Dale Earnhardt Jr will soon be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. In other words, he joins the likes of several NASCAR legends like Richard Petty, Red Farmer, Mike Stefanik, and his own father. However, the former Hendrick Motorsports driver knows that he has not even come close to Dale Sr in terms of success.
He confessed, “Once I got to Hendrick and really realized what being a driver is about, and really understood what kind of commitment it takes, I look back on the Bud years and go, Wow, I really could have done so much more with that because I had some really awesome race cars and we had a hell of a team. There’s some regrets and mistakes and things that I wish I would have done differently. Dad would have pointed those out for sure.”
What else did Dale Earnhardt Jr say?
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Despite his lack of on-track success, Dale Jr has managed to build the Earnhardt empire in NASCAR. To be precise, the 15-time Most Popular Driver award winner has done a lot to preserve his family’s legacy. Additionally, just because he himself has not been successful in terms of individual trophies, it does not mean that he did not have the Midas touch.
In fact, he is the proud owner of a successful media company, with two popular shows. He also co-owns the JR Motorsports Xfinity Series team. Speaking of his late father, Dale Earnhardt Jr confessed that his dad would be surprised at his on-track success. To be precise, Dale Jr does have two consecutive Xfinity Series titles under his belt, namely the 1998 and 1999 Xfinity Series crowns.
At the same time though, Dale Sr would have still offered some bits of advice, disguised as criticism. However, his son wouldn’t have it any other way. In fact, he would expect it and even welcome that type of criticism.
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