Speculation about Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s swan song at Bristol Motor Speedway seems to have been exaggerated.
Earnhardt’s appearance in Friday night’s Food City 300 had been rumored to be his last national series race, but Earnhardt said before the NASCAR Xfinity Series event that he wouldn’t rule out racing in the future—even if he stays on the sidelines until 2026.
The NASCAR Hall of Famer, who turns 50 on Oct. 10, said Friday he has no plans to race on a national level next year, but that doesn’t mean he’ll stay off the track for good.
“I’m not planning on racing next year,” Earnhardt said. “I’ll be foolish to say I’m never going to run again, because I don’t know well enough to stay away from it, and I’ll probably miss it next year and be absolutely willing to sign up for any thing that might be beneficial to JR Motorsports.”
Earnhardt pointed out that his decisions to drive have been influenced heavily by his responsibilities as an Xfinity team owner. In 2025, however, he doesn’t have any sponsor demands to race.
“I don’t have a requirement to run next year, so I may just not do it,” Earnhardt said. “I will miss it terribly, regret that I didn’t race and probably in 2026 find me somewhere I can go compete in the Xfinity Series again.”
Whether he races or not, Earnhardt’s expectations and perspectives have changed.
“If I just run all the laps, I’m happy,” Earnhardt said. “I don’t really look at results as much anymore. I’m happy about a great result, for sure. But when you only get to go to the ice cream store once a year, you want to eat the whole thing.
“So I want to run all the laps and see the checkered flag, and I’ll be happy about that.”
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