NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt Jr. expects to race again in 2019

No worries, JR Nation: Dale Jr. all but confirmed he’d be making at least one appearance in a NASCAR race next season.

Even before the Go Bowling 250 at Richmond Raceway, Dale Earnhardt Jr. downplayed the idea it would definitely be his final NASCAR race of any kind. Undoubtedly, a number of fans tuned in anyway on Friday night just in case.

If you weren’t one of them, you missed Earnhardt leading more laps than any driver and claiming his first stage win ever (yes, really). But it sure sounds like you did not miss his last NASCAR start.

After finishing fourth, Dale Jr. told his NBC Sports co-workers that while he only wanted to run well and have fun, leading the race made him reshuffle his expectations. He then made it sound an awful lot like he’s already planning on doing this again in 2019.

“We’ll try to do another one next year,” Earnhardt said, before mentioning that it would be fun figuring out where that might happen.

Junior’s previous comments made it clear that he would consider an other XFINITY Series race in 2019 as long as a company was willing to throw some sponsorship dollars at his four regular JR Motorsports teams, not just to support him personally. Given his enduring popularity and the fact that those other cars often win races and run for championships, it would be hard to believe someone wouldn’t be willing to take him up on that.

And hey, maybe Earnhardt will let his millions of fans help him decide where to race. He’s very active on social media, so if you want to see him in the 88 at the track nearest you, might as well get to work on persuading him now. You definitely don’t want to miss his next potentially final race ever.