
via Imago
Image Credits: Imago

via Imago
Image Credits: Imago
Lately, there’s been an ongoing conversation inside and outside NASCAR circles in which Ross Chastain is being talked about as perhaps the next Dale Earnhardt. This was also the point that Dale Jr. brought up by claiming that the sport should capitalize on marketing Chastain in the way they did with his father.
But if former driver Kenny Wallace is to be believed, Chastain and Earnhardt can’t even be in the same sentence, let alone the #1 driver becoming like the #3 driver.

via Imago
NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Cup Practice and Qualifying Apr 15, 2023 Martinsville, Virginia, USA NASCAR Cup Series driver Ross Chastain 1 waits on pit road before practice and qualifying at Martinsville Speedway. Martinsville Martinsville Speedway Virginia USA, EDITORIAL USE ONLY PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJohnxDavidxMercerx 20230415_jdm_sx1_007
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
Ross Chastain isn’t even remotely close to being Dale Earnhardt as per Kenny Wallace
Wallace argued that those who are talking about Chastain reminding them of Earnhardt, because he wrecks others, need to truly understand the extent of Earnhardt’s legend.
“The great Dale Earnhardt Sr, he was a seven-time champion, he was the man in black, he did it all and he got everybody’s respect,” Wallace said. “When you looked in the mirror it was like, ‘I better get out of the way because he’s not gonna wreck me but he’s gonna bump me out of the way.'”
“Here’s what I’m gonna say to Ross, ‘Ross, you’re not Dale Sr. by a long shot.’ Dale Sr paid his dues.”
Wallace furthered his point by shedding a light on the other factors that prove Chastain isn’t even in the position of being remotely close to Earnhardt considering the position in which Richard Childress Racing was back then.
“They were self sufficient. They built all their own motors, they were in complete control. They drew a circle up there in Welcome, North Carolina – ‘We don’t need anybody,'” the veteran driver described. “Dale Sr, Richard Childress, the flying aces, they could do whatever they wanted to.”
WATCH THIS STORY: Denny Hamlin rubbished NASCAR’s fan-favorite $116 million effort with iconic trophy, ready to be dragged.
Trending
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on NASCAR’s opportunity to capitalize on Chastain
Speaking in an episode of his podcast, Junior claimed the Chastain-Gragson incident from Kansas “is NASCAR’s opportunity to turn Ross Chastain into from a superstar in the NASCAR bubble to a national star in the mainstream.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
He recalled how people in the late 1980s and into the next decade began capitalizing on his father’s on-track actions.

USA Today via Reuters
NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Steakhouse Elite 200, May 8, 2021 Darlington, SC, USA Former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. poses for a picture with the restored 1984 Chevy Nova driven by his father the late Dale Earnhardt Sr. on pit road prior to the Steakhouse Elite 200 at Darlington Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY Sports, 08.05.2021 11:24:29, 16048234, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Dale Earnhardt Sr, Nascar, Darlington Raceway PUBLICATIONxINxGERxSUIxAUTxONLY Copyright: xJasenxVinlovex 16048234 | Credits: Imago
Earnhardt Jr. claimed that a persona was created around his father through marketing and souvenirs that went all across the country. “The Intimidator, the Man in Black, you know where you saw those for the first time? On a hat. On a tshirt,” Earnhardt Jr explained.
ADVERTISEMENT
Article continues below this ad
“That was a marketing campaign. It took off. It became a persona. We’re there.”
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT