CONCORD, N.C. _ After the fans have emptied out of Charlotte Motor Speedway, after the engines have fallen silent and the stock cars have been packed up in their haulers, then Dale Earnhardt Jr. will finally have to leave.
Maybe he'll walk down pit road here one last time as a driver, peer into Victory Lane, where he once celebrated all those years ago.
Maybe he'll tweet, as is his custom, or tear up at the finality of it all.
But eventually he will leave, and when he does, it won't be the same as leaving Talladega or Daytona or any other track for the last time. It'll be different, because after the Bank of America 500 when Earnhardt drives out of his home track _ the one he shared with his grandfather Ralph and his late father, Dale _ it'll be the end of an era.
It'll be the end of three generations of Earnhardts racing at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
"This track's been real special to me," Earnhardt said. "Been coming here a real long time, got a lot of memories here in and out of the car."
