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Dale Jr. - "I just wanted the opportunity to go out on my own terms"

In the end, the biggest decision of Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s NASCAR career didn’t take long to make and as is typical for him, he was more concerned about its consequences on others rather than how it affected himself.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet

NASCAR Media

Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet helmet
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet, Rick Hendrick
Ryan Newman, Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet and Matt Kenseth, Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Dale Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet
Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Earnhardt told a group of reporters in mid-February that he was going to wait a few months into the 2017 Monster Energy Cup Series season before making a final decision whether he would sign a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports.

As it turned out, he informed team owner Rick Hendrick of his decision to make this season his last on March 29.

“The reason I reached this decision is really simple – I just wanted the opportunity to go out on my own terms,” Earnhardt said Tuesday afternoon at a news conference at Hendrick Motorsports’ headquarters in Charlotte. “I wanted to honor my commitment to Rick, to my sponsors, to my team and to my fans.”

Earnhardt, 42, said he came to his decision shortly before his conversation with Hendrick.

“Every driver thinks about retirement and what they think that looks like for them,” he said. “I wasn't thinking about it too much until the last couple years. Once I realized how delicate things are, it's something I had to start thinking about quite seriously.”

"A lot to think about"

Earnhardt missed the second half of the 2016 season while recovering from a concussion he suffered in a race at Michigan last June. It was the second time in the past five years a concussion had forced him from his No. 88 Chevrolet.

“I had a lot to think about over the last several months, and I was not sure I would have the opportunity to compete this season,” he said. “It’s been a blessing and it's been a gift to be at the race track.

“During my rehabilitation, I was given something that I wasn’t accustomed to, and that was time – time to understand what’s important to me, time to realize the incredible support system I have. I just wanted to be able to make that decision myself on retiring and not have it made for me.

“I feel healthy.”

In fact, Earnhardt will continue to compete the remainder of this season. He also plans to fulfill a commitment to run two Xfinity Series races with his JR Motorsports team in the 2018 season.

Those races are likely going to be the extent of his on-track competition, however.

Telling Mr. Hendrick

Earnhardt said the hardest part of his decision was having to tell Hendrick.

“Without a shadow of a doubt I think the toughest thing about this decision was having to tell you. I just didn't want to disappoint you,” Earnhardt said to Hendrick, who was seated next to him on stage.

“You mean so much to me, and so on March 29th I drove over and had the conversation with him, and his response, he told me he loved me. Becoming a bigger part of your life has changed mine forever. You gave me guidance and direction that will reward me for as long as I live.”     

The decision was kept tightly held among a small group of people right this this past weekend’s race at Bristol, Tenn.

Monday’s rain-delayed race at Bristol nearly put a kink in the rollout of the announcement but Earnhardt was able to reschedule another commitment to put Tuesday’s program together. JRM and HMS employees were told of his decision early Tuesday morning.

“My heart loves being in the car. I love driving. I enjoy it as much as I ever have,” Earnhardt said. “There's a lot about it I really love. It's really emotional. I don't like letting people down, disappointing my boss. We all depend on each other to be there every day.

“To say I'm not going to be here one day is difficult. Because we all wish we could be here forever. I do have ambition to keep working. I don't want to quit working.”

Reiterating what was said in Tuesday morning’s press release from HMS, Hendrick said no decision had been made about who would drive for the No. 88 team next season.

“We’ve got a lot of people to consider – our partners, our sponsors,” he said. “We’ve been talking to them. Priority No. 1is to get everything prepared, get today over with. We’ll take time to decide what we do there.”

What would his father say?

As the news conference wound down, Earnhardt was asked what his late father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., would have said about him today. Earnhardt Jr. said he always left it up to other people who knew him to provide such answers.

Hendrick was more than happy to oblige.

“I knew his dad pretty well – very well – and he would be proud of the man that you are, what you’ve done for so many, all the charities and all the goodwill that you’ve done,” Hendrick said. “He would be … he is very, very proud of you.”

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