DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 23: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 23, 2014 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
FoxNBCRacingBy Alex Putterman on

Two months after announcing his retirement from NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is lining up his next gig.

According to Sports Business Daily’s Adam Stern, the soon-to-be-retired driver is speaking to both NBC Sports and Fox Sports, NASCAR’s two rights-holders, about joining their broadcast teams next season.

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Earnhardt has not publicly confirmed his interest in broadcasting, but a move to the booth almost makes too much sense not to happen. Earnhardt, 42, is beloved by racing fans, having won NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award 14 straight times, which means he’d probably like to stay in a front-facing role and any network would definitely like to put him in one.

And beyond being popular, Earnhardt comes off as relatively intelligent and insightful, and he’s always seemed comfortable in front of a camera, including in guest spots for both Fox and NBC.

While we don’t know which network is the favorite for Earnhardt’s services, SBD points out that Fox could groom him as a replacement for 70-year-old Darrell Waltrip while NBC has no fit that’s quite as natural.

Neither side has much reason to rush here, as the 2018 Dayton 500 is still seven months away, and Earnhardt still has races to race and a farewell tour to bask in. But it increasingly looks like, one way or another, everyone’s favorite driver will still be on your TV screen every weekend next year.

About Alex Putterman

Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.

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