As career comes to a close, emotions run high for Dale Earnhardt Jr.

With just this weekend's Miami-Homestead finale before this chapter closes on his career, the finality of his decision to step away from NASCAR’s top tour has started to hit home.

“Yeah, I feel like I almost need to apologize because I’ve got a pregnant wife, I’m retiring and I just feel like I’m going to break down any minute,” said Earnhardt, who starts 14th in the Can-Am 500. “I feel like every answer that I have, has some sort of sad undertones and very emotional temperament, but, yeah, it’s starting to really sink in.

“I hadn’t felt much. I went through Talladega, that was an emotional weekend regardless of how many races were left in the year. But, now, I think after Texas…I’m like, man it’s just a week away.  

“I am not sure that I’m like just ready to be going through all of that emotion that I will have in Homestead, but it’s coming. I hope that I can handle it well, but it’s definitely going to be interesting to see how that feels.”

After two decades, two Busch (now Xfinity) titles and 26 Cup wins, Earnhardt has just the races at Phoenix Raceway and Homestead-Miami Speedway to bolster his resume—not that that’s necessary. His on-track accomplishments along with winning NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Award for the last 14 seasons certainly makes Earnhardt a first ballot Hall of Famer.

But despite every week a different track feting Earnhardt and his Appreci88tion tour, nothing will prepare him for the moment he climbs out of that No. 88 Hendrick Chevrolet for the final time. 

And although his wife Amy has been his ultimate support system throughout the highs and lows of the last few seasons, the tables have recently turned.

“Amy being pregnant, bless her heart, she is tearing up at the drop of a hat,” Earnhardt said. “All these videos and all these things that our partners are creating, this content has just been incredible. It makes you feel so good in your heart.

“The comments from fans. It is more than you can process and I’m sure that Homestead is just going to be like the cork coming out of the bottle.  

“I’m lucky that Amy is going to be there, I’m lucky my family will be there and my team. I will have so much support and I want to support them. It’s going to be emotional for them and our fans. I don’t know really how to describe it, but I hope that you guys don’t mind it being a little bit heavy.”

Earnhardt will move into the NBC Sports booth next season. He’s made it clear that he won’t be far from the garage. Even last Saturday, as the face of JR Motorsports, the team owner celebrated his three drivers—Elliott Sadler, Justin Allgaier and Phoenix Xfinity race winner William Byron—transferring to the Championship 4. 

This weekend, Homestead is likely to honor Earnhardt like every track before them. Saturday, he’ll cheer on his JRM drivers to hopefully, their second Xfinity title. And on Sunday, Earnhardt will close out his final Monster Energy Cup season. 

His only regret? That his father won’t be there to share in the moment—or the ones that lie ahead. Earnhardt had to grow some large shoulders to carry the legion of fans he inherited after his father passed away. Being an ambassador for NASCAR took him down a different path of celebrity from his father and somewhat out of Earnhardt Sr.’s shadow.

“I don’t know that you are ever out from under it, but it didn’t bother me,” Earnhardt said. “But I was always compared to him and compared to his success, the person he was, people either liked I was different or didn’t like that I was different and wanted me to be just like him or whatever. It was often in conversation or part of the topic of conversation in articles and so forth.  

“I really don’t know when that started to happen. I guess it is happening now. I am going to go do something else after I’m done driving. Hopefully, I’m just as proud of my accomplishments in the booth as I am on the race track. I would love for that career to be a success and that would definitely be out from under his shadow.  

“But it’s not something I really put a lot of thought into. I just miss him so bad and wish he were here today to see all this happening. Yeah, I don’t know. I think you will always be compared to him one way or another, for better or for worse, as long as I’m around, I guess.”