Dale Earnhardt, Jr., will run
his final race as a full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series driver at
Homestead Miami Speedway Sunday. A two-decade career pockmarked by a series of debilitating
concussions prompted NASCAR’s perennial Most Popular Driver to announce that he
will step away from the sport at season’s end, relinquishing the seat in Rick
Hendrick’s potent No. 88 Chevrolet while still blessed with physical and mental
faculties necessary to live a normal, happy life after racing.
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| Dale, Jr. will be missed |
Dale seems fine with that decision.
The rest of us, however, are struggling with the idea of a NASCAR race without
Junior in it.
Drivers come and go with time.
They always have, and they always will. Father Time is undefeated, and
Earnhardt is not the first driver to be coerced into an early retirement by
injury. As safe as NASCAR has become in recent years, Dale Jr. knows better
than most how cruel this game can be, and how tenuous our grip is on tomorrow.
We will most certainly miss
him on the race track, where every pass generated a joyous eruption from the
grandstands. Junior never equaled the on-track success enjoyed by his legendary
father, but if he had been born Dale Smith, Jr. -- rather than Dale Earnhardt
-- his 26 career MENCS wins would have him discussed alongside the sport’s
elite. Add another 24 victories and two championships in Xfinity Series competition
and you’ve got a resume that 99% of racers would be proud to call their own.
It is off the track, however,
where Earnhardt will be missed most.
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| Junior's Homestead throwback car |
Over the years, he has gone
from a reticent, painfully shy interview to one of the most insightful and
candid voices in the sport. In the early days of his career, Earnhardt’s
press-conference repertoire was limited to, “yup, nope” and “guess so.” Not yet
able – or willing -- to step out of his father’s all-enveloping shadow, Junior struggled
to find his voice, staring at the ground, sucking nervously on his lower lip
and wondering aloud why reporters and fans cared about his opinion at all.
In time, however, Junior
became his own man. The loss of his father, coupled with the painful and
senseless demise of the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. race team taught him valuable lessons
about the unfairness of life. An eventual move to the juggernaut Hendrick
Motorsports organization established him as a superstar in his own right; far more
than just his father’s son.
In subsequent seasons, the
once subdued Earnhardt slowly evolved into a Media Center favorite; a “go to
guy” for reporters in search of insightful quotes and opinions on the current
state of the sport.
Earnhardt always seemed to
feel a sense of responsibility when dealing with the media. He told reporters
once, “If you’re going to ask me a question, the least I can do is
to think about my answer.”
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| Earnhardt was thoughtful with the media |
Far more than the wins and
Top-5 finishes, that’s what I will miss about Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
In a testosterone-rich sport
where the reaction to injury has historically been “suck it up and walk it off,”
Earnhardt singlehandedly changed the tenor of the conversation. After suffering a concussion in a high-speed crash at Talladega Superspeedway, Junior’s decision to step out of
the car in the midst of the 2012 playoffs changed the way professional athletes
– in all sports -- look at head injuries. If it was okay for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
to put his health above all else, it was okay for others to do so, as well.
We will never know how many
lives have been impacted – or even saved -- by his example.
With that said, however, Earnhardt
is already dropping subtle hints that Sunday’s Ford EcoBoost 400 may not be his final race, after all. Spirits
soared here at Homestead earlier today, when he asked reporters whether NASCAR
rules would allow him to take part in next season’s Xfinity Series finale. Whether he’s truly thinking of racing again one day, or simply
yanking NASCAR Nation’s collective chain, Earnhardt proved once again that very
few athletes “move the needle” as effortlessly as he.
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| "Quickly making up for lost time..." |
Whether or not he ever straps
in for another NASCAR race, Earnhardt will continue leave an indelible mark. Next
season, he will move to the broadcast booth as an analyst for NBC Sports,
bringing his unique insight and perspective to fans around the globe. It is
entirely possible that Earnhardt will prove more valuable to NASCAR as a TV
analyst than he was as a driver, and his JR Motorsports Xfinity Series
team has established itself as one of the premier organizations in NASCAR’s
second-tier.
Junior may be retiring as a
full-time driver, but he’s definitely not going away. With a loving wife and a
new baby on the way, Earnhardt is finally poised to experience the joys of
life, outside the race car. By his own admission, he was a bit late arriving at
that particular dance. But from all indications, he and Amy are quickly making
up for lost time.
We wish him the best in that,
and in his continuing efforts here in NASCAR.
Thanks, Dale, for sharing yourself
with us. Thanks for sharing your talent, your intensity and your competitive
fire. Thanks for sharing your successes and failures, your triumphs and your
tragedies. Thanks for making us a part of your family, and for becoming part of
ours.
Godspeed, and thanks for the
memories.
