“Small Fire We Had in the Cockpit” – Dale Earnhardt Jr Risks Bringing Upon Bristol Nightmare at Homestead

The last time Dale Earnhardt Jr. got behind the wheel of a car, he was forced to quit the race because of a fire accident. Adding on to the hardship, the legend had also come out with his deep-lying anxiety issues in the aftermath. But little have those misfortunes from last month’s Xfinity race at Bristol Motor Speedway downed the spirits of the racing legend.

As NASCAR sets up shop at Homestead-Miami this weekend, Junior will once again be hitting the gas on the same No.88 Camaro that let him down in front of his daughter, Isla Rose. Only this time, he will be armored with an improved car and a stronger mindset.

Dale Earnhardt Jr turns out to be a daredevil as he battles his issues with anxiety

After the Food City 300 race that took place in September, Dale Jr revealed to the world his issues with nervousness and anxiety. Though it had shocked the racing community to hear words of pain from the celebrated son of Dale Earnhardt, common expectations and hopes were that Junior would overcome these battles, like he always has done.

Paralleling that expectation, the “Pied Piper of Daytona” is already back to fight his demons.

Talking on the 501st episode of the “Dale Jr. Download” podcast about the upcoming race event, he said, “I am really excited about this. It is the same car we raced at Bristol. Yes, we fixed problems that created the small fire that we had in the cockpit. So all of that is taken care of. Looking forward to getting on the track.”

Knowing that the JRM crew has been deploying all its talent to fix the car’s issues certainly provides some relief. Continuing to display the traditional braveness of the Earnhardts, Junior continued, “So we will go face those nerves we had at Bristol but try to put down a great lap. In the race, you know I love racing at Homestead. (…) Hopefully, the car allows us to go there and be competitive.”

Regardless of the results at Miami, Dale Sr will be one proud father looking at his son’s battling spirit.

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The impending risk that Junior takes getting behind the same Camaro

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Despite retiring from full-time racing, Dale Jr enjoys the occasional spin on the tracks that he once conquered. The first time he did so this year was at Bristol. Though he’d comfortably paced ahead of the others for 50-odd laps on the race day, he had to drive to the pit after noticing smoke escape his cockpit. Though he was safely pulled out from the car with minor damages to his suit, the incident left everyone, including himself, terrified. In the aftermath of the incident, NASCAR’s VP of Competition, Elton Sawyer explained that the accident was caused by an electrical fire.

While he assured that the problems would be looked into and solved, Junior hadn’t been very optimistic. He said, at the time, “The last couple of races had me wondering ‘Damn, do I need to not do this anymore. I’m really not getting nothing out of running 15th and struggling and being frustrated. (…) Maybe I just need to run at certain tracks I love.”

Fortunately, the track that Dale Jr will be coming back to race is one that he loves. Let’s pray that his race at Miami goes by without any problems, as we continue to take inspiration from his courage.

Read More: Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Struggles With Anxiety Almost Broke His 5-Year-Old Daughter’s Heart