Dale Earnhardt Jr. officially completed his final NASCAR race on Sunday, completing an 18-year career in the sport. Earnhardt brought his car home in 25th place in the Ford EcoBoost 400, which was held in Miami. The driver announced he would be retiring from NASCAR back in April 2017, so at least his fans had time to prepare.
Dale Earnhardt Jr has officially retired from NASCAR. He completed his final race in Miami, rounding off an 18-year career.
Earnhardt Jr Suffers Difficult 2017 Season
Following his retirement announcement, Earnhardt had a relatively disappointing final season in NASCAR. During the course of 2017, he was unable to win any races and once again didn’t win the season series. This particular prize has always been out of reach during his career. However, Earnhardt didn’t spend any time focusing on any shortcomings in his career. He said he will always look back fondly at his time racing, which saw him win 26 times. This included winning the Daytona 500 on two separate occasions.
Earnhardt Jr said, “When I was little, I didn’t think I’d win the Daytona 500. I didn’t think I would have the fortune to be around the people that I’ve been around. And to have done what I’ve done, inside the car or outside the car, never would have dreamed it. Never.”
Decision to Retire Easy for Earnhardt
While Earnhardt has a great passion for NASCAR, he also said the decision to retire was a relatively easy one. He landed up missing the second half of the 2016 season, recovering from a concussion. He was also concerned about a repeat injury, one that could lead to long-term problems in the future.
Dale Earnhardt Jr has always been a fan favorite and was also liked by many sportsbooks. However, his 2017 season was a big disappointment for those betting on him. He was actually the 3-1 favorite to win the Daytona 500, which was held back in February before a crash took him out. Since then, though, the odds of him winning plummeted and he had a 66-1 chance of winning his final race.
It didn’t matter though, all he wanted out of his final race was to finish it and drive back into the pits and share some beers with his team. He got what he wanted, and the team at Casino US wishes him the best for his retirement.
