Dale Earnhardt Jr. is retiring from NASCAR on his own terms

He is unassuming, unpretentious, and doesn’t carry himself at all like a superstar of his stature typically would. And while his initial fame had everything to do with his surname and revered father, it was these characteristic traits that transformed Dale Earnhardt Jr. not just into NASCAR’s most popular driver, but also into one of the more admired figures across the sports landscape.

As the son of Dale Earnhardt Sr., NASCAR’s seven-time champion who died on the final lap of stock-car racing’s marquee race, Earnhardt Jr. was always going to face outsized expectations both on and off the track. Although a standard most anyone would’ve struggled with, he handled the fame and the trying circumstances to establish his own lasting legacy.

Earnhardt is retiring at the end of the current Monster Energy Cup Series season, a decision the 42-year-old announced Tuesday morning.

On one hand the decision appears abrupt. After a rigorous rehabilitation program to overcome a concussion that caused him to miss the entire second half of the 2016 season, Earnhardt returned healthy and spoke of how much he looked forward to driving competitively again.

Few, however, within NASCAR understand the risks associated with racing better than Earnhardt, who was just ahead of his father when he was killed and has had five documented concussions in his 18-year career. Recently married and wanting to start a family, it was this knowledge that is the backbone behind the decision to declare that his days of competitive driving are coming to an end.

The void Earnhardt’s pending departure creates within NASCAR is vast, coming at a crucial juncture when the industry is trying to recapture an aging, disenfranchised fan base while at the same time attempting to court a younger demographic.

Earnhardt was the conduit NASCAR needed to help it accomplish both goals. Longtime fans see him as the embodiment of what a stock car driver should represent: A southern good ol’ boy, whose appreciation for the sport’s rich and colorful history runs deep.

But though he may be on the other side of 40, Earnhardt’s appeal also extends to millennials. Glib, personable, and not someone afraid to express a strong viewpoint, he is a mainstay on social media where he frequently interacts with followers, started a popular podcasting network, and routinely goes out of his way to interact with the public.

Compounding matters is that NASCAR is still reeling from three other popular drivers — Carl Edwards, Jeff Gordon, and Tony Stewart — each recently retiring from full-time competition. Gordon walked away after the 2015 season (he did return for eight races to substitute for the injured Earnhardt), while the last Cup race for Edwards and Stewart came in the 2016 finale.

And while it’s been proven time and time again that no one within NASCAR is irreplaceable, Earnhardt’s decision presents a sizable hurdle. Few accept the obligations that come with being famous more than the driver of the No. 88 car, whose portfolio of sponsors includes a host of Fortune 500 companies.

On Monday, just minutes after a mechanical failure caused him to crash out of the Food City 500, a fan tried to take a selfie with Earnhardt as he walked to the infield care center for a medical evaluation. The fan was stopped by a Hendrick Motorsports PR representative, as Earnhardt was about to do a national television interview. But Earnhardt later tweeted that the fan did get his picture, further testament that in an era where many drivers are inaccessible, Earnhardt is very much a man of the people.

If there is a positive in Tuesday’s announcement it is that Earnhardt is retiring on his own terms. Although a decision likely brought about because of concerns about the long-term impact on his well-being, he has said repeatedly since returning that he is completely healthy, with many of his contemporaries remarking this past weekend that driver of the No. 88 car remains ever capable of maximizing every ounce of speed on the track.

Unless something changed medically that he didn’t disclose publicly, there’s no reason to think Earnhardt didn’t make this choice on his own accord or that it wasn’t forced upon him.

Two weeks ago Earnhardt finished a season-best fifth at Texas Motor Speedway. That effort left Kurt Busch saying, “He’s back,” and Jimmie Johnson to express that his Hendrick teammate would soon break through to get his first win since returning.

Earnhardt might soon get that victory. But if it happens, it comes with the acceptance that it very well could be his last. There is now a definitive clock on how much longer NASCAR’s 14-time most popular driver will remain just that, a driver, with only 28 races left before the curtain closes on his career.