CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) – NASCAR is losing yet another popular driver due to retirement.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has announced that he will retire as a driver at the end of the season, saying he wants to go out on his own terms. The 42-year-old Earnhardt missed much of last season due to concussion-like symptoms, and he acknowledged Tuesday that the time off played a role in his decision. He’s become an advocate for research of sports-related brain injuries.
The two-time Daytona 500 winner just got married and says he wants to start a family.
His decision comes months after Tony Stewart stopped driving and less than two years after Jeff Gordon’s last full season.
Earnhardt says he is committed to participating in two Xfinity Series races in 2018 and that “even after this season, you have not seen the last of me on the racetrack.”
Click on the link above to hear what Darlington Raceway President Kerry Tharp had to say about Jr.’s news.