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“I walked into the bus and cried” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his pre-marriage career setback
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is considered as one of the most successful racers in NASCAR’s modern era. The Hall of Famer spoke about one of his lowest points in racing while talking to Kenny Wallace nine months ago.
After spending over 20 years in motorsports, Earnhardt Jr. decided to retire as a full-time NASCAR Cup Series driver in 2017. Since then, he has been active as an analyst on the Dale Jr. Download podcast.The 49-year-old opened up about one of his weakest moments during his entire racing career while talking to legendary NASCAR driver Kenny Wallace back in November 2023. He stated that it was during the final few years of his career and that he was with his future wife Amy at the time.
Earnhardt Jr. spoke about the disappointment he felt because of poor results in qualifying.
“We’re (Dale Jr. and Amy) at Richmond, and I feel like I’ve qualified 23rd for eight weeks in a row. I mean, it just, it wasn’t, I really didn’t qualify 23rd eight weeks in a row, but gosh, it felt like I just, I had this sort of rider’s block. I just could not get past that sort of mediore, even less than mediocre performance in qualifying and it was bugging the hell out of me and I didn’t know why we couldn’t do better” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said, explaining the situation. (0:21 onwards).
“I qualified 22nd or 23rd, and went back to the bus, and walked into the bus, and walked back into the bathroom, and shut the door, and cried, and I mean, I didn’t know what else to do,” he added (1:05 onwards)
“He had nothing” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares emotional memories of his father with Donnie Rives
NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. invited Donnie Rives, his father Dale Sr.’s best friend on the Dale Jr. Download Podcast. Both the North Carolina-based racer and Rives revisited several memories of the seven-time Cup Series champion throughout the episode.
During the conversation, Earnhardt Jr. shared his emotional state after losing Dale Sr. in 2001.
“When Dad (Dale Sr.) was gone, it was a gut punch. You didn’t know what to do next or how you could do anything next,” the NASCAR Hall of Famer commented (10:32 onwards).
However, Earnhardt Jr. went ahead and highlighted his father’s determination by comparing a similar situation in both their lives.
“When I lost Dad, I had a life in front of me. I had a comfortable existence. I had a job and an amazing race team around me and I had everything right,” He said. (11:22 onwards) .
“When he lost his Dad, he had nothing. He was working a job at Great Dane or whatever. He had nothing, barely enough food in the fridge to eat. No racing job,” Earnhardt added (11:42 onwards).
Dale Earnhardt Sr. lost his life in a tragic accident at Daytona on February 18th, 2001. He still holds a joint record with Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty for the most Cup Series championships (seven titles).
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The build-up to the Azerbaijan Grand Prix has been dominated by news off the track this week. Adrian Newey’s confirmed move to Aston Martin has sent shockwaves through F1, with speculation now rife that Max Verstappen could be following him through the door.
However, the Dutchman’s primary focus this week though will be maintaining his grip on the drivers’ championship. He is 62 points clear of Lando Norris, but with eight races to go the gap is closing with McLaren currently superior in pace.
The British team are also now just eight points behind Red Bull in the Constructors’ race. And the first indication of who will be superior this weekend will come at 10.30am BST, when FP1 gets underway in Baku.
Lewis Hamilton will be forced to start the Azerbaijan Grand Prix from the pit lane despite qualifying in seventh place.
After the session, a fifth power unit of the season was installed into Hamilton’s car, exceeding his allocated limit.
An extended DRS zone on the home straight will provide plenty of overtaking opportunities during the race
George Russell has admitted that he is not impressed with Mercedes reverting back to their old floor design in Baku.
“I qualified third last week on the new floor, qualified fourth in Zandvoort on the new floor, and I’ve qualified fifth today,” he said.
“It was a team decision and we were substantially off the pace in the race, but clearly, there was some performance in the car in qualifying the last two races.
“I think [it’s] probably validation that it’s not the floor that’s making the difference.”
Red Bull advisor Helmut Marko believes a rare mistake from Max Verstappen cost him in qualifying.
The Dutchman will start from sixth on the grid and will line up behind team-mate Sergio Perez for the first time in 33 races.
“The positive is that we found speed again, although Max made a rare mistake at Turn 16,” reflected Marko.
“He lost six-tenths as a result, but without that mistake, a second place would have been really possible.”
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NASCAR is heading to its second race in the 2024 Cup Series playoffs. The next challenge for the 16 drivers is Watkins Glen International. In its first time hosting the playoffs, ‘The Glen’ will be more challenging this year. As NASCAR is introducing a new tire compound in the race. These new tires have a 3-second wear-off rate and are bound to make tire management a challenge for the drivers.
