The Motorsports Group and Circle Sport partnered at the beginning of the 2017 Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series season and together fielded the No. 33 Chevrolet with Earnhardt behind the wheel.

However, the two teams have now gone their separate ways, leaving the future of the fourth generation racer in question. The 28-year-old signed a contract extension in October, but according to a report from ESPN, that contract is no more. He tweeted that the news came as a shock to him, but is eager to see what other opportunities are out there. He has 58 Cup starts to his credit with a career-best result of 26th.

Despite the unfortunate news, he's got the support of his uncle Dale Jr., who retired from Cup competition after making his 631st career start in this year's Homestead-Miami Speedway finale.

The decision to split came from Circle Sport owner Joe Falk earlier this week. TMG now seeking a driver and sponsorship for the 2018 season. "This is sudden for us but we put a plan together rather quickly," said TMG owner Curtis Key. "We've had discussions with potential drivers but it's only been a day since the news and we have more calls to make. We look to have a driver announced in early January."

Falk's plans for 2018 have not yet been announced.