Dale Earnhardt Jr. To Retire

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CONCORD, N.C. (AP) — Hendrick Motorsports says Dale Earnhardt Jr. will retire at the end of this season.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the Hellmann's Chevrolet, celebrates in Victory Lane after winning the NASCAR XFINITY Series ToyotaCare 250 at Richmond International Raceway on April 23, 2016 in Richmond, Virginia. (credit: Jeff Zelevansky/Getty Images)

Earnhardt is a 14-time winner of NASCAR's most popular driver award. He has 26 career Cup victories, and that includes a pair of wins in the Daytona 500.

Earnhardt is a two-time champion in NASCAR's second-tier series. But the son of the late seven-time champion has never won a Cup title.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, poses with former NFL quarterback, Peyton Manning, on the grid prior to the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Food City 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway on April 17, 2016 in Bristol, Tennessee. (Photo by Robert Laberge/Getty Images)

Earnhardt turns 43 in October, was married during the offseason and has stated he wants a family.

He's also been plagued by concussions and missed half of last season after suffering yet another one. He's become an advocate for research of sports-related brain injuries.