“What a Little J*rk That Kid Is” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. Recalls the Time He Pissed His Father Off With What He Was Wearing

Imagine being in the presence of the NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr, whose fiery personality and love for racing were unparalleled. He is a true icon of the sport and his legacy still lives on even after his tragic demise in 2001. His achievements on the track were second to none, and though his career was cut short on that fateful February day, with heavy shoulders, his son carried his legacy forward and slowly filled the void left in the hearts of fans.

Over the years, Dale Earnhardt Jr has shared many a tale concerning the Intimidator. He recently shared another fascinating story about his dad’s explosive reaction to a simple T-shirt and cap.

In 1987, after a race in Talladega, Dale Jr had a bootleg T-shirt made that had his father’s number airbrushed onto it. Seeing this, Dale Sr was quite mad and he made Junior take it off right there in the garage.

In the latest episode of Dale Jr. Download Podcast, Junior revealed, “Dad and Bill Elliotte ran into each other in 1987 at the all star race. Then we go to Talladega and they had these bootleg shirts that said ‘Guess Who Ran Into Me Today?’ and it basically had Bill’s colors and Dad’s colors, equally smeared across the shirt and so you could, either one, either fan could wear it and go ‘Yeah, Earnhardt hit me today!’ or ‘Bill Hit Me!’, and I took the shirt and went over to the Talladega short track.”

However, Senior wasn’t happy to see the shirt, to say the very least.

“I went up to the cup garage later that day and dad saw that thing. He made me take it off. “

The reason? Dale Sr. didn’t want his son walking around Bill Elliott, with whom Dale Sr. had a fierce rivalry. Plus, as per Dale, his father didn’t want Bill or anyone else to think, ‘What a little jerk that kid is’…,” as the shirt had senior’s number on it.

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Similarly, Dale Sr. took a hat off his son’s head and set it on fire because it had the logo of a rival driver on it.

Why did Dale Sr burn the cap off of his son’s head?

Dale Jr, however, wasn’t the only one in the family who liked to push his dad’s buttons. His grandfather, Robert G, worked for Rick Hendrick and Geoff Bodine drove his car. Dale Sr. and Geoff were known for wrecking each other on the track, and Dale Jr. loved it. But when he came home from his grandfather’s house wearing a Levy Gear hat, Dale Sr. lost his temper.

“I loved when dad would wreck Geoff. But I also loved my grand daddy, and I came home from his house with a levy gear hat on and that’s the one he yanked off my head and threw it on the ground and set it on fire. “

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It’s easy to see why Dale Sr. was so protective. He was a fierce competitor on the track, but he was also a family man who wanted the best for his loved ones. As Dale Jr. says, “That’s what kids are gonna do. They’re gonna do these things, and you’re gonna go, ‘Why doesn’t this make sense to you?’ Back then, it didn’t make sense to me.”