SPARTA – In some form or fashion, Kentucky has fit Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s needs.

He and several other NASCAR drivers complained about the rough surface at Kentucky Speedway, so they repaved it. Then Earnhardt married his wife, Amy, a University of Kentucky alumna.

A victory as the next gift would be welcome for the sport’s exiting superstar.

Earnhardt, NASCAR’s most popular driver for the last 14 years, will run in his final race at Kentucky Speedway in the Monster Energy Cup Series race Saturday night for the Quaker State 400. He’ll start 13th.

Sans a championship, Earnhardt has won the big trophies in 17 years in racing: 26 victories that include two Daytona 500s and the coveted grandfather clock at Martinsville, just to name a couple.

Adding a jukebox – the winner’s trophy for Kentucky Speedway – would not only add to his bulky collection, it’ll help salvage his final season on the Cup circuit.

Earnhardt enters the 18th race of the season sitting at 22nd in the Cup standings with just a single top-5 finish. He announced in April his plans to retire from the full Cup circuit at the end of the season, a decision heavily influenced by his history of concussions.

Despite the poor finishes this season, Kentucky is significant for how far Earnhardt has come physically. His 13th-place finish at Kentucky last year was his last race before missing the back half of the season because of the concussions.

“I’ve thought about that quite a bit, just how big a difference it is from today compared to last year,” Earnhardt said during a news conference after Cup practice Friday. “It reminds me about how much we had to overcome and how much rehab we had to try to get healthy. This is where it all kind of started to come to the surface when the symptoms and all that stuff started to be a concern. It is a bit of a reminder.

“Little dates like this will bring those memories back and remind you to be thankful and fortunate.”

Retirement is the last thing on Earnhardt’s mind. He’s too busy figuring out how best to handle the challenging mile-and-a-half tri-oval in Sparta.

Since the Monster Energy Cup Series race started running at Kentucky Speedway in 2011, Earnhardt has averaged a 14th-place finish with one pole and 10 laps led. His highest finish was fourth in 2012. In six years of racing the Cup circuit in Sparta, the jukebox trophy has gone to either Brad Keselowski or Kyle Busch five times.

For many years, Earnhardt was one of NASCAR’s voices against Kentucky Speedway’s notoriously bumpy front stretch. The speedway was repaved before the 2016 race. A harder tire and change in aerodynamics package allowed for more side-by-side passing and, essentially, better racing.

A flat entry into Turn 3 adds to the navigation difficulty that hasn’t always been there with older cars that Earnhardt said he used to practice in at the track before Kentucky was added to the Cup circuit six years ago.

“This track has kind of been strange to me,” Earnhardt said. “We used to come all the time testing, and it was a very fun track to test. With the cars the way they were (from 2002-04), we just kind of got around this place. It drove completely different, and nothing has changed as far as the configuration in turns 3 and 4. Not enough has changed about the track for it to drive the way it does compared to back then.”

“It doesn’t remind me today of anything like it was back then. Completely different. It’s very strange, but this place is such a challenge to get around now.”

Earnhardt’s retirement announcement comes in an era where NASCAR’s biggest names are fading. Four-time champion Jeff Gordon retired in 2015, three-time champion Tony Stewart left last season and Carl Edwards suddenly stepped away in the offseason.

Tracks have traditionally offered gifts to those retiring drivers – Gordon received 96 bottles of bourbon from Kentucky and Stewart refused gifts last season. For Earnhardt, Kentucky Speedway presented during Friday’s news conference a jukebox to the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in honor of his No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet.

Earnhardt has expressed the idea of running a part-time schedule in the Xfinity Series and hasn’t completely ruled out running in other Cup races in the future, but that hasn’t stopped the retirement circus this season for the third-generation Earnhardt racer.

“I just spent three hours practicing today and never once thought about my retirement or this being my last year, I was thinking of how the hell to get the car a little faster,” Earnhardt said. “Days like today, you could tell me I had five more years of this and I wouldn’t know any better. … You get competitive and you want the best out of your car and an opportunity to win and that’s all that matters and that’s all we’re trying to work for in those moments.”

Matt Kenseth likely done at Joe Gibbs Racing at end of year

SPARTA – Matt Kenseth wants to race next year, but says he has no job lined up and likely has no future at Joe Gibbs Racing.

Kenseth is the 2003 champion and two-time Daytona 500 winner. He is in his fifth season driving for Gibbs.

He said at Kentucky Speedway on Friday that he does not believe returning to the No. 20 Toyota is an option for 2018. Erik Jones is likely going to be moved into that car from Furniture Row Racing, the Gibbs sister team.

Kenseth is trying to land a ride for a 19th consecutive season. One possibility is replacing Earnhardt at Hendrick Motorsports.

Kenseth is 11th in points with six top-10 finishes in 17 starts. All four Gibbs drivers are winless in the Cup Series this season.{&end}