“Pump the Brakes” – Dale Earnhardt Jr Drags His Xfinity Driver Back to Reality

Saturday’s Xfinity Series race certainly was anti-climatic for Joe Gibbs Racing fans. As Dale Earnhardt Jr’s young gun picked up a much-needed win after he edged out the JGR sensation, Joe Gibbs’s grandson literally had his day turned around following a last-minute wheel hop from the #1 JR Motorsports driver.

With Dale Jr’s Xfinity driver racking up his 2nd win of the season, it also reignited his feud with Ty Gibbs, sparking much controversy in the process. Speaking on The Dale Jr. Download podcast, Junior got candid about his driver’s controversial move, evidently giving him a reality check.

Dale Earnhardt Jr slaps his driver’s with brutal truth about his win, urging him to slow down

The day went quickly south for Joe Gibbs’s grandson, Ty Gibbs. Despite leading 70 laps of the 86-lap race, JR Motorsports‘ Sam Mayer took the reigning Xfinity champ for a spin in the closing laps, edging out the race leader to claim his 2nd win of the season.

While the 20-year-old was on top of the world following his win, NASCAR nation did not take his wheel hop lightly. Even though Mayer himself admitted he had to earn a win, bumping out the champion, his boss and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Jr got brutally honest about his controversial win.

The 49-year-old even chimed in with his take, almost deeming the youngster’s action as intentional, saying, “Maybe he was just wrecking.” Speaking to his manager, Mike Davis, on his popular podcast, he urged the 20-year-old to lose the attitude and take things slow. He said, “It’s just been a couple of weeks since he went from the guy that hadn’t won a race to the guy that won 2 races. I just think, pump the brakes a little bit, let’s not go crowning. We won a couple of road courses where he’s very good, he’s very good at road courses.” 

Though Junior does think highly of his driver, not all have similar insights—least of all, a few of his co-drivers.

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While some may have “lost all respect” for the youngster, Dale Jr knows how to tap his potential

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While Mayer hopped into the victory lane reigniting the feud with his arch-rival and reigning champ, Ty Gibbs, the late tangle had a domino effect on the pack behind them. Even Richard Childress Racing driver, Austin Hill felt the impact as he too got knocked around.

Hill being the outspoken guy he is did not shy away from expressing his displeasure with Mayer’s move. He brutally called him out. “The #1 drives over his head all the time. I should’ve known. You have the #19 up there, then you have the #1. I’ve lost all respect for Sam Mayer. As far as I’m concerned, he can kiss my a**,” said the RCR driver furiously doubling down on the driver’s action.

On the other hand, the youngster’s boss had quite some advice for him. “I got to see a little more of the sample size, and I think he certainly has a lot of weight lighted off his shoulders, he said that a win’s gonna make you feel violent but the pressure is still there, and with pressure comes potential to make mistakes.”

Though the veteran was quick to point out to his driver about the reality of the situation he also felt that the youngster is maturing well for his age. “Sam is still the same Sam that we had 2 months ago, 4 months ago. I mean he’s growing, maturing but it’s at a good moderate standard pace. I’m not going to sit here and say that he’s not going to say he’s not going to make mistakes, he’s going to have a lot to learn, he’s still super young,” said Dale Jr. 

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