Dale Earnhardt Jr. Admits Plans to ‘Disappear’ From Limelight in the Future

Dale Earnhardt Jr. might finally enjoy his retirement from the racetrack after welcoming his first child with wife Amy earlier this year. The former NASCAR racer teased plans to “disappear” from the limelight in hopes to grow his family.

After retiring from racing, Earnhardt went into the broadcast booth, but even that will not last forever. At some point, his family is “going to disappear,” Earnhardt told PEOPLE.

“We’re just going to go do whatever we want,” Earnhardt said.

“Try and be normal,” Amy, 36, chimed in.

“I look forward to it,” Earnhardt, 44, added. “There’ll be a day when me and her just hang out and don’t need to be anywhere.”

Earnhardt and Amy welcomed their first daughter, Isla Rose, in April. They are not done yet, telling PEOPLE they plan to have another child soon.

“We’d love to have another child,” Earnhardt said.

“We’re kind of in the trenches still, a little bit,” Amy added. “We want her to have a sibling, so we’ll try sooner [rather] than later.”

Earnhardt was the most popular NASCAR driver at the time of his retirement last year. After several injuries and concussions, he decided he could no longer race. He wrote about his health struggles in his memoir Racing to the Finish, and he also does not plan on going back to competitive racing, especially since he doesn’t have to worry about getting hurt.

“I have this happiness over the fact that I don’t have to worry about getting hurt,” Earnhardt told PEOPLE. “When I come home to [Isla], I don’t have to worry about ever coming home hurt. I don’t ever have to worry about spending months with symptoms while she’s turning 1. You know what I mean? Me and Amy get to experience this together.”

Amy also said life has been “a lot less stressful” since he retired. She no longer has to worry about whether or not her husband would come home safety.

During his career, Earnhardt had frequent experiences with crashes, concussions and injuries. In 2004, he was in a near-fatal car crash, three years after his legendary father died at the 2001 Daytona 500. In a podcast interview in August, Earnhardt said he believes something otherworldly saved his life.

“I fell to the ground, and there’s pictures of me laying on the ground next to the car,” Earnhardt said on his podcast. “I know that when I got to the hospital, I was like, ‘Who pulled me out of the car? I gotta say thanks to this person,’ because it was a hand! It was physical hands grabbing me! I felt it.”

Earnhardt’s Racing to the Finish: My Story was published on Oct. 16.

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