While being a Cup Series driver can be rewarding and lucrative, it has its downsides too. Weeks after weeks, the speedsters travel constantly, staying away from their family and dear ones. When an average American man can afford to go to church on a Sunday with his family, the Cup Series drivers sit behind the garage, conjuring race-winning strategies with their teams.

Unfortunately, their very challenging career does not warrant them a lot of leisure. 15-time most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr surely had his share of ups and downs but recently, he revealed that even he might have made a mistake in his choices.

Dale Earnhardt Jr weighs in on his demanding racing calendar

Any kind of racing is a very demanding job. Driving a stock car requires extraordinary powers of concentration for hours straight, because the cars run continuously at the limits of traction, scurrying through tremendous traffic. Moreover, that requires blazing fast and accurate reflexes, and it requires a great deal of physical endurance. It is not uncommon for a driver to exit his car, dehydrated and so tired that he has to stagger himself up to his feet.

Now imagine doing that every single week. Surely, even the thought would make anyone raise their eyebrows in awe. Indeed, it’s a huge commitment. But at the same time, the Cup Series drivers make a lot of money. But is money everything?

As the recent episode of the Dale JR Download kicked off, Junior’s friend and co-host Mike Davis was curious if Dale Earnhardt Jr would take less money to get a chunk of his calendar back, if he got the chance to go back and relive his racing days. Surprisingly, Dale Earnhardt Jr’s reply was positive.

Davis exclaimed, “The money is way better, but there is a cost. That’s because you’re putting in a lot more time!” The JR Motorsports owner admitted that he would perhaps take a big pay cut in exchange for free days on his schedule, adding he would love to have days where he could “choose what I wanna do”, especially in his last five years of racing. However, he also shed light on how his years were different from the others.

“Now look, I was spoiled rotten. When you look at the week, I felt like I was busy the whole week but I had plenty of off days,” he said, “Myself, Jamie (McMurray) and all the drivers that are competing now are blessed, are fortunate, they’ve got a great job, it’s exciting. It’s thrilling.”

“But, even then you can easily make it miserable. You can easily screw up. Some people… they’ll get thrown into that mix and come out smiling every day just having a blast. Some people can go in there even with all the blessings and make it miserable,” he added. According to Dale Earnhardt Jr, being competitive doesn’t necessarily mean winning every race of your life. He said, “Get competitive, not need to win every lap.”

Watch this story: The Unconventional Racing Journey of Kelley Earnhardt

However, he is not wrong about the time versus money part. There are others in the racing circuit that feel the same way as him. When the reporters walked up to Stewart-Haas Racing driver Aric Almirola after the last elimination race of the round of 8, even the 39-year-old unknowingly spoke in the light of Dale Junior’s claims.

Aric Almirola illuminated the main reason behind him exiting his Cup ride

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After over a decade of driving in the Cup series, Aric Almirola has announced to retire from being a full-time driver. Although he admitted that he loved driving, retiring so early might have come off as a shock for many SHR fans.

Where someone like Denny Hamlin signed a multi-year deal with Joe Gibbs Racing at 42, Aric Almirola retiring at 39 is unusual indeed. But when Almirola explained the lack of balance in his life due to his day job, it all made sense.

“I wanna scratch the itch but just don’t wanna do it like I have been doing for the last 12 years where it’s 38 weeks and it’s a grind,” said Almirola, “I’m not complaining that it’s a grind because I loved it and I signed up for it”

“I think for me, as I look towards the future, and what my life looks like, I would like to find a better work-life balance than what I have currently,” he added.

It is perhaps safe to say that the situation varies from person to person. While some find joy in a long and illustrious career, others prefer a more balanced approach to life. Nevertheless, everyone would agree that driving in NASCAR’s top-tier series is indeed a humongous task.

Dale Earnhardt Jr Reveals How NASCAR Robbed Him of a Championship in 2014