Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been retired from full-time racing in the NASCAR Cup Series since the conclusion of the 2017 season; however, that has not stopped him from running races in the sport overall.
Earnhardt Jr. still runs select races in the NASCAR Xfinity Series with two on the horizon for the 2023 NASCAR season. It may not seem like a lot of events but it is still great to see him involved in NASCAR after his retirement.
The idea of running the All-Star Race at North Wilkesboro Speedway seems intriguing but Earnhardt Jr. said he will not do it this time around. However, the 48-year-old owner would run more NASCAR races under a specific scenario.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. would run more NASCAR races if this scenario happened
Earnhardt Jr. has not competed in any NASCAR Cup or Truck Series races since his retirement at the conclusion of the 2017 season. Since then, he has driven in five NASCAR Xfinity Series races with a best finish of fourth place in 2018.
Earnhardt Jr. has driven a car for his organization, JR Motorsports, in every race since his retirement. On the flip side, he has never attempted a NASCAR Truck Series race in his career but it is not because he lacks interest.
On his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt Jr. talked about running the Truck Series race at North Wilkesboro Speedway and revealed why he has not done any at this point in time.
“I would be interested…I’ll tell you this. If the (NASCAR Truck Series) did not have stages, I would run at (North Wilkesboro Speedway). I would have already ran at (Martinsville Speedway) if the Trucks didn’t have stages.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on running events in the NASCAR Truck Series
It is understandable why Earnhardt Jr. is not a fan of stages in the Truck Series, specifically at Martinsville Speedway. The stages are short and the drivers beat each other up really quickly sometimes.
If not for the stages, the story of Earnhardt Jr. running NASCAR races would be different. He would be competing in more each season but the sport’s decision to have stages has unfortunately ruined that idea.
Maybe, Earnhardt Jr. will try out a Truck Series race down the road or NASCAR will remove stages from the series. If so, the NASCAR world could be seeing more of Earnhardt Jr. behind the wheel.