Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was at the College Football Hall of Fame in Atlanta last week to promote the upcoming CampingWorld.com 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, said that he’s not surprised to see his fellow drivers Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart retiring around the age of 45.
“You can probably race longer, farther than 45, but there are a lot more responsibilities outside of the race car that are shortening the careers of drivers,” he said. “There is so much more that the driver is responsible for. Years ago, for example, a race car may have one full-time sponsor, where today even with the bigger team, a car has three or four different partners and that brings on four times the responsibilities away from the race track.
“It’s a very long season, racing week-in and week-out, so it can be grueling and grinding. I’m not at all surprised by the age of the recent retirees and I think that’s the new norm.”
Earnhardt, who turns 41 on Saturday, said that applies to his own retirement as well.
“Anywhere around that 45 number sounds pretty good to me,” he said. “I don’t know if it will be that long or if I’ll go further.”
He said the key is whether he’s enjoying what he’s doing when that time comes. If not, it’ll be time to focus on his automobile dealerships in Tallahassee, Fla., some deer hunting or maybe a broadcasting career.
“When it isn’t fun anymore and your heart’s not in it, you don’t need to be out there because it’s such a dangerous sport and you’re also occupying a spot or an opportunity for someone else,” he said. “I’ll know when that time comes.”
At the Hall of Fame, Earnhardt visited with 12-year-old Austin Freeman, who is battling a rare form of pediatric bone cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma. He also spent time with Hall of Fame inductee Dave Butz, the former Purdue and Washington Redskins star. Butz gave Earnhardt, a Redskins fan, one of the helmets he wore during his final season.
Earnhardt never let the helmet out of his hands for the remainder of the visit.
Asked how he’d like to be remembered himself once he retired, Earnhardt said he wanted to be thought of as one of the good guys of NASCAR.
“We definitely can list the accomplishments and statistics,” he said. “I’m proud of everything I’ve done in racing as far as numbers go, but it’s really important to me to be remembered as a fun competitor and someone who raced hard, gave it their all and was someone who made the sport better and represented the sport well.”
Townley wins, finally: For much of his seven-year career in NASCAR, John Wes Townley of Watkinsville had a reputation of being a driver who wrecked a lot.
Last Saturday, in the Rhino Linings 350 Camping World Truck Series race at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Townley gave his critics — and his fans — something else to talk about.
The 25-year-old driver prevailed in a late-race, fuel-mileage contest to get his first major NASCAR victory in 150 combined starts in the truck and Xfinity series.
His victory didn’t come solely because of fuel mileage. He qualified on the outside pole and led the race on five occasions for a total of 23 laps, including the final five to take the victory.
Michael Shelton, the veteran crew chief who has worked with Townley since the Texas race last fall, said his driver was due a win.
“It’s been a lot of time coming,” Shelton said. “He’s had a tough career at times.”
About finish policy: NASCAR officials and the sport's driver council have been discussing a number of topics recently and among them is the possibility of changing the policy on green-white-checkered finishes at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, the two tracks where restrictor plates slow speeds but result in drivers running in large packs.
The issue is on the forefront in light of Austin Dillon’s horrifying crash into the catchfence at Daytona in February at the end of the race.
There have been suggestions that one attempt at a green-white-checkered finish at Daytona and Talladega is enough, but Talladega track president Grant Lynch said he’s opposed to that, saying Talladega’s fans have just as much right to see a race end under the green flag as fans at other tracks on the circuit.
