Dale Earnhardt Jr. says he feels good, hints at new contract
By Nick Tylwalk
No worries Junior Nation, as your driver is thinking more about a new contract than retirement.
Prior to the 2016 NASCAR season, no one would have expected anything but Dale Earnhardt Jr. re-upping with Hendrick Motorsports after his current contract expired in 2017. He wasn’t old enough to retire and still had that elusive championship to chase, and Hendrick would be silly to let him go considering what he brings to the party in terms of marketability.
Then Earnhardt missed the second half of the schedule last year due to concussion symptoms and the future got a little bit murkier.
Now health is definitely a factor, but Earnhardt told the media at Auto Club Speedway that he’s doing the things he needs to ensure he’s as cautious as possible with his long-term health and anxious to keep driving. And he expects to do it for the same team he’s with now.
“We have had some discussions about planning to get together,” Earnhardt said in a video from NASCAR.com you can see below. ” It’s not something I put on the shelf, for sure. We’re getting closer and closer.”
Junior spoke about needing to make sure he felt good in the car, noting that he met with NASCAR’s safety advisors and listened to all of their tips about things he could to maximize his well-being. He also lamented needing a concussion as a motivating factor, saying, “sometimes you gotta get a kick in the butt to do something.”
In the end, Earnhardt Jr., Hendrick and the No. 88 are a combination too good to break up unless absolutely necessary. If he was dropping off and not contending for race wins or he had a health setback, everyone involved would be excused for reconsidering.
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But for now, it seems much more likely news of a contract extension will be coming sometime during this Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season.
“I’m not in any hurry to sit down and have those discussions,” Earnhardt said. “But we have been chit-chatting a little bit about when we need to go ahead and start heading in that direction.”