Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a man of many passions. His fantastic racing career spanned almost two decades, as he collected 26 race trophies, including two Daytona 500 wins. As a broadcaster and a podcast host, Dale Jr. is a motorsports icon, and he snagged the Most Popular Driver award 15 times. He runs a fabulous race team that has churned out precious talents over the years. But running a shoe business?

That might not be his forte, as NASCAR fans vehemently believe. When you think of shoes, your thoughts may likely linger around the 23XI Racing garage. People there are dizzyingly obsessed with footwear under Michael Jordan’s influence. And maybe that’s the reason Dale Jr. may not be able to fetch that level of fascination.

A new outdoor “Hey Dude” brand

Denny Hamlin had been a fan of Michael Jordan even before the two united, especially of Jordan’s iconic shoe brand. Air Jordans are something to envy, as owning a pair offers you a symbol of the NBA legend. So after Jordan met Hamlin at an NBA game over a decade ago, they forged their business idea that materialized into 23XI Racing in 2020. But alongside, Hamlin also gained some VIP access. In January this year, the 23XI co-owner proudly flaunted his Jordan collection, numbering in triple digits.

Taking a leaf from Jordan’s book, Dale Earnhardt Jr. now plans to launch his shoe brand. As Jordan is a legend in the NBA, Dale Earnhardt Jr., belonging to the Earnhardt legacy, is arguably the most popular racer in NASCAR. So releasing his collection of shoes makes sense, right?

A Dale Earnhardt fan account dropped a piece of news about a pair of green shoes featuring a SunDrop logo. “These are apparently dropping on Monday!! Dale Jr Hey Dude shoes for $74.99.”

This shoe launch comes as a surprise, as Dale Earnhardt Jr. has trumpeted his dislike for footwear obsession. In March this year, he professed his annoyance as a “f***ing old man” looking at 23XI Racing people flaunt their Jordans. Dale Jr.’s special target was Tyler Reddick, who posted weekly pictures of shoes and scooters, bombarding every race with Jordan shoes.

Speaking of shoes, Junior has a wild memory of his late father, Dale Earnhardt. In 1999, Dale Sr. was very unhappy with his son aggressively racing him at an exhibition race in Japan. The latter shared the story in 2017: “We were sharing this big trailer and I walked in there and he’s sitting down taking his shoes off, and I sit down. I had my head down taking my shoes off and then he threw a shoe at me. He didn’t say a word at me the whole time I walked in there. (The shoe) must have been going 100 miles an hour. It hit the wall behind me and knocked a hole in the wall. He was pissed.”

Clearly, NASCAR fans also share some of the emotions that Dale Sr. harbored that day. And, they are not fans of the new shoes.

The NASCAR community shakes its head

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Well, Air Jordans are Air Jordans! The fans of these shoes are like a cult following, religiously worshipping Michael Jordan and his sports pursuits. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will clearly need some time before his shoe brand attains that level of success. His fans were unimpressed by the new green shoes, as somebody unequivocally declared: “Ugly as hell.” Another fan chimed in: “Those are fugly…….” Somebody else also confessed their disgust at the footwear: “Jeeeezus! Little overkill there.”

Some gearheads, hailing their respect for Dale Earnhardt Jr., chose to not be so direct. One fan affirmed his allegiance to the two-time Xfinity champion, while also slipping his dislike for the shoes. “I’m a big Jr fan but I would not wear those!! Sorry lol.” Another fan took special note of the color, which they found revolting. “Long time fan but no way I’m buying green shoes.”

Some even had problems with other aspects. One fan pointed out that the shoes may not be comfortable. “I’ve heard people love them, but if you have an extremely high arch like I do, they are terrible for support.” Another fan raised an issue with the high price for the simple shoes. “Neat collab but who the hell pays $75 for a pair of slippers.”

Evidently, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s shoe venture is not making a mark. Unless he brings out some snazzy shoes with inspiration from Michael Jordan, fans may not like it.