When Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke about the 'hardest part' of NASCAR outside of racing

Dale Earnhardt Jr. might be one of the most recognized names in NASCAR history, but back in 2017 - his final season as a full-time Cup driver - he made it clear that there's more to the job than just being behind the wheel. It wasn't the racing that pushed him toward retirement. It was everything else.

Dale Jr. appeared in Jeff Gluck's weekly 12 Questions series and gave fans a closer look at the side of the sport they rarely see. When asked about the hardest part of his job away from the racetrack, he said:

"The hardest part of my job away from the racetrack is probably appearances that are out of market, which means anything Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. Like (before Atlanta), we flew to Florida on Wednesday and then we did an appearance in Texas on Thursday and then we came (to Atlanta). It just eats up an entire day."

NASCAR drivers are some of the most accessible athletes in professional sports. Their responsibilities don't stop when the race ends. They are obligated to sponsor-related charities, media, and promotional events, which demand their time, energy, and presence. And after 17 years, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was exhausted.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. with fans before the 2024 Hampton Heat at Langley Speedway. Source: Imagn

"The appearances themselves are fun. Just the travel - we'd a 100-knot wind going out to Texas. It took us three hours to get there, do the appearance and then come home and it's 5:30. You leave at 9 in the morning. So the travel, I guess," he added.

For Earnhardt Jr., the life outside the racetrack had become harder than the racing itself. A month later, on April 25, he officially announced that the 2017 season would be his last in the NASCAR Cup Series. By the end of the year, the numbers told a modest story. Eight top-10 finishes, 21st in the final standings, and no wins in his final two years. But his move wasn't impulsive.

After suffering multiple crashes in 2016 at Michigan and Daytona, Earnhardt felt concussion symptoms and spent months on the sidelines. He returned, but his body wasn't in the same place anymore. Still, he didn't give up on racing entirely. He still ran part-time in the Xfinity Series and the late model races. But the full-time Cup chapter closed in 2017.

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"This is the sucky part about being an owner": Dale Earnhardt Jr. opens up on being a team owner

Dale Earnhardt Jr. with Justin Allgaier after the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Indy. Source: Imagn

Fast forward to 2025. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is no longer behind the wheel, but the frustration hasn't gone away. It's just changed form. This time, he wasn't talking as a driver. He was talking as the owner of JR Motorsports. After watching his team practically implode during the final laps of the Xfinity race at Iowa Speedway said on the Dale Jr. Download podcast:

"We'd a shot at winning it. We kind of stepped on (each other). So this is the tough part man. And this is the sucky part about being an owner, is your cars running into each other," Dale Jr. said on the Dale Jr. Download podcast. (29:07 onwards)

JR Motorsports had five cars in the HyVee Perks 250. Connor Zilisch, in only his fifth start, got loose during a three-wide battle and collided with Ross Chastain. That contact shoved Chastain up into Justin Allgaier, spinning out the team's veteran and reigning series champion.

Zilisch recovered to finish fourth. Chastain landed third. Allgaier limped home in 16th as the other JRM cars finished inside the top ten. Justin Allgaier was leading the standings again until the Iowa incident pulled him back into a tie with Zilisch with just four races left in the regular season.

For Dale Earnhardt Jr., the driver-to-owner transition has included its share of wins, losses, and internal drama.

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Edited by Rupesh