FORT WORTH, Texas – There will always be a special connection between NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Texas Motor Speedway.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. addresses the media during a news conference on Friday at Texas Motor Speedway. Photo by Mike Haag/RacedaySA.com

Earnhardt Jr., who is retiring at the end of the racing season, will make his final appearance at TMS in his No. 88 Justice League Chevrolet on Sunday at the AAA Texas 500.

“Dale Earnhardt Jr. is forever linked with Texas Motor Speedway,” Gossage said.  “He won his first XFINITY Series race here back in 1998 and he won his first Cup Series career race in 2000.  It would be an amazing thing for him to win here in the AAA Texas 500 because it would bookend his career at Texas.”

Earnhardt Jr. won his first NASCAR XFINITY Series race at TMS at the Coca-Cola 300 on April 4, 1998 while driving the No. 3 ACDelco Chevrolet.  Two years later he scored his first NASCAR Cup Series victory at TMS by claiming the Direct TV 500 on April 2, 2000 while driving the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet.

“If you look at his statistics, Dale Jr’s last-best chance to win is here,” Gossage said.  “Of the races remaining his finish position is the best here than any track.  We’ll just have to see how it all unfolds.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide/Justice League Chevrolet, practices for the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series AAA Texas 500 at Texas Motor Speedway on November 3, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)

Earnhardt Jr. has competed in 29 Cup races at TMS and has an average start of 13.06.  He has won two poles and has seven top-five and 18 top-10 finishes.  He also has competed in nine XFINITY races and scored seven top 10 finishes, five of which were top five or better.

“He won a lot of races early in his career and then he went into kind of a slump in the middle of his career,” Gossage said.  “It’s hard to win in this sport.  It’s very difficult to win but somewhere along the way he became the elder statesman in kind of the conscience of the garage.

“He has been so important to the sport popularity wise. At a time when our biggest star Dale Earnhardt was lost in a crash at Daytona in 2001, so many of his fans jumped over to Dale Jr. and he definitely delivered.”

Gossage added, “Many people in the garage that have questions turn to Dale Jr. and Dale becomes that voice for them.  Part of this is because the name that he has and part of it is simply that he as such respect for the history of this sport.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (L), driver of the #88 Nationwide/Justice League Chevrolet, and his wife, Amy Earnhardt (R), talk with Texas Motor Speedway president, Eddie Gossage, during a press conference at Texas Motor Speedway on November 3, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Jonathan Ferrey/Getty Images for Texas Motor Speedway)

This weekend TMS is honoring Earnhardt Jr. by holding Dale Earnhardt Jr. Appreci88tion.  Several events have been planned throughout the weekend to honor Earnhardt Jr. and his contribution to the sport of auto racing.  On Saturday, Earnhardt Jr. will be inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame.

“That’s a big honor considering how many people have been inducted in there, so I am proud of him for that,” Gossage said.  We will honor him with a special reception that will be held in The Grand Ballroom of The Speedway Club.”

In a press conference on Friday, Earnhardt Jr. talked about how special Texas Motor Speedway is and what winning there has meant to his racing career.

“Yeah, I mean I didn’t know coming into Texas that this place would become so special to me,” Earnhardt Jr. said.  “We had a tire rub and a couple of other things go on in that XFINITY race that surprised me that we won.  We were able to come back to win and get through the field.  (Joe) Nemechek was hard to beat pretty much every week, a couple of other guys.

“So, I was really proud of that win.  And then to come back and get your first Cup win at the same track… I think that sh

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (L), driver of the #88 Nationwide/Justice League Chevrolet talks with Texas Motor Speedway president, Eddie Gossage, during a press conference at Texas Motor Speedway on November 3, 2017 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Mike Haag/RacedaySA.com)

ows right there how much confidence really matters.  Confidence is an emotion almost.  It’s just more of a feeling than anything, but it can affect performance and choices you make if your confidence is low you make different choices. You think differently and you race differently, so certainly having that win in the Xfinity series I think had everything to do or a lot to do with us coming back and winning in the Cup series at the same track for the first time.  It did amazing things for my career.

Earnhardt Jr. has finished no worse than sixth in his last five Texas Motor Speedway starts and that includes a runner-up performance in the April race last year.  He missed the 2016 AAA Texas 500 due to a concussion but returned for April’s O’Reilly Auto Parts 500 on the repaved and reconfigured track and finished fifth. 

“I don’t know, Texas has been so awesome to me,” Earnhardt Jr. said.  “My wife, Amy, she is from Texas.  I got a whole other family down here.  That is a big, big bonus of being married to her.  We spent all week with them, with her sister and her husband.  So, Texas, is a place that is almost like a second home.  I find I love more and more about it the more time I spend here.”

Earnhardt Jr. added, “But the track, there is nothing really unique about the place other than Eddie (Gossage) has been amazing as far as a promoter.  The things that he does… he is always kind of pushing the envelope.  And he means well I have learned.  Sometimes I have wondered, but I know he is just trying to do a job and take advantage of his opportunities and he has to deliver and so he does what he needs to do to deliver. It reminds me of some of the older style promoters that we used to have.  A lot more flamboyant and creative.  So, a lot of the stuff that he does is actually fun to see. So, his style of promotion brings a certain personality to the track and gives the track a bit of a personality that I think differs from a lot of other places too.  Which I enjoy, I think that having Eddie here and the job that he does, as hard as it is to admit, he does a really good job and has everything to do with where this place is today.”

After the news conference with Earnhardt Jr., Gossage presented him with several gifts.  The first included a therapeutic horse named ‘Chevy’ that is going to be renamed in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s honor.  The horse is being sponsored by TMS at the Victory Therapy Center in Roanoke, Texas.

In addition, he was also given a piece of the TMS scoreboard (the No. 1 position from the 2000 Direct TV 500, Dale Jr.’s first win in NASCAR Cup Series competition.  He and Amy were also given some baby gifts including a custom baby stroller.

“We are going to miss him being in a race car,” Gossage said.  “I was fortunate to be the guy who handed him the trophy after the first win and back in 2000 and I wouldn’t be too disappointed to hand him the last trophy of his career here on November 5.”

To listen to today’s news conference, click below.