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Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s retirement means NASCAR's future has arrived
NASCAR’s transition from the roaring cigarette-sponsored behemoth it was in the 1990s to its new stage race and playoff format of the 2000s never seemed more imminent than it did as Dale Earnhardt Jr. stood behind a podium at Hendrick Motorsports on Tuesday and announced that he was retiring from the Cup Series at the end of 2017.
Junior, the sport’s most popular driver for the past 14 seasons, has been the sport’s strongest link to the glory days of NASCAR, largely thanks to his iconic last name and the fans he inherited upon his father’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500.
Fans might have initially gravitated to Junior because of his last name, but he was more than just Dale Earnhardt’s son too. As his father was known as a driver with a mythic reputation for being unafraid to knock anyone out of the way, Junior didn’t try to emulate his father. And, throughout the course of his 19-year career, transformed from young gun with a party reputation to an honest, introspective veteran with a solid grasp of NASCAR history and his place in it.
That grasp means Earnhardt is keenly aware of how his retirement affects the sport that brought his family name so much fame. 2018 will be the first season since 1974 that a man named Dale Earnhardt hasn’t competed in a race at NASCAR’s top level.
There will be a massive personality void in the Cup Series to fill next season and the pressure is now on the series’ 20-somethings to fill it. The good news for NASCAR is that they’re already handling the performance aspect of it. Three of the top four drivers in the points standings through the first quarter of the season — Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott and Joey Logano — are all 26 or younger.
“Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, just to name two of probably a dozen guys that I’m excited about,” Junior said. “I think that’s all I read about on Twitter yesterday was how awesome the race was and how much fun it is to watch Larson, and it’s true. He’s a real talent.
“And all those guys have great attitudes, great personalities. I know them well enough to be excited about how fans are going to know them in the future. I feel like that these are the guys that they’re the cream of the crop, and maybe I’m the only one that sees it in this room, but I really have a lot of confidence in the personalities that we have.
“In my history of being around the sport, there’s kind of always been these little gaps in between everything that cycles, whether it’s fashion or drivers or cars or whatever. It never really is a seamless transition from one to the next. I think that these guys that are coming in, they’re really sharp and smart about how to utilize social media, how to engage with fans.
“You see the stuff that [Ryan] Blaney and Bubba [Wallace] do, and they’re not afraid to really show their personalities. That’s completely different than any of us older guys. We’ve never been like that. So this is a new batch of guys that are going to do things in a new way. They’re going to bring a lot of color and excitement and energy to the sport. We’ve just got to get them in front of the fans, let the fans get to know them, and I think the rest will take care of itself. But I’m thrilled. We definitely have tons of talent. There is no question. But I love the people they are.”
But, as Junior alluded to in his comments about the next wave of NASCAR faces, it’s not going to be a seamless transition. Dale Earnhardt didn’t become the Intimidator overnight — he made starts with five different teams before winning his first race and championship with owner Rod Osterlund and subsequently moving to Richard Childress Racing. A fanbase takes time to develop.
Junior has said previously that when he retires he’s going to be an Elliott fan. The 21-year-old drove for Earnhardt in the Xfinity Series and has spent since 2016 as Junior’s teammate at Hendrick Motorsports. And, like Junior, he’s the son of a former NASCAR champion. Elliott’s father Bill won the 1988 Cup Series title and is the only driver to have more most popular driver award wins than Junior.
But every NASCAR fan looking for a new favorite driver can’t all converge on Elliott. By driving Jeff Gordon’s famed No. 24 car he already picked up a lot of the four-time champion’s fans after Gordon’s retirement in 2015. And there are probably Carl Edwards and Tony Stewart fans who are also looking for new drivers to support.
Bill’s most popular driver prowess is proof that while the name Dale Earnhardt has been synonymous with NASCAR, the sport has never been all about an Earnhardt. Other drivers, whether they’re named Petty, Johnson or Allison have all garnered significant support.
With Blaney, Logano and Larson — not to mention champions in their early 30s like Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski — there are plenty of options for fans to choose from once Junior takes his final laps at Homestead in November.
But 2018 — or 1 P.E. (Post-Earnhardt) if you prefer — will be a lot like buying a new pair of jeans or even overhauling a wardrobe: There may be a lot of trying on and even a few returns. Plus there’s always an adjustment period. The key for NASCAR is keeping those Earnhardt fans around long enough to get comfortable again.
“Larson is cool as a cucumber,” Junior said. “Easy to talk to, marketable. I mean, and Chase is the same way. Chase is so easy and approachable. That’s what you’ve got to be. These guys are effortless at it. So once they start to pick it up and understand the power of what they have at their fingertips, the sky’s the limit for NASCAR. I’m super excited about the future.”
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Nick Bromberg is the editor of Dr. Saturday and From the Marbles on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at nickbromberg@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!