However, the tire wear will also make passing the cars easier on track. Hence, the race results won’t be heavily dependent on the qualifying position. This has Chase Elliott take a sigh of relief as he’s trying to forget his 2023 run on the track. According to the Hendrick Motorsports driver, the new tire compound will play a crucial role in the upcoming Watkins Glen race.
At the 2023 Watkins race, Elliot qualified 15th and only managed to climb up to 13th before his first pit stop. The early pit stop initially played a decent role in upping his track position as he progressed to 7th. However, the team tried to stretch their run by staying out. Eventually, Elliott was out of fuel and he finished in the 32nd position. And because it was tough to pass, he ended his run a lap down. This was Elliott’s worst career finish on the track. This is surprising because Elliott has been a dominant force in Watkins Glen. In the past five races, he’s won twice (2018,2019) and finished in the top 5 in the other two (2021, 2022).
Elliott, in the current qualifying, will be starting from 14th position, but that according to him won’t be a problem thanks to the new Goodyear tires. In the pre-race interview, he said, “I mean it was like you know if you didn’t qualify well you were just totally setting yourself up to fail and I think that has really been the case all the way up until all the way through last year. You know truthfully, and I think the only thing that could potentially change that would just be whether or not the tire falls off. You know if a tire actually has some fall of to it, then you know potentially you could. You can not have to qualify on the front row to have a shot to win.”
Well, Elliott’s hopes of passing everyone to victory are based on ifs and buts. However, Goodyear is certain of its claims. Greg Stucker, Goodyear’s director of racing, had previously said, “Based on our test and a subsequent WFT (wheelforce test) with the manufacturers, we should see around three seconds of fall-off per lap over a run. That, of course, can mean more passing throughout the race. It’s always tricky on road courses as drivers take advantage of a limited number of ‘passing zones’, so the increased fall-off should lead to more comers and goers as some drivers manage their tires and gain on the field as the runs go on.”
To test the new tire compound, teams were given two practice sessions this time, rather than a single one. After the two 20-minute sessions, the tire wear-off data came in. Most cars experienced at least two seconds of fall-off during a 10-lap run. This means that the race is going to get interesting. A high wear rate also means the car would be tricky to handle. Adding to the uncertainties, NASCAR has also made several changes to the track. Recently, NASCAR drivers voiced their concerns about the changes made.
After retiring from the Cup Series in 2017, Dale Earnhardt Jr has engaged in several ventures. One of them includes participating in the Xfinity Series in a limited capacity every year. For this year, Junior decided to compete at Bristol Motor Speedway in September. However, with strong rumors circulating that this might be his last Xfinity race participation, it has disappointed the fans.
It is no secret how the fans still adore Dale Earnhardt Jr. Despite his presence mainly seen in the broadcast booths and his podcast, the former Hendrick Motorsports driver remains a popular face in NASCAR. Last year, he raced at Bristol and was on course for an impressive finish. However, a fire on his #88 car spoiled everything.
Ever since his retirement, Dale Earnhardt Jr preferred to compete in select races in the Xfinity Series. Normally, he tends to race at short tracks like Martinsville Speedway, Richmond Raceway, Darlington Raceway, and Homestead-Miami Speedway. While he ran two races last year, this year it will be only at Bristol Motor Speedway.
Last year, while driving his #88 Chevrolet Camaro, Dale Jr looked in a good position to win the race. Having led 47 laps, he could have gone all the way had smoke not filled his cockpit. Unfortunately, despite being close to an impressive finish, he finished P30 because the shifter tunnel column caught fire and burned the bottom of his uniform.
That said, he will be back at Bristol this year to make amends. Having competed in at least one race in the Xfinity Series since 2001, Dale Earnhardt Jr will race the same car as last year. While he confirmed it through a social media post, he clarified that the car is totally stripped and rebuilt. It is worth noting that the car will be sponsored by longtime partner Hellmann’s.
There is no doubt that Dale Jr loves racing but considering his comments in June earlier this year, it feels this might be his last race in the Xfinity Series. Back then, he said, “I don’t really share this publicly — but every year, I pretty much feel like it could be my last. I’m going into this race at Bristol this year knowing that it might be the last one I run. There’s nothing that really makes that decision. It’s just last year was a lot of fun, led some laps. But it is a big commitment.”
Interestingly, Dale Earnhardt Jr competing at Bristol next weekend will be his 147th Xfinity Series start. While he has enjoyed a victory both in the Cup Series and the Xfinity Series at the half-mile track, he would love to secure his 25th Xfinity win next week. A win or not, Junior’s fans would be delighted to see him back on the track. However, they seem to be disheartened knowing that this could be the last they could see him on a NASCAR track.
