When it runs in the family, what can stop you? NASCAR may be embarking on a brand new season with multiple changes. Yet alongside, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s youngest daughter is also exploring her father and grandfather’s wild side. The Earnhardt legacy is hardly a thing to remind anyone – ranging from Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s seven Cup Series championships to his son’s indomitable NASCAR popularity. Yet Dale Jr.’s wife Amy Earnhardt wants to take it slow.

Her 7-year-old daughter Isla Rose was introduced to the wheel early anyway – she was gifted a go-kart for her third birthday. Similarly, her 5-year-old sister Nicole Lorraine also wants this early start – albeit by upsetting mummy in the process.

Dale Jr.’s youngest sneaks into her calling

When Dale Jr. was a child, he had an upheaval of emotions on the racetrack. When his dad, the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. or the Intimidator, lost a race, Dale Jr would find himself crying uncontrollably. “As a little boy, I cried a few times when Dad had some bad runs,” he said. Interestingly, his daughter Isla also picked up on this habit – she had a visceral reaction when her father failed to win the Bristol Xfinity Series race in 2023. Racing runs in the family genes it seems – and a recent incident confirms this statement even more. Nicole Lorraine, the youngest munchkin in the household, was caught by her mother doing something sneaky.

That was dabbling in her family’s decades-old racing legacy. Amy Earnhardt posted two stories on Instagram to reveal what her daughter was up to. Nicole Lorraine was seated comfortably in her father’s iRacing seat, wearing the most adorable blue shimmering dress. She had the headset on as well and was trying to mimic what her dad does with the wheel. Amy wrote, “She didn’t know I was watching her. And Dad needs to close his critter gate.” When Nicole noticed her mother behind her, she gave out a cheeky smile, to which her mom chidingly wrote: “Criminal.” 

Amy is okay with finer pursuits like reading, but launching into racing so early may not be her cup of tea. Yet what can be better than these heartwarming hints that Dale Sr.’s legacy is safe? As Dale Jr.’s daughters grow up, they may be inching towards racing careers themselves. Although their mother wishes to take it down a notch, their father could not be happier. In fact, Dale Jr. wrote a children’s book, ‘Buster Gets Back on Track‘ as a tribute to his father – the perfect starter’s manual for his children. He said in 2023, “‘Buster’ is a unique character — that’s my dad’s nickname. The car that Buster is, his character, is derived from a car that my father raced in the ’70s at a local racetrack.”

The racing genes have been alive for a long time in the Earnhardt family. Dale Jr. paid an amazing tribute to them back in 2001.

Facing the worst fear

A great tragedy rocked the NASCAR world on February 18th, 2001. Dale Earnhardt Sr., a dazzling icon of the sport and a legend to many, succumbed to his injuries sustained at the Daytona 500 wreck. It was a moment of deep sadness for everyone in the community, as Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s contributions were immense. His 76 Cup Series victories held great moments of racing – 34 of those came at Daytona International Speedway, making him the all-time leader. Ironically, the same track claimed his life in the end, leaving an eerie curtain of uncertainty for Dale Jr. on the same track.

However, Dale Earnhardt Jr was not one to back out of fear and uncertainty. Six months after his father passed away, he mustered the courage to not only face Daytona but also beat its formidable nature. “I wasn’t afraid of anything,” he admitted. Dale Jr rocketed from 6th to 1st place and clinched the victory. Later, he got a rush of relief: “I thought about all the people that this was going to help. I can’t say that it gave everyone closure, but I can say that that moment made them happy. We could all smile and laugh and enjoy something good… I think the energy that I got from the fans in that moment was of relief and release — being freed from that sadness and that loss. It was OK to be happy.”

Now that Dale Jr. has fulfilled his racing destiny, it is time to pass down the torch. A few brush-ups with mummy are mandatory in this process though – as Dale Jr.’s daughters shape their racing dreams.