”
Earnhardt
refused to be carried from the battlefield on his shield last season;
vanquished by a foe hidden deep inside his brain. After months of healing and
therapy, he returned to competition in February at Daytona International Speedway, climbing back
behind the wheel of his familiar, silver-and-blue Chevrolet and running up-front
until a mid-race crash spoiled his bid for Victory Lane.
He returned to the sport on
his own terms. And now, he will leave it the same way; walking away -- of his
own accord -- while ranking as one of the most competitive and popular drivers
of his era, or any other.
It
is a fitting exit for a man who has given so such to the sport that has framed
his existence from the beginning.
His
childhood included a superstar father who was habitually absent while fulfilling
the obligations of a NASCAR champion, often at the expense of his own children. Many of the
photographs of Earnhardt, Jr.’s youth feature him in the background of various
Victory Lane ceremonies, home from military school just long enough to stand on the sidelines as his legendary father celebrates with team members, sponsors
and a stepmother who -- to this day – did little to include him in her husband’s
happiness.
After
such a rocky start, the relationship between Earnhardt Sr. and Jr. took many years
to repair. And just when it had finally begun to bear fruit, “The Intimidator”
was killed on our sport’s grandest stage, leaving his youngest son to shoulder an impossibly
heavy burden of expectation that he had neither asked for, nor welcomed.
Despite
a pair of championships in what is now the NASCAR Xfinity Series, Earnhardt,
Jr. has heard his share of criticism over the years.
“He’s
not his daddy.”
“He’s
not aggressive.”
“He’s
not a seven-time champion.”
Admittedly, Earnhardt,
Jr. has never won a MENCS championship in his 18-year career. Currently ranked
24th in the championship standings, he is unlikely to do so this
season, either. But at this point, who really cares?
When
fans look back on Earnhardt’s career, they will certainly remember the wins and losses. But more importantly, they will remember the easygoing style that made him so beloved
across NASCAR Nation. Last season, 25% of all NASCAR souvenir sales included
Earnhardt’s name, number and/or sponsor. His fan base crosses international,
economic and intellectual borders, and NASCAR will be hard-pressed to replace
him in that regard.
Equally difficult to replace
will be the honesty, humility and sense of humor that have made Earnhardt a Media
Center favorite since his earliest days in the sport. No one puts more thought
into an answer than Junior, and while he has never been a standard-bearer or spokesman for his fellow drivers, his opinion carries a weight and importance that very few competitors have ever equalled.
Despite
his multi-million dollar bank account, Earnhardt remains a man of the people.
Like his father before him, Junior resonates with the working man; the guys
who build tree houses in their backyards and fill the woods with old junk cars.
Make
no mistake about it, however. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. is not his father. Never has
been, never will be.
They
share a name and an avocation, but that’s where the similarities end. Dale Earnhardt,
Jr. is no Intimidator. The “bull in a china shop” style that made his father a
cult hero has never been part of Earnhardt the Younger’s racing DNA. With
Junior in your rear-view mirror, you are more likely to be outfoxed that
outmuscled; a fact that never sat entirely well with the small segment of his fan
base that cheered him because of his genetics, rather than his personality.
Earnhardt
has always been his own man. A man that we will miss seeing behind the wheel of
a 200-mph NASCAR race car.
But
let’s be honest. Since his injury at the midpoint of last season, most observers
understood that Earnhardt’s driving career would likely be measured in months,
rather than years. In many ways, he has raced on borrowed time since then, willfully
dodging the high-speed impact that could end his career at any moment. If he is
able to do so for another 28 weeks, the third-generation driver will walk away
with life and limb intact, able to devote his attention to his JR Motorsports
Xfinity Series organization, and – more importantly – to life outside of
racing.
Recently
married to the former Amy Reimann, Earnhardt spoke in January of last year
about the impact marriage has had on his life.
"It's a very cool thing,”
he said, “and I am so frustrated with myself that I didn't do it sooner. I didn't
know things could be this good. It’s a great feeling to be able to depend on
someone and (have) them be accountable and be there."
"Having
her in my life has made my life an amazing thing.”
Now,
there will be time for Dale and Amy to grow and explore as a couple, perhaps even
starting that family he has spoken so glowingly of in the past.
And as
for us, we will be just fine, you and I. NASCAR will survive without Dale Earnhardt,
Jr., in the starting lineup, just as it did 15 years ago with his legendary father.
