“I don’t know how much longer I’ll be competitive”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts following top 10 finish at Bristol

Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacted to his P7 finish in the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Following the 300-lap event at the 0.533-mile racetrack in Tennessee, the two-time Xfinity Series champion said that although he would love to keep racing in NASCAR, younger drivers are likely to get more competitive than he would ever be.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired back in 2017 with 631 races to his credit in a 17-year-long Cup Series career. However, he has been competing in at least one race every season since his retirement.

Last year at Bristol, Dale Jr. led 47 laps before getting ousted from contention due to a mechanical issue in his car with 29 laps to go. However, he did get to celebrate in the victory lane as an owner for Justin Allgaier, who drives the No. 7 JR Motorsports machine, emerged victorious and advanced to the next round in the playoffs.

This time around, the driver-turned-analyst wheeled his No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevy to the top-10 finish that he missed out on last year. Speaking of how much longer he can keep racing, Earnhardt Jr. said during a post-race interview with CW:

"I'm thrilled (to) come back here and be competitive. Man, I don't know how much longer I'll be able to be competitive. I can come out here for another 20 years, but eventually, these young kids get to be so good."

According to a recent report by Yardbarker, Dale Jr.'s P7 finish was his 96th top-10 performance in 147 Xfinity starts. For now, the veteran racer will take his time off of racing and focus on what lies ahead of him in his career as a broadcaster.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. sets his priorities straight for the future

Dale Earnhardt Jr. arrives at the driver introductions for the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway (Source: Imagn)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined NBC Sports as a NASCAR analyst and commentator in 2018, the year following his retirement from NASCAR. After spending five years with NASCAR on NBC as a color commentator, Dale Jr. is set to join TNT Sports and Amazon Prime's broadcast teams for 2025.

For Dale Jr., what matters the most is his deal with the newcomers in the NASCAR arena.

"I gotta work on my broadcast and new partners and all that. I wanna be great," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said during the same interview. "I feel like I need to really focus on that. That's really the priority. I wanna do well in the booth."

However, Junior did not cancel out the chance of a NASCAR return in the future.

"Maybe I'll get back in this thing," Junior continued. "I'm sure I'll miss it. (I'll) probably end up signing something in 2026."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. confirmed that he would not return behind the wheel of a JR Motorsports car next year. Although that might sadden his fans, they might find solace knowing that Junior could sign a part-time racing deal in 2026.