NASCAR Kansas 2014: Dale Earnhardt Jr. reflects on career, talks about future

On the eve of a milestone 40th birthday, Dale Earnhardt Jr. reflected both on is his career and his future Friday at Kansas Speedway.

The son of seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt Sr., Earnhardt Jr. entered NASCAR with great fanfare and high expectations. Although the younger Earnhardt is still looking for his first championship at the highest division of the sport (Earnhardt is a two-time Nationwide Series champion) he has won 22 races, including two Daytona 500s.

“Definitely accomplished more than I thought I would when I was younger,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I just wanted to make it, and being the son of a guy that was so successful -- the more success he had it seemed like the harder it would be for me to make it. ... But I’m real happy with what I’ve been able to accomplish and who I have been able to work with and the friends I’ve been able to make.

“The accomplishments as far as just the statistics, it’s definitely exceeded my expectations. We are still winning races and running good so maybe we can get a few more wins and have some more fun before it’s over. Definitely having this birthday come up makes you reflect quite a bit back on not so much the decisions or any regrets you have, just the fun stuff you have done and is the next 40 years going to be just as good, because the first 40 were pretty great.”

Earnhardt isn’t ready to retire anytime soon, but has thought what he wants to do when his driving days wind down. Eventually, Earnhardt would like to drop down to the Nationwide (which will be rebranded as the Xfinity Series in 2015) and drive for JR Motorsports, the team he co-owns.

“I would like to race for that company one day, so I hope to keep it healthy until that opportunity presents itself,” Earnhardt said. “Whenever I’m done Cup racing, to jump in a Nationwide car and do that for a couple of years in my own shop.”

Earnhardt’s Nationwide team has made significant strides this season. Drivers Chase Elliott and Regan Smith are 1-2 in points, and overall the organization has won nine races between Elliott, Smith, Kevin Harvick and Kasey Kahne.

Accompanying that success is newfound stability. JRM announced this week that Smith will return next season and again will team with Elliott to form a two-car tandem. That gives JRM the same driver lineup in consecutive years for the first time.

“I am really happy that we are basically going to have a carbon copy of what we did this year next season,” Earnhardt said. “We have had a lot of success and I think we can build on that and everything is going to stay in place and we are going to go on down the road.”