Dale Earnhardt Jr. Shares the One Father-Son Talk That Changed His Life Forever

Can you imagine Dale Jr. joining art school to hone his craft and become an artist? Sounds vague, right? But that was the reality back in the day when Dale Earnhardt and his stepmom Teresa brought him a box of supplies, thinking he wanted to join the art school. Jr. was good at his craft and vividly remembered moments from the racetrack and etched them onto the canvas. But that was his hobby; racing was always his priority. “I’m not an art student. I’m not into art. I was so spun out. I was like ‘damn it, you’re Dale Earnhardt, and I want to race.'” Jr. said this on the Earnhardt documentary.

Well, Dale Earnhardt didn’t believe that Jr. had what it took to be a race car driver. He wasn’t sure whether to give him a ride until 1997. After Jr. ran late models for over three years, DEI fielded the No. 31 Chevy for the young driver. But, for some reason, when Dale Jr. got the opportunity, he couldn’t live up to the billing. He didn’t qualify for the race at Hickory Motor Speedway and crashed out at Nashville. The chemistry between the father-son duo was strained, and Jr. lacked the confidence he needed without the mentorship from the greatest driver in NASCAR.

But with every race, Dale Jr. crashed his car, his father’s patience began to wear thin. And his act of frustration against his son is perhaps the most connected Jr. felt with his dad. Ignited the spark that he lacked to carry on the Earnhardt name on the racetrack.

A glimpse into the private lesson that shaped Dale Jr.’s future

In the ‘Earnhardt’ documentary, Dale Jr. shared the story publicly for the first time. Ideally, most of the racers would be hard at work rebuilding the car for the next race, but young Jr. used to hang out with his friends in the trailer. He was lost, as Josh Sinder recalls. “I think in his mind he thought it was over. He had really disappointed his dad.” The weight of bearing the Earnhardt name and the fear of letting down his legendary father became suffocating. In that moment, Junior wasn’t a rising star, he was just lost in his own doubts.

Junior expected punishment, maybe even humiliation, but what he got instead was something far deeper. “He said, ‘Come here.’ And we walked out. I thought he was going to whoop my ass. And he goes, ‘Man, what are you doing?’” continued Junior. Junior, who always admired his father’s racing, suddenly felt the legacy pressed against him. Junior continued narrating the story.

“I was like, I thought my racing career was over. He’s like, ‘No, they’re going to fix that car. That’s where you should be. You should be wanting to fix your car. Where is that? Where is that inside of you? What’s missing in you, that you thought to come over here and sit on your ass and feel sorry for yourself?’ That was the one father-son talk we had that sunk in.” He didn’t need an earful, he just needed reminding that the Earnhardt legacy wasn’t just about winning but about refusing to let a bad day define him.

Well, this did lead to two back-to-back championships in the Busch Series. But, there’s more to this story than just a father-son talk. Remember Tony Eury Sr., who used to call the shots for Jr. back in the day. He was the most trusted employee the Intimidator had around his race shop. And when little Dale was racking up DNFs and returned home with banged-up cars. Had it not been for his intervention, Jr. might not have been racing after he crashed his car at Charlotte in the qualifying rounds.

Dale Jr. was on the brink of losing his Busch Series ride

It was indeed tough for Dale Earnhardt to see his son struggle to keep up with the competition, and what made matters worse was crashing out of the race before it even began. Three DNFs at tracks like Nashville, Watkins Glen and Gateway were tough for Earnhardt to take in, but the boiling point was the Charlotte race, where Jr. failed to qualify. He was ready to kick his son out of the #31 car, but before he made that call, he visited Tony Eury Sr., and that conversation just might have saved Jr.’s racing career.

“I think the whole time, his plan was he was going to put you in that car. When y’all went to Charlotte and y’all wrecked that car that ki–ed that guy. I’m telling you, he was so disappointed. He says, What do you think about putting Dale Jr. in this car? And I said, Dale you spent money on Jeff Green; you spent money on Steve Park; why don’t you spend your money on your own kid? He brings that Charlotte deal up; he’s like they don’t want to do this. I said, Dale, they are kids; put him in it. I said we’ll know in a year.” Eury Sr. said this on the Dale Jr. Download.

Well, the plan did work out, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. turned a corner for good, stacking up multiple championships and then eventually breaking into the Cup Series.

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