HOMESTEAD, Fla. -- On Sunday night at Homestead-Miami, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s goal for his 631st and final NASCAR Cup Series race wasn't flashy or haughty.
It was very simple: "I want to run all the laps and finish the race," he confessed Sunday morning, just a few hours before the green flag was waved over the Ford EcoBoost 400. "And I want to have a good time doing it."
By the time the checkered flag had waved, he'd come up short on the first goal, finishing three laps down after suffering from a leaky tire. But he easily accomplished the other two, streaking across the finish line running in 25th place and holding an impromptu party with his team on pit road.
Surrounded by hundreds of fans from NASCAR's most rabid fan base, he cracked open beers with his crew. He stayed on the pit lane for nearly a full hour after the race's end before finally breaking away to congratulate his friend and former employee, Martin Truex Jr., who was celebrating a NASCAR Cup Series title a few hundred yards away.
"I just wanted to make sure I shook every hand of every guy on this team," the 43-year old explained, gripping a can of Budweiser. "A lot of these guys have been with me for a lot of years. They have been there for me even when I couldn't be at the racetrack with them."
Earnhardt was referring to the two stints in 2012 and '16 when he was forced out of the driver's seat due to concussion-like symptoms. Ultimately, that's what led him to make the decision to retire. He says that decision was made before this season started, but wasn't made public until April 25. The months since were a countdown to Sunday night.
"For me, the real emotion was when Dale came to me with his decision earlier this year," said team owner Rick Hendrick, who has fielded Earnhardt's race cars since 2008, when the racer left Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, the organization founded by his legendary father. "I have certainly been emotional today. We all have. But there's also a sense of relief. I hugged him just now when he got out of the car, and the first thing we said was, now we finally need to go fishing. I am going to start planning that trip tomorrow."
Earnhardt will not be gone from the racetrack. He will continue to field teams in the Xfinity Series as a car owner. On Saturday night, his driver, William Byron, won that series championship. He still plans to run a handful of races in that series, and will also be in the broadcast booth with NBC.
But, still surrounded by a ring of fans Sunday night, he promised there would be no Cup Series comebacks.
"My time has passed, and I am cool with that. Nothing that's happened today or tonight has changed my mind about that. If anything, it's only made me realize that I have made the right decision."