Dale Earnhardt Jr. wears his heart on his sleeve, a fact that has endeared him to fans, competitors, NASCAR industry insiders, sponsors and possibly the toughest crowd of all: NASCAR writers.
Junior's announcement Tuesday that he will give up full-time driving duties after the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season brought accolades and emotion from the press corps. Here's a sampling of what they're writing.
"As Junior wheels his final laps, we'll all spend the next seven months recalling the good times -- the victory at that 2001 Daytona summer race, for instance, or the way he became the most accessible athlete on Twitter. But let's not forget one simple fact: Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the toughest athlete in sports history." -- Jay Busbee, Yahoo Sports | Read more
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"There is no question -- none -- that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will be voted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility. On numbers alone, Earnhardt should get in." -- Tom Jensen, Fox Sports | Read more
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"On a personal and professional level, I'm really going to miss covering Earnhardt. There's something about his combination of candor, wit and humility that makes him the best interview in sports (at least that I've seen), and you really can't replace a guy like that.
"Dale Jr. is a normal dude trapped in a superstar's life, and his fans identify with him because he acts and talks like they would if they found themselves in a similar situation." -- Jeff Gluck, JeffGluck.com | Read more
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"Dale Earnhardt, Jr., you continue to defy convention, and define yourself. Born into advantage but forced to earn every opportunity and hone every inherited skill by a demanding father and namesake, you took up the family vocation with the scrutiny that comes as part of the deal. You were Elvis' boy who took up guitar and knew that comparison was inevitable." --Brant James, USA Today | Read more
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Thanks to Stef Schrader at Jalopnik for bringing back a late-night TV gem: Junior doing donuts on a New York street as a segment with David Letterman. | Read more
This story will be updated