Earnhardt says he’ll retire at end of year
Most popular driver in NASCAR wants to keep health intact.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The Earnhardt era of NASCAR opened its fifinal chapter Tuesday when Dale Earnhardt Jr. said he would retire at the end of this season, his 18th as a full-time driver in the Cup series. It will bring to a close the golden days of the sport, when Lee and Richard Petty helped build a stock car series that they turned over to Dale Earnhardt to carry into the next phase.
When Earnhardt died in a crash on the fifinal lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, the burden fell on a young Earnhardt Jr. to fifill a void. His decision to walk away did not come lightly for NASCAR’s most popular driver and is a blow to a series scrambling to hang onto its fans.
Earnhardt called the decision, revealed to team owner Rick Hendrick on March 29, “very bittersweet” and admitted he shed tears as he pre- pared for Tuesday’s announcement. But he wanted to go out on his own terms rather than have injuries dictate when he left. He missed the second half of last season because of concussion symptoms.
“Having inflfluence over my exit only became meaningful when it started to seem most unlikely,” Earnhardt said. “As you know, I missed a few races last year and during that time I had to face the realization that my driving career may have already ended without me so much as getting a vote on the table. Of course, in life we’re not promised a vote, and that’s especially true in racing.”
Earnhardt had delayed talks on an contract extension to drive the No. 88 Chevrolet, and the t wo-time Daytona