I cannot say I am shocked about the news that NASCAR’s most popular driver for the past 14 years, Dale Earnhardt Jr. will retire at the end of the 2017 season.

Hendrick Motorsports announced Earnhardt’s plan to retire Tuesday morning.

I said at the end of last season when he missed the final half of the year due to a concussion, that I would not have been surprised if he would not have returned for this season.

But I also said I knew he probably did not want to go out that way and returned this year in order to go out on his own terms.

Earnhardt has not run well this season, and I questioned how committed he was to racing due in part to what happened last year.

I would never question Dale’s commitment to winning or his team, but when you had to sit out due to that injury and with what we now know about concussions, you have to wonder.

Earnhardt is in a good place with his life. He is happier than I have ever seen him. He got married during the offseason and has a successful XFINITY Series team.

I can see him venturing into the Monster Energy Series at some point in the near future once he steps out of the car.

I cannot imagine what it was like to be the son of the late Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Trying to follow in the footsteps of his legendary father could not have been easy. It was made even tougher with his on-track death in 2001, when the NASCAR world expected Dale Jr. to carry on not only the legacy of his family, but the entire sport.

I am sure it took a toll on the young driver, but he carried the burden with dignity and class.

Earnhardt has enjoyed success at racing’s highest levels, but never the type of success that was envisioned for him when his career began.

He won a pair of XFINITY Series championships back when it was the Busch Series. He won 26 Monster Energy Series races in 603 starts since he debuted in 1999 at the age of 24.

I am sure if you ask Dale, he will tell you that his biggest accomplishment was winning a pair of Daytona 500s, something his legendary father only did once, and that was after more than 20 attempts.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been the face of NASCAR for more than a decade.

With the retirement of Jeff Gordon last year and now Earnhardt Jr., the sport is starting a transition stage.

Sure, Jimmie Johnson and Kyle Busch are still around, and there are some great personalities left in the sport, but NASCAR and its current sponsor Monster Energy are going to really have to start cultivating its next generation of stars.

But for now, we can start the Dale Earnhardt Jr. retirement tour.

I had no plans of covering either race at Michigan International Speedway this year, but I may now have to make an exception, as I would like to see Dale Jr. race one more time.

 

Scott Novak is sports editor for Leader Publications. He can be reached at scott.novak@leaderpub.com.