"I'm feeling like he's 12 years old" - NASCAR Insider makes his feelings known on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Cup Series debut as legendary driver turns 50

NASCAR vet Kenny Wallace had a hard time believing that Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned 50 years old. While filling out for Earnhardt Jr. in the latest episode of his Dale Jr. Download podcast, Wallace recalled Junior's first-ever Cup Series race, i.e., the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1999.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was just 24 years old back then, finished 14th in the race. Interestingly, Dale Jr.'s father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., also made his first Cup Series start (then known as the Winston Cup Series) at Charlotte Motor Speedway in 1975.

"If you had told me he would be turning 50 years old this Thursday, I would have never believed it," Kenny Wallace said. "I qualified real well at one of the big Charlotte races and I was feeling really good about myself. I'm standing on top of a trailer and this is DalemJr.'s first cup race. He lays down a really good lap and he qualifies. And at this time, I'm feeling like he's 12 years old. He's so young."

"The complete Charlotte Motor Speedway rushed to his garage area. That moment I thought to myself, Dale Jr. has arrived. I think about that and here he is 50; are you kidding me?" Wallace exclaimed.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired from full-time racing in 2017. Since then, he has been running at least one race in the Xfinity Series every year. However, Junior will not return behind the wheel of the No. 88 JR Motorsports Chevy next year as he is expected to assume the role of a NASCAR broadcaster with TNT and Amazon Prime.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. prefers family time to celebrate his 50th birthday

Dale Earnhardt Jr. loves his beer. He celebrated his top-10 finish at Bristol Motor Speedway a few weeks back with his teammates and a barrel full of beer. However, that doesn't seem like the plan for his birthday.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been neck-deep in work for quite some time now. Therefore, he needs a vacation from the din and bustle. In an earlier episode of the Dale Jr Download, the Hall of Famer said,

"Over the next six days, I really (want) to try to focus on making the most of those days with my two girls...Just really have been missing the girls (Isla and Nicole) and wanting to try to make some memories of them. So, the next 6 days uh we’re going somewhere that we can do that." (11:16)

Back in February, Dale Earnhardt Jr. tweeted:

"I turn 50 this year and instead of a big party, I’ve decided to create some memories instead. Camping with the family is on that list."

There is no official information regarding where Dale Earnhardt Jr. is busy making "memories" with his family. Nevertheless, 2025 is going to be a busy year for Junior career-wise. Besides working with TNT and Amazon Prime next year, he will serve as the host to a new show for Bleacher Report that will feature on all of BR's digital and social media platforms.