Dale Earnhardt Jr., Nascar’s most popular driver, will retire at the end of the season, his team, Hendrick Motorsports, announced on Tuesday.
Earnhardt, known as Junior, is a son of the Nascar legend Dale Earnhardt Sr., who was killed in the Daytona 500 in 2001. His grandfather Ralph Earnhardt also raced stock cars.
The younger Earnhardt has won the Most Popular Driver Award 14 consecutive times.
In 18 full seasons in Nascar’s top Cup series, Earnhardt won 26 times, twice in the Daytona 500, in 2004 and 2014.