Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced Tuesday that he would retire from racing at the end of the 2017 NASCAR season. Like a lot of race fans, I will be sorry to see him leave, but I am glad that he is opening that door on his own terms.
Earnhardt Jr. has long been one of my favorite athletes to cover. He has a self-deprecating sense of humor, he never lords it over other people because of who his father was and he's as honest and compelling of an interview subject as you will ever find.
Here are four things I am very thankful for as Earnhardt prepares to leave the NASCAR stage for good (although he's got a lot of rocking-chair gifts in his future, since NASCAR's season stretches until November):
