Earnhardt’s decision is a popular one
Dale Earnhardt Sr. died chasing his passion for racing. His son will walk away chasing his passion for life.
Dale Jr. announced Tuesday that he will retire from NASCAR’s highest circuit at the end of this season. The decision isn’t surprising, given the concussion symptoms that left him in no shape to drive for half of the races in 2016.
Instead, multiple concussions since 2012 have given him clarity.
“I wanted to be able to make that decision myself and not have it made for me,” Earnhardt said during a news conference in Charlotte, N.C.
The implication is obvious:
This was a proactive strike against the forces of nature. They were fully engaged against him last year. At one point, after being sidelined by a concussion, he couldn’t focus on road signs while riding as a passenger, so he put his head between his legs to avoid getting dizzy. He couldn’t put one foot in front of the other without falling over, he said, “like a drunkdriving test.”
There was no point in risking his health, nor his life. Not for a man with an estimated net worth of $300 million. Not for a recent newlywed, married to Amy Reimann on New Year’s Eve. Not for a man who has achieved far more than he ever thought he could, following his father’s iconic footprints.
“Growing up in that man’s shadow was going to be a really hard challenge, but I wanted to race, but I knew racing would put me in that shadow,” he said. “I knew the odds of me really having any talent at all and being able to do it were thin.
“I was afraid of not being able to do it. So I guess what I’m saying is I have accomplished way more than I’ve ever dreamed. … So I’m good, you know? I’m good on that front.”
Earnhardt, 42, has 26 victories on his resume, including a pair of Daytona 500 wins in 2004 and 2014. In the most recent win, he celebrated by posing in front of his father’s statue outside Daytona International Speedway.
“Look who I ran into at the Daytona Experience. Dad’s Happy!” Earnhardt tweeted, honoring his father, who died after an accident on the last lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001.
Earnhardt Jr. started tweeting that day on a dormant account and had more than 450,000 followers within hours. He now has more than 2 million.
That number speaks to his heavy footprints of generation next. He has never won a series championship competing in NASCAR’s highest tier, but he has been named the sport’s most popular driver for 14 consecutive seasons.
He will be irreplaceable, no matter what marketing plan NASCAR has in mind. A sport that has been struggling for mainstream relevance will now lose three crossover stars in as many years: Jeff Gordon in 2015, Tony Stewart in 2016 and Earnhardt in 2017.
Earnhardt says he doesn’t see himself “detaching from NASCAR,” committing to two lower Xfinity-circuit races for his Junior Motorsports team in 2018. But that’s nothing like competing in the 36-race grind of the Cup season, when Earnhardt moved the needle every week.
“It’s really emotional,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t like letting people down. We all depend on each other. To say I’m not going to be here one day is very difficult.”
Earnhardt didn’t specifically give a reason for retiring — a decision he shared in a private conversation with his team owner Rick Hendrick on March 29 — and one that has led to no second-guessing.
“I’m at peace with the decision,” he said. “I’m very comfortable with it.”
Most important, the decision is his. It is easy to connect the dots to concerns about his health.
Hendrick loves him like a son, and they have a profitable business relationship. It’s not like the owner was going to bounce him from the team.
So Earnhardt leaves because he can, and another world with his bride awaits, free from the demands and the dangers of racing stock cars at crazy speeds.
He is not his father’s son. Dale Earnhardt scoffed at some of the innovative safety devices a handful of drivers were using before he died 16 years ago.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has listened very carefully. It leads him to the truth, and the inevitability that he is not indestructible.
Nobody is.