Dale Earnhardt Jr Would Rather Be a “Fool” and Lose Than Make No Impact on the Race

While it was Austin Hill who emerged as the victor in the RAPTOR King of Tough 250, why is the internet going on and on about Jesse Love? After all, some might consider what happened to him to be a “rookie” mistake. But Dale Earnhardt Jr, owner of the Xfinity team, JR Motorsports, might have made the same mistake, despite having an illustrious career. Dale might also have the answer to the question asked above.

After securing pole position for the second time, Jesse Love, a promising rookie, appeared to be in stellar form at Atlanta. He showcased his skills by leading for most of the race, dominating the first two stages and maintaining his lead for an impressive 157 out of 169 laps. However, his exceptional performance took a sudden turn during a late-race restart, caused by multiple cars running out of fuel on the track.

Love’s car also experienced fuel issues. Being consistently at the front of the pack likely contributed to him burning more fuel than expected. Despite his efforts to restart his No. 2 Chevrolet, the setback had already taken its toll, resulting in a 12th-place finish for the young driver.

As reported by Toby Christie, Jesse regretted the outcome of the race as he said, “As a driver, I always want to take whatever responsibility that I can. Maybe Jesse Love could have saved more fuel tonight leading out front, right? I thought I was saving a good bit, but man, it honestly died on that restart”.

Jesse Love’s remark suggests that he believed he had sufficient fuel to reach the finish line, with his No. 2 Chevrolet Camaro maintaining power, with three laps remaining. However, when nearly every Ford in the field ran out of fuel on that lap, and when Ryan Sieg’s #39 Ford stopped on the track, race officials waved the caution flag. This caution extended the race into overtime, which resulted in Love losing the lead.

Though Jesse Love believes that he should have saved his fuel, Dale Earnhardt Jr shared words of support on his podcast ‘The Dale Jr. Download’ on Dirty Mo Media.

Dale Earnhardt Jr comforts Jesse Love, coming from a similar place

It was during the 2016 Daytona 500 that Dale Earnhardt Jr had high hopes, driving a car he had fondly named ‘Amelia’. Throughout the series of racing events, Dale Earnhardt Jr was aware that he had a winning car. His focus was to ensure that the car made it to Sunday without any unfortunate accidents. Though Dale was successful in this goal, he surely wasn’t as lucky in the race itself.

As Jordan Bianchi wrote, ‘Earnhardt’s once-promising afternoon turned into a disappointing finish’. Dale had ‘had a rocket all week’, as he said, but as the race drew to a close on Sunday, he found himself in a familiar scenario: losing control of his car in the unpredictable fourth turn.

With just 31 laps remaining, he was making a push towards the top five when his car suddenly lost traction in the rear-end while navigating Turn 4. This caused it to slide in front of oncoming traffic and ultimately collide with the inside wall, just after overtaking Denny Hamlin and Joey Logano.

So, it’s possible that Dale’s words for Jesse come from a place of familiarity of ‘almost making it’. He lifted Jesse’s spirits by pointing out that Jesse’s move was remarkable and memorable. And that he’d rather be remembered for his efforts than be boring.

He said in his podcast, “I don’t think that’s a rookie mistake. I think you go out there and you run your a** off as long as you can. But, like, you use the word like run, run like hell. You may look like a fool, like, conventional wisdom says save the fuel, right? Yes, like common sense says, save the fuel. But damn it, that’s boring“.

Amidst the buzz surrounding Jesse Love’s performance at the RAPTOR King of Tough 250, one thing is clear: he’s shown the essence of racing – a blend of triumph and failure. Dale Earnhardt Jr’s words come at a time when failure seems to have overtaken in terms of results, thus highlighting the importance of giving your best and making a go for it!

Read More: Heartbreak for Jesse Love as Austin Hill Claims a Consecutive Xfinity Victory at Atlanta