Everyone remembers their first job, including Dale Earnhardt Jr. The two-time Xfinity Series winner joined NBC Sports in 2018, immediately after retiring from full-time racing, and was featured on the booth alongside Rick Allen, Steve Letarte, and Jeff Burton. However, all good things come to an end, and Junior’s contract with NBC ended in 2023, marking an end to a memorable chapter in Dale Jr’s post-racing career. With the 2025 season on the horizon, the 49-year-old is gearing up to take on broadcasting duties once again, only this time he will be chartering in unknown territory.

Getting outside the comfort zone is never easy, but that’s exactly what Dale Earnhardt Jr will have to get used to when he begins his role at Amazon Prime Video and Warner Bros. Discovery Sports. However, the racing veteran is understandably skeptical about his partnership and didn’t hesitate to share his opinion ahead of the Xfinity Series race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. hopes to adapt to broadcasting demands

Dale Earnhardt Jr’s involvement in NASCAR coverage at Amazon and WBD Sports is a big deal. Both the broadcasters are ‘the new kids on the block’, which means having one of the biggest names in stock car racing on the booth gives both of them instant credibility in the eyes of viewers. Each of them will be featuring five races in the season, with Warner Brothers Discovery races being broadcasted on TNT and streamed on Max, while Amazon Prime Video’s subscription will give fans access to their coverage. However, this brings an element of complexity for Dale Jr, who will have to hit the ground running when it comes to the demands of his broadcasting duties and adapt to two different formats in a short period.

Remembering his time at NBC Sports, Dale Earnhardt Jr said in the pre-race press conference, “I really really loved working with NBC and I miss it terribly. I miss them, we had so much fun. It’s everyone there, from Sam all the way down, just really great people.” At NBC Sports, Junior had the chance to get accustomed to his broadcasting responsibilities across 20 races in the season. However, he won’t have that liberty this time around and will be expected to make an instant impact when the 2025 season begins.

Highlighting the challenges that he could face at Amazon Prime Video and WBD Sports, the 49-year-old went on to say, “It’ll be a quick 10-race sprint with two different partners that want to do things slightly differently. So really it’s two five-race sprints and I think just trying to make sure that we as a group are doing a bunch of mock runs and a lot of preparation leading up to that so that we try to hit the ground in that first race and have a good product right away is going to be really important to me.”

As part of NASCAR’s new media rights deal, Dale Earnhardt Jr will be a part of Amazon Prime’s early season coverage. He will also contribute to the new Bleacher Report content series, which will be co-produced by the veteran racer’s Dirty Mo Media. As part of the program, Junior will invite guests for interviews, who will be in the passenger seat of the car at TNT’s five Sprint Cup Series tracks. TNT Sports has a 32-year-long history with NASCAR and expectations will be high from Dale Jr in terms of what he brings to the table.

It’s not surprising that Junior opted out of making an Xfinity Series appearance next year, considering that he will have to cope with the broadcasting demands from two different networks. Being a perfectionist comes at a cost and in this case, it might force Dale Earnhardt Jr to dial back on some of his extracurricular activities next season to get comfortable in his new role. It will be interesting to see how this might affect Junior’s participation in the Late Model Series, as the North Carolina native has reiterated that he will continue to participate in grassroots racing in 2025.

Dale Jr overcomes the odds to secure an impressive result at Bristol

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All’s well that ends well! That’s exactly what Dale Earnhardt Jr will be thinking, after finishing seventh at Bristol Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Given how his race started, it’s an achievement that he wasn’t forced to retire early, after facing radio issues for the majority of the first half of the 2024 Food City 300. It was almost like Junior was racing blind, as he wasn’t getting any input from his spotter TJ Majors, despite switching channels, earpieces, and even the entire helmet. Luckily, the North Carolina native didn’t lose any laps, which may have played an important role in his top-10 finish.

The experience of being behind the wheel of his No. 88 Chevy at the 0.533-mile short track left Junior elated, and he couldn’t help but express his delight in the post-race interview. The former Hendrick Motorsports driver said, “I loved every lap. It was great. I mean, I got everything I wanted out of this. I’ll miss it next year, and thinking about it now, I’ll probably sign up next year for somewhere else. I’m trying really hard not to think about where I’ll run right now but I do want to take next year off, focus on my broadcasting and make sure that’s a priority and my family too.”

2025 will undoubtedly be an important year for Dale Earnhardt Jr. His team JR Motorsports will be in a transition phase, with both Sam Mayer and Brandon Jones moving on from the Xfinity team and Connor Zilisch joining in as a full-time driver. With plenty to look forward to, it’s not surprising that Junior is opting out of making a NASCAR appearance. However, with Martin Truex Jr eager to race against him one last time, could Dale Jr change his mind and continue his 27-year-long tradition of competing in an Xfinity Series race? Time will tell.