Dale Earnhardt Jr. had ‘eye-opening experience’ when he couldn’t race

With time comes perspective and as Dale Earnhardt Jr. has grown older and recently dealt with serious health concerns, perspective is something NASCAR’s most popular driver isn’t lacking.

“You do take your job for granted when you’re doing it every week,” Earnhardt said Wednesday on the second day of NASCAR’s preseason media tour in downtown Charlotte, N.C. “As a society, we get better and better at complaining. The drivers aren’t any different; we moan and complain about everything. But when you get a chance to step back and watch it … it was an eye-opening experience.”

Earnhardt missed the entire second half of the 2016 season (18 races) with a concussion suffered in a crash at Michigan International Speedway in June. It marked the third time the 42-year-old had sustained a concussion since 2012 and cast doubts whether he would continue racing. After an extensive rehabilitation program, Earnhardt was medically cleared to return to NASCAR in December and will be back in the Hendrick Motorsports No. 88 Chevrolet when the 2017 season begins with the Daytona 500 next month.

“Usually you kind of tell everybody Daytona will get here when it gets here, but I’m excited for the season,” Earnhardt said. “It can’t get here fast enough.

“Being out of the car you hope you can jump back in the car and not miss a beat. I’m really anxious and curious where we shake up early in the season, how competitive we can be, what — if any — learning curve there is for me. We’ll figure all that out.”

But while he was out of the car Earnhardt not only improved his health, he also gained a new outlook. He recognized he didn’t always appreciate those around them and often took some things for granted. It’s an attitude brought about by watching the No. 88 team proceed without him with Alex Bowman and Jeff Gordon filling in, and how much he missed the close relationships he formed with his crew.

“I missed the camaraderie. That’s the one thing I’ll probably miss the most when I’m not racing is just the friendships and the inside the track,” Earnhardt said. “I have an awesome road crew, we’re all buddies, and we all communicate every day.

“That was something that was difficult to watch — someone else do in your place; certainly jealous of Jeff and Alex working with my guys. At the same time, I was happy for Alex and glad Jeff was available. You definitely were wishing it was you in there getting the work.”

And it’s those connections Earnhardt says he will miss the most when he retires. His contract expires at the end of the season and he and team owner Rick Hendrick were working on an extension before he was sidelined. The two have not reopened negotiations but both sides have said they want their partnership to continue, and Earnhardt has indicated he’s not ready to walk away — though he understands his career is closer to the end than the beginning.

“Just hoping to enjoy what’s left of my career,” Earnhardt said. “Hopefully, I get to make the decisions on that myself as far as how much further I’ll race.

“Going to start a family, too, so have a lot of good things to look forward to. Really excited about my future.”

A significant part of Earnhardt’s optimism is his marriage to Amy Reimann in a New Year’s Eve ceremony at a North Carolina winery owned by Richard Childress, the longtime car owner for Earnhardt’s late father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., who was killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Marriage was something Earnhardt long eschewed, but after beginning a relationship with Reimann in the fall of 2008, his mindset gradually evolved. Now, it’s something he wishes he would’ve done sooner.

“Getting married has been incredible,” Earnhardt said. “I’m frustrated with myself that I took so long to grow up because I have an amazing wife and she’s changed my life.

“She’s really helped me as a person to become better on all fronts — personally, and all my friendships with people and how I react to people and treat people. And, obviously, in my professional life she’s helped me as a driver. It’s been great.”