Dale Earnhardt Jr Gives Up ‘Savior of NASCAR’ Title With a Humble Confession

If there is a messiah of stock car racing, our eyes will definitely narrow down on the sweet Southern accent of a veteran racer. Dale Earnhardt Jr hung up his fire suit in 2017, but he has continued to stay relevant since. The 26-time Cup winner could not match his rivals’ win tally, but he certainly won over fans with a staggering 15-time win of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award .

‘The Intimidator’s son became the face of NASCAR, especially after his 2014 Daytona win, when he launched his podcast. However, despite being hailed as the motorsport’s leading voice, the former NBC commentator feels amiss in his contributions. In line with his humble disposition, Dale Jr recently admitted to occasional mistakes in race analyses.

The drivers literally “run” everything!

Being NASCAR’s de facto commissioner, Dale Earnhardt Jr puts in remarkable effort for the sport. For instance, the revival of the North Wilkesboro Speedway was mostly his brainchild. In 2019, he had lobbied hard for the track to host races again after going defunct in 1996. It was unveiled in 2022, and finally, we are getting to see a Cup race there this weekend.

But despite his magnanimous contribution, Dale Earnhardt Jr has his moments of self-doubt. In an interview with ‘Rubbin is Racing’, he was hailed as ‘Jesus Christ’ or the ‘Savior of NASCAR’ by one co-host. Dale Jr countered this with an honest self-evaluation: “It’s hard for me from my perspective to measure my influence.” Furthermore, the retired veteran also revealed who fans should be listening to, instead of him. 

When drivers leave a racetrack, they are imbued with the fresh smell of rubber and new learnings. This is what Dale Jr drew into focus in his interview. Not wanting to keep the title for himself, he drew the spotlight on the active drivers on the field. Revealing how their voices add immense value to the growth of the sport, the veteran revealed how fans hang onto the drivers’ every word, in a way even greater than that of NASCAR officials.

“It’s interesting because our CEO, our commissioner, or people on the NASCAR side of things, rarely drum that type of reaction from the fan base. But when the drivers say it, that’s true. ‘He said it, I believe it. More horsepower, hell yeah!’”

Having said that, Dale Jr does realize why people shouldn’t be paying heed to his advice, but racers. Giving a special nod to Denny Hamlin and his ‘Actions Detrimental’ podcast, the veteran shared, “Denny and these drivers who are driving these cars every single week are really who we need to be listening to when it comes to competition stuff…they’re the ones I would listen to.” 

Besides Junior’s podcast influence, Denny Hamlin’s voice also booms across racing circles as his podcast produces cutting insights week in, week out. The Joe Gibbs Racing driver’s influence was amply evident, yet again, when recently NASCAR adopted the in-season tournament idea (that the #11 driver had proposed way back in 2023). Boasting a $1-million prize purse, the new development has even drummed up interest from the likes of Kyle Larson. 

Perhaps the reason Dale Jr chooses not to bear the beacon of NASCAR’s hope is because even he has his own slip-ups!

Dale Earnhardt Jr resorts to self-criticism

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It’s safe to say that NASCAR is ever-evolving. And so are fan and industry insiders’ opinions. But sometimes those opinions end up being premature or inaccurate. And that’s something even The Intimidator’s son is guilty of.

Talking about how his opinions end up being entirely untrue, our popular veteran drew up an anecdotal example. “I get in these moments on my own show where I get frustrated about something around NASCAR or critical of, you know, short-track racing, for example. You know, you come in there and get all fired up and piss yourself off. You walk out of the room and you go, ‘Man, it’s kinda really that bad’,” he revealed, before talking further about what makes him feel like an idiot at times. 

But all the tantrums are neutralized immediately after, when the racing product significantly improves. “Then you have two weeks in a row, like the greatest racing finishes that we could possibly ask for,” Dale Earhnardt Jr confessed candidly, before adding, “Then you’re going, ‘Damn, I feel like an idiot for raising hell about three weeks ago about the short track package, ’cause things are really good right now.’”

It’s safe to say that while NASCAR runs in Dale Earnhardt Jr’s blood, owing to the sport’s unpredictability, even the veteran cannot be one step ahead any time he wants. After all, it’s the unforeseeable nature of the stock car racing that draws us to it, isn’t it?