NASCAR: How long will Dale Earnhardt Jr. compete in Xfinity Series races?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently spoke with FanSided’s own Mark Carman, and he discussed a variety of NASCAR-related topics, among them his one-off entries in the Xfinity Series. How long will he continue to return to the sport to compete in these races?

Fan-favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced his impending retirement from the NASCAR Cup Series in April of 2017 before going on to finish out the 2017 season and stepping away from the sport after it ended. But that hasn’t kept him away from competing in NASCAR altogether.

In a recent interview with FanSided’s own Mark Carman, the 44-year-old Kannapolis, North Carolina discussed “scratching the itch” when it comes to continuing to compete in NASCAR despite the fact that he retired from full-time Cup Series competition at the end of the 2017 season.

Earnhardt Jr. stated that had it not been for health concerns primary stemming from the concussion-like symptoms that he suffered in the twilight seasons of his 18-year career in the Cup Series, he would still be driving today, and given his passion for racing that is still on display in more ways than one, there is no reason to doubt that.

Have a listen to this 12-minute interview with the Cup Series’ 15-time Most Popular Driver Award winner.

Earnhardt Jr. discussed his return to the Xfinity Series late last season driving for JR Motorsports, the team that he co-owns, and the success that he had in his lone race at Richmond Raceway. He is also set to compete in this August’s race at Darlington Raceway, marking another one-off start for the driver/team owner.

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The question is, for how long will Earnhardt Jr. continued to “scratch the itch” and return to Xfinity Series competition for what could very well become an annual tradition?

First of all, you have to consider his passion for not only NASCAR but racing. He signed with NBC to become an analyst for NASCAR on NBC beginning in the 2018 season, and his role with NBC led him to contribute to NBC’s inaugural broadcast of the Indianapolis 500 just a few weeks ago alongside former NASCAR and IndyCar driver Danica Patrick. It also led to him driving the pace car to get the “Greatest Spectacle in Racing” underway, and throughout the broadcast of the race, he couldn’t stop talking about how great the event and the tradition associated with the event are, even compared to the Daytona 500, the crown jewel on the NASCAR schedule.

Secondly, you have to consider Earnhardt Jr. as a human being. He discussed how, in general, he is actually a very shy person, but he has never been one to shy away from pleasing the fans, namely the fans that make JR Nation the largest individual driver fanbase the sport has to offer. With that in mind, there’s no telling when he might officially hang up his helmet.

Finally, you have to consider how competitive he is. Driving in one race each season, he knows that he can’t expect to go down on the track and dominate. Yet in his lone start last season at the four-turn, 0.75-mile (1.207-kilometer) Richmond Raceway oval in Richmond, Virginia, he led a race-high 96 of the race’s 250 laps after starting in second place before going on to finish in fourth in his #88 Chevrolet.

He could undoubtedly add a few more wins to an Xfinity Series resume that already features 24 of them in 140 starts. Let’s not forget, he is a two-time Xfinity Series champion, and while he never won a Cup Series championship, his two Daytona 500 victories and 26 career Cup Series victories still render him as one of the sport’s top drivers.

We could very well see Earnhardt Jr. driving in one Xfinity Series race each season for several seasons yet. One race is a heck of a lot different than 36 races as far as health is concerned, which he made clear in his interview, and as long as he can still put on a show for the fans, it’s hard to picture him turning down the opportunity to compete.

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I’m not saying that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will become the next Morgan Shepherd and compete in NASCAR Xfinity Series races at the age of 77, much less the majority of Xfinity Series races at the age of 77 like Shepherd does, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see him back behind the wheel of the #88 Chevrolet for several more one-off entries over the next several years. After all, he said it himself: never say never. Especially given his position as JR Motorsports team co-owner, there is more than one reason to believe that he said what he meant.

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