PHOENIX, AZ — November 6, 1999: Although he finished second to Jeff Gordon in the Outback Steakhouse 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (L) and his dad Dale Earnhardt (R) had plenty of reason to celebrate, as the younger Earnhardt clinched the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series championship even though there was still one race to run the following week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ — November 6, 1999: Although he finished second to Jeff Gordon in the Outback Steakhouse 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (L) and his dad Dale Earnhardt (R) had plenty of reason to celebrate, as the younger Earnhardt clinched the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series championship even though there was still one race to run the following week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ — November 6, 1999: Although he finished second to Jeff Gordon in the Outback Steakhouse 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (L) and his dad Dale Earnhardt (R) had plenty of reason to celebrate, as the younger Earnhardt clinched the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series championship even though there was still one race to run the following week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)
PHOENIX, AZ — November 6, 1999: Although he finished second to Jeff Gordon in the Outback Steakhouse 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (L) and his dad Dale Earnhardt (R) had plenty of reason to celebrate, as the younger Earnhardt clinched the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series championship even though there was still one race to run the following week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)
In a 2020 podcast with Danica Patrick, Dale Earnhardt Jr opened up about his father Dale Sr. The former Hendrick Motorsports driver made some surprising confessions about the 7-time Cup Series champion. Among them, he admitted that his father didn’t have a lot of time to spend with family, and was often very busy with his racing and his work.
via Getty
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 22: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Nationwide Chevrolet, speaks with the media without a Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series patch on his firesuit during the Daytona 500 Media Day at Daytona International Speedway on February 22, 2017 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by Jerry Markland/Getty Images)
He said, “Even when he wasn’t racing on the weekend, when he was home during the week, he was at the farm or at the shop, working.”
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“You never saw him. When he comes home, he’d plop down on the Lazy Boy in the living room and fall asleep. Like, 8-9 o’clock at night.”
“There was no sort of time to be with him.”
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What else did Dale Earnhardt Jr say about his father?
Later on, Dale Sr decided to change his ways and spend more time with his family. As Jr. said, this was around the time Taylor Earnhardt was born.
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Dale Jr continued, “I didn’t know it then, it wasn’t bothering me then, it bothers me now, that it was like that, cause he’s gone and I can’t make up for it.”
“But when I was a kid, it was just the way it was. It was just the way things were. I just didn’t think it was bad, just the way things were. Looking back, it’s like, ‘Man! I hate that he wasn’t more proactive’.”
“But he made up for it when Taylor was born.”
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It was also interesting to note that once Dale Jr. began his own racing career, the family dynamic changed. Since then, Dale Sr was able to spend more time with his family and be there for them.
