Could Dale Earnhardt Jr. Return Part-Time in 2018?

While Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to retire at the end of the 2017 season, there is a chance that he may return to NASCAR as a part-time driver in 2018. Will it happen?

Just over two months ago, Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced that he would retire from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series following the conclusion of the 2017 season. But what he also announced is that he would still drive in a few Xfinity Series races next season.

"“I don’t see myself really detaching from NASCAR. My intention is still to be involved in the sport on some level. In fact, I still have two XFINITY races to run for JR Motorsports in 2018, so even after this season is over, you’ve not seen the last of me on a racetrack.”"

While this weekend’s Coke Zero 400 is his last race at Daytona as the full-time driver of the #88, is there a chance that it may not be his final Daytona race in the Cup Series? Is there really a chance that Earnhardt Jr. may actually return for a few Cup Series races in addition to some Xfinity races next season? There’s definitely a chance, but how likely is it? It’s more likely than you may think, at least according to the man himself at a recent interview at Sonoma.

"“Well, you never say never. I’m just retiring from full-time racing. I’m going to run some XFINITY races next year. I don’t know that I won’t ever run the Daytona 500 again, if the right deal comes along. All these tracks you have memories at, all of them, Daytona included.”“I’m going to be coming back to these tracks, and I want to continue to be part of the sport. I don’t know how it’s going to affect me really. It’s hard for me to put that into words, because I don’t know what that is going to feel like. It will be pretty weird I think to come back to the 500. I’m going to go to the 500 whether I’ve got any work to do or not. It will be pretty weird to be there and not race.”"

Given that Earnhardt Jr. himself is interested in a potential return to the Cup Series for some races next season, that is reason enough to believe that he could indeed come back. But as we all know, sometimes things just don’t happen simply because drivers want it to.

However, in this case, the respect that Earnhardt Jr. has earned over the course of his NASCAR career increases the likelihood of Earnhardt Jr. not being finished racing in the Cup Series after the conclusion of the 2017 season, as do a few key statistics.