NASCAR: Earnhardt Jr.’s Retirement

After Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s second concussion he suffered last season at Michigan, many knew the writing was on the wall. Earnhardt missed the final 18 races of the 2016 season, and during this time his future was uncertain. Eventually Earnhardt decided to return for 2017, but during the first eight races of the season something just wasn’t right. He only has one finish inside the top-10 all season, a fifth place finish at Texas, and he currently sits No. 24 in the points standings, nowhere close to where he normally runs. It was clear something was up.

This retirement was the right decision by Earnhardt. After his concussion, he has not looked the same this season. Earnhardt’s major reason for retiring was he wanted to retire on his own terms, and now was the right time for him to do that. He has accomplished everything one can in a NASCAR career: 26 career wins, two Daytona 500 victories, and the Most Popular Driver Award 14 times. The one missing piece of Jr.’s career was a championship, but that’s a void a lot of NASCAR drivers have in their careers. Plus, he also owns Jr, Motorsports, a NASCAR Xfinity Series team, as well as numerous other businesses he would like to focus on more.

As for who will replace Earnhardt in the 88-car in 2018, that is a massive toss up at this point. The two odds-on-favorites at this point would be Alex Bowman and William Byron. Bowman, a 24-year-old development driver at Hendrick Motorsports, filled in along with Jeff Gordon for Jr. in 2016, and proved he does have talent, nearly winning at Phoenix before getting wrecked by Kyle Busch and having mechanical issues ruin some other races for him. Byron, a 19-year-old Xfinity Series driver, won 7 races in the truck series last year and is Hendrick’s top prospect at this point. However, with only one year of Xfinity experience by the time 2018 rolls around, he may not be ready for a full time Cup ride just yet.

As for the future of NASCAR as a whole, with the sport’s most popular driver by far calling it quits, there needs to be a new fan favorite to sell tickets and to get people to watch. NASCAR has a great lineup of young drivers they could choose to promote, but the sport’s new most popular driver for 2018 and beyond will likely become 21-year-old Chase Elliott.

Elliott, the son of legendary racer Bill Elliott, is an extremely likable guy with a recognizable last name. He also took over the iconic No. 24 from Jeff Gordon in 2016, and in his second season he normally runs out front week in and week out. Look for him to become the new face of NASCAR going forward.

Photo Credit: NASCAR.com and Tampa Bay Times.