(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)
After 18 seasons, legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. has announced he will retire from racing following the 2017 season.
Earnhardt, who won has won the title of Most Popular Driver 24 times, won 26 times in 603 starts over a career that began at age 24 in 1999.
Earnhardt won two Daytona 500 crowns (2004, 2014) and two championships (1998, 1999) in what is now the NASCAR XFINITY Series.
Via NASCAR:
Earnhardt, 42, returned to competition in the No. 88 Chevrolet this year after a concussion sidelined him from NASCAR’s top series for half of the 2016 season. Through his rehabilitation process, Earnhardt has become a vocal advocate for research of sports-related brain injuries.
Earnhardt’s best finish in eight starts this season was fifth place at Texas Motor Speedway on April 9. He currently is ranked 24th in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series standings.
Earnhardt currently drives the No. 88 Chevrolet for Hendrick Motorsports and drives the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro for his own team, JR Motorsports, in select events in the Xfinity Series. He had famously previously driven the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., his father’s team.
Earnhardt Jr. has amassed an estimated net worth of $300 million over the course of his NASCAR career.
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