Dale Earnhardt Jr. might be done racing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series after making major changes to the JR Motorsports team lineup. There were doubts regarding Dale Jr’s future when the team announced the signing of Connor Zilisch in a full-time role driving the No. 88 car for 2025. The #88 Chevy car was the one Dale Jr. used to run in on a part-time basis.

However, with the major changes JRM is looking to make to its driver lineup, it feels like Dale Earnhardt Jr is taking a back seat. The team’s co-owner and Dale Jr’s sister, Kelley, shed light on the situation and why the 49-year-old could decide to snub Xfinity Series racing from next year onwards.

Dale Jr is looking to focus on late-model racing

Having called it quits from competitive racing in the NASCAR Cup Series, Junior made sure he ran a handful of races in the Xfinity Series. Owning a team certainly made it easy to pick and choose the events for him. Usually, he ran a couple of races every year in either the No. 8 or 88 JRM Chevy. However, in 2024, the former HMS star is only scheduled to compete in a single race at Bristol. Going by the recent turn of events, it could be his last Xfinity Series race.

“Yeah, I mean, he absolutely loves the racing, and he just ebbs and flows. He’s having a ton of fun in the late models and trying to run as much as he can. So he wants to do that kind of four to six times a year or so. I don’t want to say that he is done with Xfinity racing, but we don’t have anything on the map right now for him. And it could just change; we gotta watch.” Kelley Earnhardt said this via Sirius XM Radio on X.

The good news is that Dale Jr. isn’t entirely stopping his racing pursuits. In fact, a potential absence from the Xfinity Series will allow him to add more Late Model races to his schedule, he is particularly fond of grassroots-level races. “I want to run my late model for a really long time. I imagine when I get to around 60, I’ll probably be probably considering that’s too told to be out there battling with some of these younger guys.” Jr. said this to Bob Pockrass.

Now a decade is indeed a long time for the Dale Jr diehards to see him race. But, as far as his Xfinity team front is concerned, there could be a massive overhaul in terms of faces and individuals moving into the next year.

Brandon Jones and Sam Mayer are in a hot seat at JRM

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JR Motorsports is considered to be one of the top teams in the Xfinity garage. However, after their title-winning triumph in 2018, they haven’t been able to reach the pinnacle of the series. Although Justin Allgaier and Sam Mayer have shown promise over the years, it hasn’t materialized into a championship-winning run.

Jones hasn’t been able to fire off in the No. 9 car, and meanwhile, Mayer has been vocal about his ambitions to elevate himself to the Cup level. Now that Zilisch has made his entry into the team and Dale Jr is potentially stepping out, the team is contemplating a massive change. Which could also lead to some departures.

“We got a lot of balls falling and rising right now, and so within the next month or so, hopefully it will all come together and we will have an exact plan. But we’re super excited to work with Connor and see what he’s made of; he’s got a lot of support behind him.” Kelley went on to add.

Interesting times at JR Motorsports as they look to turn the tide back in their favor and contest for the top prize going into 2025. Will it be with or without Dale Earnhardt Jr? It remains to be seen.