Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been around NASCAR for a long time and it has been amazing to watch his post-driving career flourish. This includes becoming a NASCAR Hall-of-Famer, an elite commentator for NBC Sports, and a podcaster for Dirty Mo Media.
Earnhardt Jr.’s presence is only good for NASCAR and that is why so many people are thrilled that he is trying to make the jump to the NASCAR Cup Series. It would be amazing to see the Earnhardt name back in the Cup Series ownership group.
While the idea of becoming a Cup Series owner is amazing, Earnhardt Jr. has two specific dreams in his mind that he would love to do as a team owner in the racing industry.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. wants to field a car in the Daytona 500 and Indianapolis 500
Earnhardt Jr. co-owns JR Motorsports in the NASCAR Xfinity Series and that has been the highest he has gone on the owner totem pole. The 48-year-old has not gone above the Xfinity Series but it is not from a lack of trying.
JR Motorsports “absolutely” wants to join the Cup Series but the issues have been related to the financial aspects of the deal. The charter market is currently through the roof as each individual charter is going for around $30 million.
To this point, the organization has been reluctant to make that type of financial commitment as it does not make sense since other financial requirements are needed. For now, JR Motorsports will continue to make noise in the Xfinity Series.
In the meantime, Earnahrdt Jr. revealed on his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, with Chip Ganassi that he has two specific dreams of being a racing owner. Neither includes fielding a car full-time in the Cup Series.
“There are two things that are dreams of mine that I would like to do. One of them is to field a car for the Daytona 500 as an owner. I want to be an owner with a car in the Daytona 500 once in my life. That’s a box that I want to check rather than just becoming an owner long term. I have the same dream to be an owner that fields a car in the Indianapolis 500…I’d love to know the emotion of putting a car in the grid for those two races an owner.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. discusses his two dreams of being a racing owner
It is not surprising to hear Earnhardt Jr. drop that bit of information about the Daytona 500; however, the Indianapolis 500 is a different beast. The spectacle still represents the biggest racing event of the entire year.
The idea of Earnhardt Jr. being a team owner in the Indianapolis 500 is simply incredible to think about as he continues to march forward after his retirement. It would probably take an alliance with another IndyCar team to make it happen.
While Earnhardt Jr. continues to pursue a spot in the Cup Series for JR Motorsports, there are dreams in the back of his mind that are still relevant and attainable if the right opportunity is presented to him.