RELATED: All of Dale Jr.’s Monster Energy Series wins
The buzz around Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s impending retirement follows the No. 88 driver wherever he goes. With the constant questions, conversation and commentary, the sport’s most popular driver can hardly forget this season will be his final full-time Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series run.
Not to say it has changed his weekends much; during the race, he’s the same ole Dale Jr., wheeling the No. 88 Chevrolet to the cheers of Junior Nation and chatting with his team on the radio.
RELATED: Like a fine wine, Junior improves in final Sonoma race
But pre-race, the sights, sounds and routine actions that he’s experienced for 19 years and 611 Monster Energy Series races sometimes feel a little different for the 42-year-old this season.
There’s a sense of appreciation, he says.
“There’s a couple times during pre-race, either during the national anthem or just right before you get into the car,” Earnhardt told NASCAR.com. “That’s kind of where you get the most emotional, I think – I don’t know why, but in those moments, that’s where it kind of sinks in, the weight of the situation and the circumstances.”
That appreciation carries over to his fans, which he is paying tribute to with his applicably named #Appreci88ion Tour. Designed to share memories at race tracks, celebrate his storied career, and identify, interact and thank his fans, the tour stretches over Earnhardt’s final five months as a full-time driver beginning at Daytona.
In his 19 years behind the wheel, Earnhardt hopes he’s done his fans proud.
“I hope they think we represented the sport well and represented our sponsors well,” Earnhardt said. “You know, we always try to be ourselves and be relatable and approachable and I hope that we succeeded in doing that.”
WATCH: Junior: ‘Who you are as a person never gets forgotten’
As the season rolls on and Earnhardt makes his last stop at several tracks on the circuit, he has begun to value simply being at the race track as a driver. Like the last day of a vacation, he takes in the sights, the sounds, the feelings, and holds onto them for the day that he will no longer stand on pit road in a No. 88 fire suit.
“I think you do start to get a little more emotionally and personally invested in the remaining races because you know that as the races click off, there’s less opportunity to enjoy being behind the wheel,” Earnhardt mused. “There’s parts of driving the car and being around the garage and being part of a team. There’s parts of those things that I’m really, really, really going to miss. You start to maybe absorb more of that and not speed through everything.
“We’re always taught to kind of hustle through everything and get the most out of every moment and do it quickly,” he continued. “And as the season goes, there might be some dialing that back and wanting to kind of take in the moment and enjoy what you’re doing, knowing that you’re not going to be out there too much longer.”
Even practice – which Earnhardt says he’s never looked forward to – doesn’t seem so bad.
“I used to not really like practice all that much – it was kind of like a necessary pain-in-the-butt to get through the weekend to get to the race,” Earnhardt said. “This year, I look forward to working on the car and talking and communicating and working with the team, and on Friday and Saturday during practice is when we have the most communication during those times as we do all week … Little things like that that you don’t even think about start to become more important to you.”
Little moments are a little bigger, little tasks take on a bit more meaning. But his last-season agenda isn’t long; he’s content, both with himself and how his storied career has unfolded.
RELATED: See the best paint schemes of Dale Jr.’s career
Other than, maybe, another trip to Victory Lane.
“(We want to) try to get another win and just be able to celebrate one last time in Victory Lane, no matter where that is, is the only thing I’ve thought about as far as what I want to accomplish in this season,” Earnhardt said. “The list is very short as far as bucket-list items for me.
“I’m pretty fulfilled and pretty satisfied – there’s not a whole lot of holes in my career for me.”