NASCAR
Bob Pockrass, NASCAR 6y

Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his comfort zone at Kansas

NASCAR

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has announced that he will retire from the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series after the 2017 season. As the Hendrick Motorsports driver prepares to climb into the race car for the final time at each track -- or at least likely for the last time, as he has left the door open for possible one-off races -- we take a look at how he has fared over the years at each venue and what to expect in his last ride there.

Dale Jr. at Kansas Speedway | Oct. 22, 2017

Starts: 21

Best finish: Second (June 2011)

Biggest highlight: Every time he went to Oklahoma Joe's (now just Joe's) for barbecue. Kansas is known for its barbecue, and that is his favorite place to chow. On the track, finishing second after starting 28th in 2011 wasn't too bad, but Earnhardt felt he had a fast enough car to win the race, which Brad Keselowski captured on fuel mileage for his second career Cup win.

Worst moment: A crash during a tire test in August 2012 caused an (initially undiagnosed) concussion. Another concussion suffered six weeks later at Talladega would sideline Earnhardt for two weeks.

Outlook for Sunday: Earnhardt has finished better than 15th in just one of his past five starts at the track, and he starts 20th Sunday. But when he did run well recently, it was a solid third-place finish in May 2015.

Dale Jr. says: "Kansas is a great racetrack for me. That place has widened out pretty good, and you can run against the fence there, which is a line that I like to run. It's a very fast racetrack and very smooth. [It's] a lot of fun, so we should have a good time."

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