Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s heartfelt shift from achieving his dream to living for his children’s milestones: “I did everything I wanted”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has opened up about what he's looking forward to in his future now that he has accomplished everything he set out to do. The former NASCAR Cup Series driver is now focused on being there for his children, providing for them until they are ready to leave the house after they graduate from college. Earnhardt spoke about his children-oriented goals on a recent podcast appearance, stressing that there is nothing he feels that's pending for him to complete personally.

Speaking on the podcast Bussin' with the Boys, Dale Jr. was asked if there was something that he would "do anything for". The 15-time Most Popular Driver award winner's plan is to be invested in the next phase of his children's lives.

"I've already done all the things. I did it all. I did everything I wanted. There's nothing sitting in front of me where like..'S**t I hope that happens'. I want to be more excited and invested in what happens between now and my kids graduating school and moving out of the house."

Dale Jr. also spoke about the possible avenues his kids might explore, but the main thing for him would be to equip them with the tools required for the real world.

"Are they going to play sports? Is it going to be dance? Whatever it's going to be, right? What're we going to get into? Whatever happens between now and them graduating college, which I hope they do, all that's fine - they choose. But I want to make sure when they leave the house to be adults, they are equipped with all the tools."

The former Hendrick Motorsports driver and his wife, Amy Earnhardt, have two daughters together. They had their first child Isla Rose in 2018 and their second child, Nicole Lorraine, in 2020.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained why it was important for his children to see him race

Dale Earnhardt Jr. with his daughter Isla Rose during pregame warm ups between the Charlotte FC and the Colorado Rapids at Bank of America Stadium, April 15th 2023 - Source: Imagn

In November of last year, the former Cup Series drove the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet at the Florence Motor Speedway during the annual Florence 400. One of the reasons that Dale Earnhardt Jr. got back in the car, despite having retired from racing in 2017, was to show his daughters who he is as a racecar driver instead of them seeing it through old photos and videos.

On an episode of the The Dale Jr. Download from November 2024, the driver explained:

“I didn’t wanna not race in front of them and then when they are 15 to 20, have to go, ‘Yeah, check this out, I had this whole other life, and they would be like, ‘Man, I wonder what that was like,’ even looking at videos and pictures.” [via People Magazine]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified for the race at the Speedway in 40th, but quickly climbed to second place until a mechanical issue caused him to drop out of the race.