Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Formidable Legacy will Continue Off the Track

Dale Earnhardt Jr. gives a statement announcing his retirement from NASCAR after the 2017 season at the Hendrick Motorsports Team Center on April 25, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo – Mike Comer/Getty Images

The suddenness and finality of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Tuesday retirement announcement may have sent shock waves through the world of NASCAR racing, but from a global viewpoint, the timing couldn’t be more appropriate.

And it’s not as if NASCAR’s 14-time most popular driver will disappear from the stock car racing landscape when he stops driving a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series car at the end of the current season. Continue reading

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Wanted to Step Away on his Own Terms, Announces 2017 will be Final Season

Dale Earnhardt Jr. answers questions from the media during a press conference to announce his retirement from NASCAR after the 2017 season at the Hendrick Motorsports Team Center on April 25, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo – Mike Comer/Getty Images

More than anything, Dale Earnhardt Jr. wanted to be the master of his own destiny.

In announcing his retirement from Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing on Tuesday at the Hendrick Motorsports campus in Charlotte, North Carolina, Earnhardt described his primary motivation during months of physically and emotionally exhausting rehabilitation from a concussion that sidelined him from the final 18 races of the 2016 season. Continue reading

Dale Earnhardt Jr. to Retire following 2017 Season

Dale Earnhardt Jr. gives a statement announcing his retirement from NASCAR after the 2017 season at the Hendrick Motorsports Team Center on April 25, 2017 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Photo – Mike Comer/Getty Images

Dale Earnhardt Jr. today announced that he will retire following the 2017 NASCAR season.

This morning, NASCAR’s 14-time Most Popular Driver broke the news to his No. 88 Hendrick Motorsports race team, followed shortly thereafter by a press release from Hendrick Motorsports to publicly announce the retirement. According to the release, Earnhardt and team owner Rick Hendrick first met about the driver’s decision on March 29. Continue reading

Evolve, Adapt, and Overcome or Become Obsolete

Bill France Sr Photo – Getty Images

With the recent announcement of the new format for the Monster Energy All-Star Race to add a tire option, spirited discussions began immediately. After eight races with the new Stage racing at every type of track except a road course, most people have settled on their opinion of its entertainment value and impact on the sport. Some of the calls on the talk shows seem negative, but look at what changes the sanctioning body has made to improve the beloved sport of stock car racing.

From the beginning, NASCAR founder William Henry Getty France, known as ‘Big Bill’ ruled his creation with a ‘Iron Fist,’ crushing two different attempts by the drivers to form a union. The first was in 1961 when Teamsters leader Jimmy Hoffa and star driver Curtis Turner attempted to form the Federation of Professional Athletes prominently featuring NASCAR drivers.  France prohibited any union member from participating in any NASCAR events with authority: Continue reading

Sneaky Fast Kenseth Comes from Nowhere to Fourth

Matt Kenseth, driver of the #20 DeWalt Toyota, drives during practice for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 21, 2017 in Bristol, Tennessee. Photo – Jared C Tilton/Getty Images

Throughout most of Monday’s Food City 500, Matt Kenseth was all but invisible.

As the track changed throughout the race at Bristol Motor Speedway, however, Kenseth’s fortunes changed for the better. Continue reading