Dale Earnhardt Jr. is retiring from NASCAR

(Image credit: Matt Sullivan/Getty Images)

published 25 April 2017

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. is retiring from racing at the end of the 2017 season, Hendrick Motorsports reported Tuesday.

Earnhardt, 42, spent 18 seasons behind the wheel, totaling more than 600 races. He has won two Daytona 500 crowns and two championships, and has been voted NASCAR's Most Popular Driver a record 14 consecutive times. Earnhardt's father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., was a NASCAR Hall of Famer who died in 2001 in a collision in the final lap of the Daytona 500.

Earnhardt missed the final 18 races of 2016 due to a concussion. In his eight starts this year, he has one top-10 finish. Earnhardt's final NASCAR Cup Series race will take place on Nov. 19, at Homestead-Miami Speedway.

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Jeva Lange was the executive editor at TheWeek.com. She formerly served as The Week's deputy editor and culture critic. She is also a contributor to Screen Slate, and her writing has appeared in The New York Daily News, The Awl, Vice, and Gothamist, among other publications. Jeva lives in New York City. Follow her on Twitter.

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