“I just fell to my knees”: Fans react as Dale Earnhardt Jr. hints at closing chapter on yearly NASCAR appearances 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently said that the upcoming Bristol race might mark the end of his Xfinity career, a revelation that has astonished fans. Although he retired from full-time racing in 2017, Earnhardt Jr. has continued to participate on a part-time basis, driving the #88 Chevy for his own JR Motorsports team.

However, during a recent episode of The Dale Jr. Download, the part-time Xfinity driver indicated that his time racing in the series could conclude with the Bristol event. Peter Stratta, owner of TSJ Sports, shared the update on his X account. He posted screenshots of comments made by Earnhardt Jr. during his podcast, accompanying them with the caption:

"“Probably… but I’ll keep running my late model for a little while” @DaleJr addresses whether or not his upcoming @NASCAR_Xfinity Series race from @ItsBristolBaby will be his final career start."

Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s complete statement read:

"We got this Xfinity race coming up at Bristol. [...] We talk so much about all these late-model races. That's like the sign that maybe it's time to like, all right, we're going to close the book on racing in the Xfinity series. [...] So everybody's like, is this really your last race? I'm like, probably."

Fans have been vocal in their reaction to the news, with one stating:

"I just fell to my knees at Walmart."

Here are additional comments from fans reacting to the possibility of Dale Earnhardt Jr. retiring completely from the Xfinity series:

"The worst part is this means no more awesome Dale Jr Xfinity all over print shirts 🥲," said a fan.

"I guess sometimes good things do have to come to an end sometimes whether we want them to or not..... @DaleJr thank you so much for all the memories you have given us and I hope you get that one last checkered flag, as you yourself said "It's Bristol Baby!"" mentioned another fan.

"I've had a feeling for about a year Bristol will be @DaleJr 's final @NASCAR_Xfinity race. I'm not prepared for it at all but will soak up every bit of it. #JRNation," a NASCAR enthusiast commented.

"For those who love Dale Earnhardt Jr…I wouldn’t want to miss what could be his last NASCAR Xfinity Series start. Bristol is September 20th on The CW," informed one.

"Well I'm gonna be crying after bristol," shared another fan.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. praises Darlington winners and places them above Brickyard 400 victors

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently expressed his belief that the Cook Out Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway is "the hardest race to win"' in the NASCAR series. He considers it even more difficult than the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He remarked on his podcast episode:

"It's the Everest of NASCAR, right? It is the hardest race to win...If you polled all of the NASCAR drivers, 'You get to win one, you want to win Darlington, the Southern 500 or do you want to win at Indianapolis, in the Brickyard 400?'"

Earnhardt himself has competed 25 times at Darlington, achieving his best result in 2014 when he finished P2 in the Bojangles' Southern 500.