Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s NASCAR Cup career in pictures

Dale Jr. entered NASCAR's premier division full-time in 2000, racing alongside his legendary father and seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt Sr.

The eyes of the NASCAR world were on Dale Jr. as he made his foray into the Cup Series and he did not disappoint.

It didn't take the younger Earnhardt to find success, winning the seventh race of the 2000 season at Texas Motor Speedway.

Thanks to his victory at Texas, Dale Jr. became eligible for NASCAR's annual All-Star Race, then known as 'The Winston' at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He beat both Dale Jarrett and his famous father to win the race.

But it wasn't until the 2001 July Daytona race when Dale solidified his place in the hearts of millions of race fans. Just months after his father's tragic death in the Daytona 500, Junior returned to the track and conquered it on July 4th weekend.

For Dale Jr., it helped bring closure to a tragedy that rocked both the Earnhardt family and the entire racing community. But he wasn't done winning yet...

Dale Jr. won three races during the 2001 season and although none can compare to his Daytona triumph, his victory at Dover was emotional in its own kind of way. It was the first race since the September 11th terrorist attacks and the world was still reeling from what happened just a couple hours north of the track.

Pied Piper of plate races - 2001 October Talladega

One area where Dale Jr. took after his father was plate racing. He quickly asserted himself as one of the best at Daytona and Talladega, winning the fall 2001 race at the Alabama Superspeedway.

And then he won at Talladega again.

And again...

And then a fourth time! From October, 2001 to April, 2003, only Dale Earnhardt Jr. could call himself a winner at Talladega Superspeedway.

It took his father 20 years to win his first (and only) Daytona 500, but Junior did it in just four, beating Tony Stewart to the line in 2004.

The Daytona 500 is without question NASCAR's most prestigious race and winning it puts you in an elite group of drivers including countless champions and multiple HOFers.

Dale Jr. finished third in the championship standings in 2003, but it wasn't until 2004 when he became a real title threat. He won a career-high six races and entered the finale with a mathematical shot at the crown, ultimately ending the season fifth.

Dale Jr. was one of ten drivers who became part of the first ever Chase for the Cup in 2004.

One of Dale's proudest victories came in the 2004 Bristol night race, an event he had circled on his wish list. He led 295 of 500 laps, lapping all but seven drivers.

2007 was the first season where Dale Jr. went winless, ending the year 16th in the standings. He also made headlines, choosing to leave the team his father built in search of a new beginning.

In 2008, the red Budweiser No. 8 became part of the past as Dale flipped the page to a new chapter with Hendrick Motorsports.

It took Dale Jr. just 12 races to find Victory Lane in his new role at Hendrick Motorsports, playing the fuel-mileage game to capture the checkered flag at Michigan International Speedway.

Rick Hendrick was there to celebrate the win with his new driver in Victory Lane, and it would not be the last.

Junior's 2008 Michigan win turned out to be his last for quite a while. He did not win again until 2012, going three full seasons without a single victory. Many wondered if he would ever win again.

Dale Jr.'s winless streak ended at the same site of his previous win -- Michigan. He led 95 of 200 laps, taking the checkered flag a full five seconds clear of his closest competitor.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. one-upped his own father in 2014 when he won the Daytona 500 for the second time. It's a feat rarely accomplished in NASCAR -- Only 11 drivers (including Dale) have ever done it.

The Daytona 500 marked the beginning of a return to form for the driver of the No. 88. In 2014, he won four races.

For the first time in eleven years, Dale Jr. won at Talladega Superspeedway again, his sixth victory at NASCAR's biggest track.

With wins at both Talladega and Daytona, Dale qualified for NASCAR's championship playoffs, which underwent a massive overhaul in 2014 as it transitioned to a knockout-style format.

Unfortunately for Dale Jr., his 2014 championship hopes ended at Talladega. He needed to win the race to keep his playoffs alive. Although he restarted 2nd for a two-lap shootout, he never got a shot at the win as the race abruptly ended due to back-to-back restart crashes.

Dale Jr. won the penultimate race of the 2015 season at Phoenix Raceway and unless he wins in his final start at Homestead, this will stand as his final Cup victory.

18 races into the 2016 season, Dale Jr. announced that he would be sidelined for the remainder of the year due to concussion-like symptoms. Dale quickly became an outspoken ambassador for concussion research, having suffered several throughout his career.

Eight races into his return in 2017, Dale Jr. announced that this would be his final season of NASCAR Cup competition. He stated then, "I just wanted the opportunity to go out on my own terms."

Dale never found Victory Lane during the season, but he still found his way to the front at the plate tracks. In fact, he won the pole at both the July Daytona race and October Talladega race.

For his final start at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Dale Jr. is running a color scheme reminiscent of his original ride behind the wheel of the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet.

Dale Jr. isn't the only driver stepping away from Cup competition after this weekend. Matt Kenseth entered the Cup Series at the same time as Junior and now, it appears they will end their careers together.

Although Dale Jr. never won a Cup title, he still found great success in his career with 26 career wins, two Harley J. Earl trophies in the Daytona 500 and over 600 starts in NASCAR's premier division. But of course, the 14-time Most Popular Driver's impact goes far beyond the race track.