Your inbox approves Men's coaches poll Women's coaches poll Play to win 25K!
Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. finds life in post-racing career more fun, less stressful

Bob Velin
USA TODAY

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — As always, the shadow of Dale Earnhardt Jr. looms large over Daytona International Speedway this weekend, even if the iconic No. 88 Chevrolet didn't have Junior behind the wheel when the green flag dropped Sunday on the 60th Daytona 500.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks to the media during a press conference Sunday morning.

Earnhardt is in Daytona, of course, but as the owner of his JR Motorsports team, which finished 1-2 in the wild, five-overtime, wreck-filled Xfinity race here on Saturday, as a manager of his expanding business empire, as a TV star and as the grand marshal on Sunday, the guy who gave the first order of business: “Drivers, start your engines.”

On Monday, he will jet off to Pyeongchang, South Korea, to work with NBC during the last week of the Winter Olympics. A few weeks ago, he was working the Super Bowl in chilly Minneapolis.

“The calendar has been really full,” a smiling Earnhardt said. “We’re flying to Korea Monday; after that we’ll be part of the NASCAR America show, until July when we get in the booth (NBC will take over from Fox in July to air the races during the second half of the NASCAR season). A lot of things going on, got a new Whisky River (restaurant) opening in Raleigh in the few weeks, and just a lot of little things that I’ve had that were fun and that I’ve finally had more time to invest in.

“Amy (his wife) says when I’m home and don’t have a lot of things to do, I just get up off the couch and pace around the house, and then sit back down on the couch and complain. So it’s probably good to have been so busy and I’ve enjoyed it.”

Yep, life is good for Earnhardt these days, who was voted NASCAR’s most popular driver for 15 years running.

Earnhardt appeared relaxed, and during a late press conference Saturday night after his Xfinity drivers Tyler Reddick (the winner) and Elliott Sadler ended the season-opening race with the closest finish (0.000) since NASCAR went to electronic scoring in 1993, he talked about life after racing.

“It’s been nice not having to worry about performance, or living up to expectations — your own or someone else’s,” he told reporters. “It’s been great to get all that off my shoulders. This is the first race we won on Saturday where I’ve not had to worry about Sunday.

“I walked around every day of my life with a thousand pounds on my shoulders, that was Sunday. Now that I don’t have that on my shoulders and don’t have to worry about that anymore, everything in my life is so much more enjoyable.

"Everything was nowhere near as enjoyable as it could have been or should have been, and with all that out of the way, man, I’m livin’, I’m lovin’ and having a good time. I haven’t had any nerves about the broadcasting stuff. Really excited about talking NASCAR.”

Earnhardt couldn't wait to get to Daytona this week, a place that has been a huge part of his family’s life. It’s where his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr. was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, and where Junior won NASCAR's most famous race twice, in 2004, six years after his father’s only win in the Great American Race, and in 2014.

He said the experience could have turned him against the place, but instead he chose to embrace it. Yet he said on Sunday that he doesn't feel the need to honor his dad on the anniversary of his death.

"I knew how special this place was to my dad. So it's more meaningful to me personally, than maybe a lot of other competitors, as the cornerstone of our series and the birthplace of racing," he said. "But I made peace with this place a long time ago with what happened. I decided to remember this as the place where he lost his life. And that to me is a positive, not a negative. I did not want to feel any negative feelings when I came here.

"I love this track, I love the history, I wanted to be rooted in this sport and that means I want to be at Daytona when they race here.

"So that was the choice I made a long time ago, and I feel very comfortable here. I try to make him proud in everything I don't but I don't particularly feel the instinct to do anything to honor him. His fans do that."

Earnhardt said he has been having a blast so far. “We did a couple Q and A's across the racetrack and had so much fun doing that, and (the race) is going to be a great time, too.  We've got a lot of things racked up for the morning with the grand marshal opportunity that I have, and looking forward to that. 

"It's been interesting, though, seeing it from this perspective, and this race is going to be so interesting, obviously, with what the cars have been like for the guys driving them.  I'm really curious and excited about what kind of race we're going to see tomorrow, and I think it's going to be interesting.”

Earnhardt picked Joey Logano to win Sunday's race. "Joey Logano has the best opportunity to win the Daytona 500. He's getting my spotter, T.J. Majors. I know how good T.J. is at the (restrictor) plate tracks," Earnhardt said. "Joey is already a pretty damn good plate racer. So, put them two together and they're going to be pretty hard to beat."

He also believes the 2018 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Championship will come down to Kyle Busch and defending champion Martin Truex Jr. — again.

"The championship again comes down to Kyle and Martin. Kyle Busch will be there," said Earnhardt.  "You will have to beat Kyle Busch to win the championship."

 

Featured Weekly Ad