NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. reportedly headed to NBC – Charlotte Observer

Dale Earnhardt Jr. will do television work on NBC’s NASCAR broadcasts once he retires as a competitive driver at the end of this season, Sports Business Daily reported Monday.

Earnhardt announced in April that this would be his last season driving on NASCAR’s top series. He missed roughly half of last season because of concussion symptoms. Earnhardt has yet to win a race this season, which puts his chances in doubt to qualify for the season-ending playoff field.

Earnhardt figured to be a hot commodity in post-driving broadcast work. He has been voted by fans NASCAR’s most popular driver each of the past 14 seasons. Fox and NBC split television rights to NASCAR’s Monster Energy series.

According to Sports Business Daily’s initial report, NBC has not decided how best to use Earnhardt, whether he might be in the play-by-play booth or in studio.

It’s possible, Sports Business Daily reported, that NBC Sports might use Earnhardt outside stock-car racing, such as NFL or Olympic coverage. Earnhardt is a big sports fan – a longtime fan of Washington’s NFL franchise and the NBA’s Charlotte Hornets.