Dale Jr. to retire at the end of the season

[UK#1fanisback]

He is one of the best restrictor plate drivers that ever raced. I seriously doubt his record 4 consecutive Taladega wins will ever be matched. If he manages to win one of three remaining restrictor plate races he will tie Gordon for most ever.

 

He is a mediocre short track driver.

 

He is a solid intermediate track driver.

 

He is ranked 20th in total wins. Had he raced for Hendricks his entire career, I have to think his numbers would be even better.

 

He is actually a really good short track driver.

[coldweatherfan]

I wonder who will replace Jr.

 

In the car, I'm guessing Bowman, Allgaier or Byron?

 

To the fans, Chase Elliott would be my guess.

Edited April 26, 2017 by coldweatherfan

[jericho]

I counted him as 29th in total wins. But still a good record.

 

Wins only matter for money. Championships is what counts.

[jericho]

I would love to hear you're definition of decent or good. He finished 3rd in the championship. He is one of the best drivers to never win a championship. He is 20th with most wins in NASCAR and had 2 Xfinity championships. B So, unless you're saying you suck unless you won a NASCAR championship, I disagree with you. And if that's the case, 95% of NASCAR drivers suck.

 

Dale Sr, Jimmy Johnson, Gordon, are great drivers.

Rusty Wallace and Bill Elliot are very good drivers. Not great.

Dale Jr is a decent driver.

 

But its my opinion.

[TTS_JF]

The pre-race interview he did with Michael Waltrip, really put some insight into what helped Jr. make the decision to retire. He said basically last year that he and Amy (his wife) were able to do things that he normally wouldn't do during a season; I'm happy he's walking away on his own terms and not because of an injury or concussion

[BigVMan23]

"Sucked" is probably a little much. He has 26 wins, close to 150 Top 5 finishes and over $96 million in race winnings.

 

Jr was never going to be Dale, but who was? His career was solid and comparable to a lot of well respected drivers. Had a couple of legit chances at the Cup but came up short. He's not Dale, Jeff or Jimmy but he didn't suck.

 

I would agree that "sucked" is at least a little harsh. A better description in my mind would be "overrated"...and I think possibly it could be argued "extremely overrated" in comparison to the coverage and the talk he has garnered through his career in relation to his on track accomplishments. Had he not been DE's little boy he probably would not have had the spotlight and the focus he has had...no where near it. And upon his retirement everyone would probably be of similar opinion...a decent driver who had some success at the big tracks and got some wins but never really competed for the championship. Nothing more, nothing less. And that's exactly what he was. But people wanted more, expected more, he was a big focus of the racing media for many years and they were just waiting for him to take that next big step. But he just wasn't quite good enough (and lucky enough as there is a LOT of luck involved in racing too) to do it.

 

With all that said he always seemed to be to be a very good guy and a good example for the sport. He was just never a great driver.

[Jumper_Dad]

I would agree that "sucked" is at least a little harsh. A better description in my mind would be "overrated"...and I think possibly it could be argued "extremely overrated" in comparison to the coverage and the talk he has garnered through his career in relation to his on track accomplishments. Had he not been DE's little boy he probably would not have had the spotlight and the focus he has had...no where near it. And upon his retirement everyone would probably be of similar opinion...a decent driver who had some success at the big tracks and got some wins but never really competed for the championship. Nothing more, nothing less. And that's exactly what he was. But people wanted more, expected more, he was a big focus of the racing media for many years and they were just waiting for him to take that next big step. But he just wasn't quite good enough (and lucky enough as there is a LOT of luck involved in racing too) to do it.

 

With all that said he always seemed to be to be a very good guy and a good example for the sport. He was just never a great driver.

 

Actually has better average finishes at Bristol and Martinsville than Daytona and Talladega. He was in the hunt for a title several times and made the playoffs most years after that format started. He can't really determine how much the media follows or reports on him...Jr has never came out like someone that was seeking the coverage or lime light.

[BigVMan23]

Actually has better average finishes at Bristol and Martinsville than Daytona and Talladega. He was in the hunt for a title several times and made the playoffs most years after that format started. He can't really determine how much the media follows or reports on him...Jr has never came out like someone that was seeking the coverage or lime light.

 

No, he hasn't, it sought him because of his name.

 

Much more know as a big track restrictor plate driver than a short track driver and where he got a lot of his big notable wins. Though I think (without looking it up) he did pretty well at Martinsville over the years, but I might have my tracks mixed up. Maybe it was Bristiol, but even though it's a "short track", it's a different breed.

[dpeevh]

As a driver he was probably a little above average. At Daytona and Talledega he's one of the best ever, underrated at short tracks but not real good at cookie cutters ( the tracks that caused me to quit watching weekly ).

 

What he did do, more than anyone probably ever, is put butts in seats. More than Gordo, King and even Pop maybe. With him gone next year, stands may not be shown on broadcasts if possible. When he races few Xfinity races next year, look for bigger than average crowds.