Like any other major sport, NASCAR racing sees a change of guard, with new talents staking their claim in the competitive environment. However, when Dale Earnhardt Jr retired back in 2017, it wasn’t because of a slump in his performance or an inability to compete. The concussions were just too heavy on him and forced his hand into early retirement.

Since then, Dale Jr has stuck to racing a couple of Xfinity Series races along with the Late Model events throughout the calendar year. And yes, he still races pretty well and can give a young racer a run for his money. At 49, there’s always this looming question of when Dale Jr finally quit racing. Well, going by his words, he doesn’t seem to be planning to step away from racing anytime soon. Rather he still feels young and fresh to get back in the race car and compete at the highest level.

Dale Earnhardt Jr feels that he retired early from NASCAR

So the topic of the discussion during the latest episode of Dale Jr Download was the retirement age of the drivers. Moreover, Martin Truex Jr officially announcing his plans to not return to NASCAR racing further backed up a theory by Earnhardt Jr. Which is that most of the veteran drivers decide to hang up their boots from racing at age 43. Interestingly, he also bowed out of the action at age 43, but again, his circumstances were different from those of other drivers.

“So when I was retiring, my head injuries and stuff were concern for me so I was thinking I need to stop doing this every single week. Take myself out of some of those events that I thought were more potentially dangerous for me. I knew I was retiring early, at least in my mind, and I felt, I still feel sharp enough, you enough to jump in there and do it right now at 50 or 49, soon to be 50,” Dale Jr explained on the show.

But he went on to highlight how most of the drivers reaching the mark of 43 weren’t able to hit their markers like they did during their prime years. “I don’t think old, but I knew I was retiring earlier than I wanted to, or most likely retire and so to ease my mind a little bit, I went in and dove into maybe a dozen race car drivers that had retired recently. Bobby Labonte, Tony Stewart, and a handful of other guys. And I looked at how they performed beyond 43, and in most cases, their results and their success began to dwindle beyond that age.”

Dale Jr also reflected on last weekend’s Cup Series race at Iowa, which surprisingly exceeded everyone’s expectations. So much so that he went on to advocate a date for Iowa next year in the schedule over the rumored road course race in Mexico City.

Jr doesn’t want more road course races added to the Cup Series schedule

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Before the Corn 350 Cup Series race at Iowa Speedway, everyone, including Dale Earnhardt Jr was skeptical of what a race would look like, thanks to the controversial repaving job. But, surprisingly, the race was a big success. Not only did the local racing community come in numbers to show their support with a sold-out event. But racing was also thrilling with a ton of action and multi-groove racing.

Impressed by NASCAR’s fastest short-track oval racing product, Dale Jr went on to suggest that the Mid-West region does deserve a date in the Cup Series calendar. “NASCAR’s in a tough spot, they want to go to Mexico, and I don’t think that’s been announced yet. I’m hoping that it’s not going to happen because I don’t want to go to Mexico; I’d rather go to Iowa after what I saw. You know I don’t love road courses, right?”

Heck, Dale Jr even ranked the Iowa short track race as the best so far this season, even above the exceptional Bristol night race. Now that’s saying something, for all the criticism around the mediocre short-track package, NASCAR could be shooting themselves in the foot by snubbing the Iowa race for another road course event.