Dale Earnhardt Jr. wanted to step away on his own terms, announces 2017 will be final season:

More than anything, Dale Earnhardt Jr. wanted to be the master of his own destiny. In announcing his retirement from Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series racing on Tuesday at the Hendrick Motorsports campus in Charlotte, North Carolina, Earnhardt described his primary motivation during months of physically and emotionally exhausting rehabilitation from a concussion that sidelined him from the final 18 races of the 2016 season.[More]