Be it the fierce competition between Richard Petty and David Pearson or the heated clashes between Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, NASCAR’s history is rich with rivalries. However, none of these stories have captivated fans quite like the one recently recounted by Dale Earnhardt Jr., a rivalry that deeply impacted the entire Earnhardt family during the peak of his father’s career. Known for his aggressive driving style, Earnhardt Sr. earned nicknames like “The Intimidator,” “The Man in Black,” and “Ironhead,” epitomizing his dominance and fiery personality on the track.

While most drivers tend to keep their rivalries limited to the racetrack, this particular feud was anything but subtle. If you’ve followed Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s illustrious and polarizing career, you’ve probably already guessed which infamous rivalry is in the spotlight.

Earnhardt family keeps the rivalry closer to their hearts forever

At his peak, Dale Earnhardt Sr. wasn’t known as the Intimidator for nothing and during his run, he got entangled in multiple fiascos. However, the two top rivalries that have continued till eternity are with Geoff Bodine and Darrell Waltrip. 

Recounting this rivalry, Dale Earnhardt Jr went on to say on an episode of his podcast, “Y’all will probably name somewhere I’ll go oh yeah that’s a great one. But I am so focused on dad like the ones that are outside of the bubble are not top of mind but Dad and Geoff Bodine, Dad and Darrell Waltrip, those two were good. So Dad and Darrell Waltrip , the wreck at Richmond. I had Darrell’s race car from that wreck in my graveyard, and so they had a run there where they really were upset at each other. Darrell was a formidable rival because of his ability to be good in the media. It wasn’t as volatile and as wild as the Bodine rivalry”.

With Waltrip, the rivalry was not as complex when compared to Bodine. Waltrip and Earnhardt got entangled in a rivalry after they were involved in a major crash at the Richmond Raceway. This happened during the Miller High Life Race 400 in 1986. In an intense battle, the Intimidator clipped Waltrip’s right rear. The move eventually cost Earnhardt Sr. the lead of the race, with Kyle Petty eventually winning the race. Even Junior Johnson felt angry about the move, as Waltrip later explained, and didn’t want to talk to Earnhardt Sr. after the race. 

While Earnhardt’s rivalry with Waltrip remains famous to this day, Dale Jr. could not help but admit that the rivalry with Bodine was the most dramatic one he had witnessed. Such was the extent that the entire Dale Earnhardt family sided together and hated Bodine together. 

Although Dale Earnhardt Jr. was young, he remembered the sentiments that the family felt.“There absolutely was a period of time where they both did not like each other, and that bled into like even the families like me, uncles, aunts, grandma, everyone, right? Was all team Earnhardt on this fully and every time, especially when we went to Charlotte, they were even close to each other on the racetrack. It wasn’t like what might happen. It’s like you knew there was going to be something. You knew it.” Not only Dale Jr but everyone admitted to knowing that after this incident the only mission that both these drivers had was to damage each other. 

However, the relationship between Geoffe Bodine and Dale Earnhardt was not always at such odds. The two were great friends. They were often spotted together at parties as well. However, things took a sharp turn when the two appeared for the coveted Winston Cup Series. At the Charlotte Speedway, Earnhardt Sr. ended up wrecking Bodine and spun him out of the tracks. Since that incident in 1987, things changed between the two friends drastically. After all, Bodine was sure that Earnhardt was so selfish towards the purse money that it didn’t matter who came in between. Soon the rivalry started to go out of hand and the two would not even acknowledge each other’s presence. 

Although Dale Jr. remained one of the most likable drivers on the track, he too had a rivalry in NASCAR. Let’s take a look at what he has to say about it.

Dale Jr opens up more about his rivalry with Busch

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While much has been said already about the rivalry or the anticipated rivalry between Dale Earnhardt Jr and Kyle Busch, the drivers have often remained silent about it. However, things were certainly not good between the two as there were a couple of incidents when Earnhardt Jr. had been the cause of Kyle Busch’s car wrecks. In 2008, at the Richmond Raceway, just where his father wrecked Waltrip, Jr. had spun out Kyle Busch. Recounting the memory on track, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said, “I wasn’t handling it good, he wasn’t handling it great, and we went back-and-forth in the media a bunch”. 

There was a time when the two would avoid any kind of eye contact and would cuss on each other’s presence. Speaking of the rivalry, Kyle Busch said, “So in 2008, 2009, 2010, and 2011, we hated each other you know. We didn’t talk a whole lot. I avoided eye contact and all that sort of stuff… But you know [Dale] Junior over time he got a girlfriend, got married, and then we were are NASCAR driver functions together so we started talking, the wives started talking”. 

The rivalry wouldn’t last too long. The demons both drivers had about each other stayed on the track. Off the track, they spoke about the incident, and Dale Jr. went as far as appreciating Kyle Busch’s honesty about his perspective. Rowdy and Jr. buried the hatched, ending the long-standing rivalry. What started off as a wreck at the Richmond Raceway turned into a friendly visit for Busch on Dale Jr.’s podcast.