“Dad Was Never Home” – Cody Rhodes Reveals the Eerie Similarities Between Dusty Rhodes and Dale Earnhardt

The Earnhardt family is an integral part of NASCAR history. Allowing one of the winningest drivers in Cup Series history, Dale Earnhardt, to grace the tracks, they have long been the reasons for change and growth in the sport. However, being a NASCAR driver, staying close to your family and loved ones is quite a luxury, considering the hectic schedule and ever-shifting locations.

Dale Earnhardt Jr has been the torchbearer for NASCAR for a glorious period. Keeping all his contributions to the sport aside, the two-time Xfinity champ has been vocal about how his father’s death changed his life after 2001. In the latest installment of The Dale Jr Download, Junior is reminded of some memories of his dad in a conversation with WWE star Cody Rhodes.

Cody Rhodes discloses the uncanny resemblance between him and Dale Earnhardt Jr

The story of Rhodes in WWE and Earnhardt in NASCAR moves similarly. Iconic parents whose legacy has been carried on by their sons is a pattern one could establish with a closer look. But that is not all that is similar between Cody and Dale Jr. Earlier in one of the episodes, the two-time Daytona 500 winner was reminded of a tough time battling the emotions of his father.

Junior’s co-host, Mike Davis, had an intriguing question for Cody. On being asked about the extent of his actions to shine in his dad’s eyes, Cody said, “So because again, semi-retired, he went to everything.”

“Me and my brother Dustin, we have this polar opposite upbringing. I love my brother, Dustin, very important, I don’t say it enough I love Dustin but my gosh his experience with my dad is so different. Dad was never home. He didn’t know him.” revealed Cody as he shed light on the emotional turmoil that his brother went through.

Junior had expressed similar feelings about his dad previously. Having to bear the weight and mental pressure of being the one to succeed as a seven-time champion can be overwhelming at times. Junior’s aunt Cathy Watkins has also spoken about it on a previous episode of the podcast.

As the podcast moved ahead, Earnhardt grew curious about the generation gap between Cody and his brother, which he was surprised to know about. Cody revealed the distance between him and his brother in terms of age, saying, “He doesn’t like me bringing that up. 16 years. Dustin had a different upbringing and then for me, I got everything. I know for sure.”

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Cody reveals he wanted his dad to acknowledge his efforts

Performance pressure is most definitely a real thing in sports. More so when you’re a representative of a lineage that stands for respect and success in a particular field. Naturally, this feeling goes on to become an emotional crossroads for a person.

Cody says that he felt a need to reciprocate for everything his father had done for him through gratitude and performance. He said, “I tell everyone I had the perfect dad. He was perfect for me. I know for sure.”

“I’m doing a lot better now and then when I came around I was like I got this. I’m gonna make sure I’m there for him in every way and he was at everything, I don’t think I knew consciously that I wanted him to be proud, wanted him to be in on it. I didn’t think I realized that consciously really until the end of his life.”

Dusty died in 2015, which ushered in a dark period for Cody. Recollecting memories from that time, he claims that every action of his happened to garner some praise form his father.

Explaining his stance, the 38-year-old stated, “It became a just, ‘Man, like you’ve been doing this so long, wanting this one thing driving to get it making these crazy left turns and decisions and uprooting the business at one point you’ve been doing all this.”

“A good chunk of it is just so that somewhere someday he could be like good job.“

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Listening to them makes one feel that maybe the reason for their discontent lay in their wish to emulate the success their dads had in their careers.