It’s been more than two decades since NASCAR lost Dale Earnhardt in a tragic accident at the Daytona 500. For many, that crash was a turning point for NASCAR, and the sport just hasn’t been the same ever since his passing. Talented race car drivers like Jimmie Johnson, Tony Stewart, Brad Keselowski, and Kyle Busch have carried the baton, but none have come close to his racing legacy.

His larger-than-life personality and character transcended beyond the racetracks. Perhaps the only one who can carry on the Intimidator’s legacy is his own family. Although Dale Jr. and his sister Kelley Earnhardt have grown to become influential personalities in the sport, the 4-year-old, Nicole Earnhardt stands out in her tribute to the Intimidator. She recreated an iconic portrait of the seven-time Cup Series Champion wearing his patented yellow helmet from the days of the Wrangler car in 1984.

“crew chief, tighten me up!” this was the caption Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared on Instagram. The first slide of his post was a painting of Dale Sr. in his yellow helmet, whereas the second slide saw Nicole perfectly recreating that moment with the actual helmet. The only clear difference here was that the helmet was too big for Nicole. However, the NASCAR community was just overwhelmed with the cuteness on display.

As soon as Dale Jr. shared this post online on Instagram, the comment section was completely flooded. Most of them couldn’t get over how adorable Nicole looked, while others claimed that she was next in line to lead the Earnhardt legacy.

NASCAR fans can’t have enough of Nicole imitating the Intimidator

Some fans were able to identify the similarities between Nicole and Dale Earnhardt. The 4-year-old certainly looked like her grandpa with the helmet on, and the fans were all for it. Although she has a lot of time until she can decide on her career options, most of the fans could see Nicole adding to her family’s racing legacy. “Those Earnhardt genes run deep.”

It was indeed tough for Dale Jr. and Kelley to navigate their path into NASCAR racing after Earnhardt’s death. They had to fight tooth and nail against their stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt, over the ownership of DEI. But they made a tough call in leaving the team and carrying on their father’s legacy with JR Motorsports. Not only that, Jr. has established himself as the most influential voice in the NASCAR community despite not being an active driver. Tipping his hat towards Dale Jr. and sharing the wholesome moment, this fan wrote, “Your daddy is looking down prouder than ever.”

Even the likes of Rajah Caruth and veteran driver Mark Martin reacted to this Instagram post. And well, it didn’t take a lot of time for a few ardent Dale Earnhardt supporters to start predicting Nicole’s future career options. We all know Kelley Earnhardt wanted to race and was a talented race car driver, but that didn’t work out for her. Who knows? Nicole might fulfill that story, representing her family as a woman driver sometime in the future. “She’s definitely going to be the racer in the family.”

After what seemed like a long off-season break, fans are finally getting warmed up with the Clash at Bowman Gray and the Daytona 500 lineup for next month. However, this Instagram post cheered up a lot of fans to that level, “Best thing on the internet since the Daytona 500 announcement!”

Now we’ve seen young drivers starting to race as early as five years old. We have the likes of Brexton Busch and Keelan Harvick, who have followed this blueprint and are now on their way to becoming professional race car drivers. Not sure Dale Jr. is open to seeing his kids take up racing, but this fan couldn’t help but envision Nicole on the tracks in the future. “Has she been on the go-kart track out back yet? Let her rip.”