Dale Earnhardt Jr. soaks in Darlington: ‘I’m never disappointing myself’

DARLINGTON, S.C. -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. waved off the golf cart, opting to walk. The frontstretch at Darlington Raceway is 1,229 feet long. Earnhardt spent half that distance, making his way from the start-finish line to the pit entrance, signing autographs for the fans who waited until after the South Carolina track was cleared of competition and swarmed the 15-time Most Popular Driver once given the thumbs up. It was a walk-and-talk deal. No stopping, no getting in the way. And, for Earnhardt specifically, there was no looking back. “This is probably my final run here,” Earnhardt said. “This place is too tough. These kids can have it.” RELATED: Darlington Xfinity race results  Earnhardt raced in Saturday’s Sport Clips Haircuts VFW 200, an Xfinity Series event. The former full-time Monster Energy Series driver finished fifth, ultimately moving into the top five after Denny Hamlin was disqualified and Cole Custer was named the winner. That’s nine marks higher than Earnhardt’s 14th qualifying spot. Stages 1 and 2, which were 90 laps each, both saw Earnhardt come in seventh. He ran within the back half of the top 10 for a majority of the 147 laps at the 1.366-mile track considered "Too Tough To Tame." That surprised him. “You just never assume when you go to the race track that you’re going to have a great day,” Earnhardt said. “I feel like I’m never disappointing myself. I never come in with high hopes and leave with my head hanging.” The last time Earnhardt ran in the Xfinity Series at Darlington was 1999 -- two decades ago. He did two races that year, finishing 11th and 12th. Much more recent, but not too recent: The last time Earnhardt raced, period, was 2018. He did a one-off Xfinity Series run at Richmond Raceway, where he qualified second, led 96 laps and finished fourth. The same post-race scene unfolded there. Earnhardt retired from full-time competition after the 2017 season. “What I’m really reminded of when I get to do these races is how much we ought to respect drivers who do it every single week because it is so hard,” Earnhardt said. “Not just driving the race, like all the grind throughout the week. The testing. The debriefs. The study. Watching races and film. There’s so much to it that it starts to pop in my head, and I remember why I’m glad I’m not in that grind anymore. Just going practicing, qualifying and running in the rest, it’s fun.” RELATED: Dale Jr. moving on from plane crash Once a year is enough for Earnhardt. He would like to continue at that pace with Hellmann’s as a sponsor, specifically naming Homestead-Miami Speedway as a desired location “if they want to sell mayonnaise in Florida.” But the itch to fully return has disappeared. That doesn’t mean he’s not around. Far from it. The NBC Sports broadcast booth is Earnhardt’s new place of employment. “To me, this is what makes a Hall of Famer: When you’re done with your career, you don’t leave the sport,” Cup Series driver Joey Logano said. “That to me is the definition of a Hall of Famer and a legend in our sport. The fact that he stuck around and really no one said he had to -- he stuck around doing TV and throwing in some Xfinity races every now and then again -- it shows that he cares about our sport and about the people in it. I thank him for it. There’s not many who do that.” Earnhardt also owns JR Motorsports. That’s where his No. 8 Chevrolet came from. The team has been around for 18 years now. JR Motorsports had three other drivers at Darlington: Noah Gragson (eighth), Justin Allgaier (ninth) and Michael Annett (13th). “Dale is one of those guys,” Allgaier said. “Obviously he’s still young, and I feel like if he wanted to do it on Sundays, he could go out and be equally as competitive as he was before, go win races and fight for a championship. The fact that he sits out of the car and comes back doesn’t surprise me. I know he was worried about it, but he’s way too good of a race car driver to struggle, I guess.” As was evident Saturday. Earnhardt hasn't lost his edge. Success is just no longer his No. 1 priority. “Well, it wasn’t a win,” Earnhardt said. “It wasn’t a storybook win or anything like that. It just feels good to be competitive. It feels good that everybody has a smile on their face.”