"Those two pieces don’t fit": When Dale Earnhardt Jr. opened up on his 'relief' from NASCAR after becoming a father

Following his NASCAR Hall of Fame induction, Dale Earnhardt Jr. once opened up about how his priorities changed in the last few years of his career. After his marriage to Amy Reimann in 2016 and the birth of his two daughters in 2018 and 2020, Junior claimed that his perspective changed dramatically.

It's worth mentioning that after his marriage in 2016, Dale Jr. announced at the start of the 2017 season that it'd be his last as a full-timer in the sport. This announcement shocked his fans and industry insiders alike. Ahead of his induction into the HoF, in 2022, Earnhardt Jr. claimed that he felt ready to transition into the next phase of his life as a father and a husband.

“My girls and racing — those two pieces don’t fit together. I didn’t want to be putting myself in danger that might take me away from them, or to enjoy their growth, or just physically being in another place throughout the year. Being gone all the time — I hated that when I didn’t have kids. I couldn’t imagine it now," Earnhardt Jr. said.

Further speaking about how he felt after retiring from full-time racing, Dale Jr. said:

"That was kind of a relief for me because I didn’t have to get on that stage every week in front of all those people. I’m seeking a life and a lifestyle where I can do things with Amy, but I don’t have to get on a stage. To perform. To travel and grind. Any type of lifestyle that would involve that, I’m not interested in."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued to race in NASCAR despite his retirement in 2017

Even though Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought the curtain down on his career as a full-timer in NASCAR, he has raced every year in the Xfinity Series. In fact, Junior has remained competitive in his yearly appearances for his team, JR Motorsports.

In his first one-off appearance in 2018 at Richmond, Junior came away with a 4th place finish. Earnhardt Jr. followed up his top 5 finish in the next two seasons at Darlington and Homestead with a couple of fifth-place finishes in 2019 and 2020.

However, in 2021 and 2022, Earnhardt Jr. finished way outside the top 5 with a 14th place finish at Richmond in 2021, and an 11th place finish at Martinsville in 2022. In the next season, Dale Earnhardt Jr. raced twice in the Xfinity Series, at Bristol, where he ran among the top order for the better part of the race. But because of a fire inside his racecar, he finished in 30th place.

In his next race the same season, Dale Jr. finished again in the top 5 with a fifth-place finish at Homestead.

Earlier this season, in 2024, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was back behind the wheel of his #88 racecar again at Bristol, where he finished in 7th place. However, he made a big statement this season, as he claimed that his 2024 start could very well be his last in NASCAR as he ruled out a yearly appearance for 2025.

Having said that, Junior expressed interest in running his late-model stock car in the future.