Like father, like son.
As Dale Earnhardt Jr. takes the track once again in August, competing in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Darlington Raceway, he will be paying tribute to his late father, Dale Earnhardt Sr.
The former NASCAR driver, who retired from the sport in 2017, will be driving a special car at the upcoming race, designed to resemble the blue and yellow vehicle his father drove at his first NASCAR Cup series race in 1975.
“This is something I’ve been wanting to do for a while,” Earnhardt Jr. said in a press release, according to Fox News. “We had the perfect opportunity with the Darlington throwback race and I couldn’t pass up the chance.”
This is the fourth time Earnhardt Jr., 44, has honored his father by racing a vehicle inspired by one of his former cars, NASCAR noted in a press release.
Although Earnhardt Jr. retired from racing full-time in 2017, he also competed in the Xfinity Series race last year, coming in fourth place.
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The NASCAR superstar, who was raised in racing alongside his father, announced in April 2017 that he would retire at the end of the season after decades in the sport, which had 15 times voted him the most popular driver.
What motivated the decision? A secret struggle with concussions, which he only revealed in full to his family in 2016 as he was forced to miss half a year of competitions in rehab. He opened up about his health journey in his 2018 memoir Racing to the Finish.
“I just don’t have the confidence that I could go race and not get hurt,” he previously told PEOPLE. “You can’t … drive race cars without that confidence.”
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Though he may not make his living behind the wheel of a car anymore, Earnhardt Jr.’s day-to-day is possibly busier than it has ever been between his analyst gig for NBC sports, various racing-related businesses (run with his sister, Kelley) and more.
But even with all that work, Earnhardt Jr. shared that the decision to stop racing on a weekly basis has removed plenty of pressure and anxiety from his life.
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“I have this happiness over the fact that I don’t have to worry about getting hurt,” Earnhardt Jr., who shares daughter Isla Rose with wife Amy, previously told PEOPLE.
“When I come home to [Isla], I don’t have to worry about ever coming home hurt. I don’t ever have to worry about spending months with symptoms while she’s turning 1. You know what I mean? Me and Amy get to experience this together,” he shared.
