Remember when David Gilliland intentionally swerved into Juan Pablo Montoya in Texas in November 2008? It’s been a decade, but Dale Earnhardt Jr certainly recalled the same. After all, Junior had a front seat to the collision and quickly expressed his disgust at Gilliland’s endangering Montoya, claiming there’s no place in NASCAR for such shenanigans.

Unfortunately for Dale Earnhardt Jr, he now finds the Twitter community reminiscing about his similar run-in with Brian Vickers only a few months later during the Daytona 500 in 2009. While Kyle Busch was expecting to seal a heroic win, Junior and Vickers’ crash led to most of the frontrunners painting the lapped duo as the villains who ruined their race. And now, 14 years after the incident, the community is back to discussing what went so wrong for Dale Earnhardt Jr fans on that fateful day!

Dale Earnhardt Jr’s 2009 Daytona 500 crash comes back to haunt him!

Sharing pictures from the moments before disaster struck Earnhardt Jr and Brian Vickers in 2009, Kelly Crandall from RacerMag prompted fans to join in and reminisce about the incident. Immediately, fans began to recall the last-minute horror. But it looks like they were not the only ones suffering at the sight of the controversial incident! Dale Earnhardt Jr joined in to share a GIF from The Office with the caption, “Nope. Don’t like that.”

But what went wrong for Earnhardt Jr to react this way? It all began when the rain deities decided to add some rough weather to the mix. While Joe Gibbs Racing had one of the fastest cars on the track, problems plagued Hendrick Motorsports and Jr’s #88 Chevy throughout the race. Dale Earnhardt Jr would also miss his pit box by quite the mark, meaning his car would need to be moved into the designated area before any work could be done.

Adding to his ever-increasing frustration, the crew decided to go against the officials and proceeded with the pit stop. This would cost Junior heavily, as he would be detained for a lap, with the #88 driver inching closer to his boiling point by the second. The ticking bomb that was Jr’s patience would finally explode on lap 124 while heading the pack for a double-file restart. He would hang around the inside of Vickers as the pair headed into the braking zone, but Vickers would have the upper hand after allegedly pushing Junior a bit too far to the yellow line.

As Dale Earnhardt Jr attempted to take the lead between the two lapped cars, Vickers would immediately throw a block as retaliation. Their intense battle would result in Junior clipping Vickers’ rear end and sending him spinning out of turn 3. What ensued was a multi-car pileup, which ended the race for Kyle Busch and ten other drivers!

READ MORE: Despite Immense Controversy, Dale Earnhardt Jr Calls IndyCar’s Big Change “Great News”

After the race, the community and the drivers’ were all split between blaming Dale Earnhardt Jr for losing his cool and feeling bummed out about the incident and the damage it caused to other driver’s races. While Vickers felt Junior was to blame, the HMS star took a rather level-headed approach to the incident post-race.

Junior reveals how things unfolded

Trending

NASCAR Lawsuit: France Family Blocked Michael Jordan’s Acquisition of Tony Stewart’s Ruins After SHR Deterioration

After Painful NASCAR Exit, Tony Stewart Shutting Down Prized Venture In Emotional Decision Shocks Fans

Joe Gibbs’ Star Ran Out of Talent, Claims Bubba Wallace Insider After Successive Kansas Fumbles

Ricky Rudd Boldly Predicts Shane van Gisbergen to Lose His NASCAR Crown With Cup Series Promotion

“It Terrifies Me”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Confesses an Unexpected Fear of His Iconic NASCAR Trophies

Reflecting on what went down on lap 124 of the Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr immediately felt the incident was accidental. He shared his remorse for causing the wreck that resulted in ten cars facing collateral damage. Junior was quoted by BleacherReport, “The rain was coming. It was time to try to win the race and I was trying to get back on the lead lap. So I had to run hard. If Vickers could have just held his ground, I had a good run”

Junior was aware he was a lapped car and wasn’t battling for the lead, but his run was too brilliant to stay behind Vickers. But as he tried to overtake, Junior felt the aggressive block was uncalled for. He further elaborated, “He was driving like a damn idiot. That’s not clever, smart driving. That’s ridiculous. It doesn’t look clean to me. I hate I wrecked him and everyone else that got in that wreck, but Brian ain’t no saint in the matter.”

WATCH THIS STORY: NASCAR Mourns the Loss of Ken Squier

While the media and community both felt Dale Earnhardt Jr was responsible at the moment, once we take into consideration all factors, the incident could not have happened solely due to one driver’s mistakes. Who do you think was more to blame?