Dale Earnhardt Jr. To Retire At The End Of 2017

The end of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series will mark the end of the road for Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a fulltime driver. The 42-year-old announcing today that he will retire at the end of the season. The son of legendary Dale Earnhardt Sr. made his Cup debut on May 30^th, 1999 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Since then, Earnhardt Jr. has won 26 Cup races and been voted NASCAR’s most popular driver by the fans 14 straight years.

Earnhardt Jr. broke into the Cup Series driving for his father’s team, Dale Earnhardt Inc. Following eight full seasons with DEI, Earnhardt Jr. left and joined Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. Hendrick Motorsports saying in a press release they will announce plans for their 2018 team alignment at a later date.

Earnhardt Jr. Career Highlights

April 2, 2000 – Wins first Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race at Texas Motor Speedway

July 7, 2001 – First Cup Series win at Daytona. Followed his father’s fatal crash in February during the Daytona 500

February 15, 2004 – Wins first Daytona 500

June 15, 2008 – Wins first race with Hendrick Motorsports

February 23, 2014 – Wins second Daytona 500

November 15, 2015 – Most recent Cup Series win at Phoenix International Raceway