Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart not thinking retirement

Having competed in NASCAR’s Cup Series since 1993, Jeff Gordon’s decision to retire represents a changing of the guard of sorts, as one of the sport’s most accomplished and respected drivers has elected to walk away at the conclusion of the 2015 season.

Gordon’s pending retirement has led some to wonder who will be the next superstar to retire. But two drivers fans don’t have to worry about leaving soon are Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart, both of whom adamantly dismissed the idea that their careers were close to being over.

At the age of 40, just three years younger than Gordon, Earnhardt begrudgingly concedes he can no longer eat pizza and chicken wings with the same fervor and must maintain a balanced diet. But despite conceding that he must now work out, Earnhardt feels 10 years younger and is enjoying himself too much to stop driving.

Earnhardt’s zeal comes from a rejuvenated 2014 campaign that saw him win four races, including the Daytona 500, and emerge as a serious championship contender. And unlike Gordon, Earnhardt is healthy and doesn’t have a young family at home.

“Last year I felt like a kid,” Earnhardt said Thursday at NASCAR’s Media Tour. “I had the same feeling I would have when I would drive down at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) in my Late Model. We were on top of the world having so much fun, and that freedom came back in the past couple years to just enjoy it and release the pressure and just really have fun driving cars and that’s made me really think that I can do this a lot longer than I’d imagined.

“I don’t have any back issues and I don’t have any kids on the way, so I don’t have any factors.”

So when will Earnhardt know it’s time to retire? Mostly it’s about competitiveness and remaining healthy. If neither becomes an issue, NASCAR’s most popular driver could see himself competing for another 10 years.

“I think I’ll stop racing when my health is an issue or I don’t feel like I’m in a competitive car or I feel like that I’ve lost a step,” Earnhardt said. “Like a cornerback or wide receiver loses his step as they get into their mid-30s or get older, if I start to feel like I’m not carrying my weight out on the racetrack, I think that you’ll have to take a look at yourself.

“You don’t want to waste anybody’s time out there. You don’t want the team carrying you on the racetrack out there. I feel like this past year we had some really good success and I feel like that I’m getting better in some areas as a driver each year, and my health’s been great. I’ve really had the most fun that I’ve had in a long time in consecutive years.”

Similarly, Stewart isn’t thinking about retiring, even though his health has been an issue recently and he’s the same age as Gordon.

Two years ago, the three-time Cup champion broke his right leg in two places, an injury that forced Stewart to miss the remainder of the 2013 season and hampered him last year. (Stewart went winless for the first time in his 15-year career.)

But with his leg continuing to improve, Stewart sees no reason to stop driving. And the factors that contributed to Gordon’s decision (kids and a family) aren’t applicable to Stewart, who is single and describes himself as being married to racing.

“I haven’t even thought about (retiring) to be honest,” Stewart said. “You have to remember Jeff got a much earlier start in (NASCAR) than I did. ... I mean, drivers have got different agendas. Jeff’s got a family and two kids, I don’t. I own race tracks, he doesn’t.”