CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Dale Earnhardt Jr. abruptly announced his retirement at the end of the season Tuesday, a decision that will cost NASCAR its most popular driver as the series scrambles to rebuild its fan base. The two-time Daytona 500 winner set an afternoon news conference with team owner Rick Hendrick to discuss his decision. Hendrick Motorsports announced Junior’s decision Tuesday morning and said the driver would have a press conference Tuesday afternoon to explain the reasoning behind the decision. A third-generation NASCAR driver, Earnhardt has been plagued by concussions the last several years, and he missed half of last season recovering from the latest head injury. Junior, 43, missed the second half of the 2016 season after suffering a midseason concussion and said he was going to wait a few races into the 2017 season to begin talks on a contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt, 42, has won 26 times on the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series circuit during his career and has been named the sport's most popular driver in each of the last 14 years. In his career, Earnhardt has won the Daytona 500 twice (2004, 2014), but his last series victory came in 2015 at the Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 in Phoenix. 2 series, moved to sponsor him after not renewing the series title sponsorship for what’s now the Xfinity Series. The son of Dale Earnhardt, a seven-time Cup champion, faces the prospect of not winning a Cup championship in his career; Junior has one top-10 finish this year in eight starts and sits 24th in the season standings. Hendrick Motorsports said Earnhardt informed his team of his decision early Tuesday, though he first discussed retirement with his boss on March 29. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will compete in his final NASCAR Cup Series race on Nov. 19 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
In auto racing, longtime NASCAR Cup Series star Dale Earnhardt Jr. announces that he will retire at the end of the 2017 season.