“I Was Somewhat Envious!” Dale Earnhardt Jr. Exposes the Biggest Regret of His NASCAR Career

Stock car racing legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. has shared his thoughts on his selfish nature that defined the first half of his NASCAR career.

“I Was Somewhat Envious!” Dale Earnhardt Jr. Exposes the Biggest Regret of His NASCAR Career

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Via IMAGO)

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. had one of the most accomplished racing carers in the history of the sport that saw him win over 26 Cup races and two second division championships. He also drove for the likes of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Hendrick Motorsports.

Despite all the achievements, he has one regret about his career that Dale Earnhardt Jr. hasn’t yet got over with. According to the veteran in the earlier chapter of his career he was never a great teammate, was envious of his teammates and was ultra-competitive with them, as wanted to be the big man in the garage.

I think in the first half of my career, I was competitive with my teammates and while I was okay with seeing them do well, I was somewhat envious, and it was me who was supposed to be the best car in the organization, in my mind.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. told hardrock.bet.news.

He raced with the likes of Michael Waltrip and Steve Park in his DEI days. His teammate treated him the same way and that cost them the opportunity to be supportive and help each other to win races, in other words be good teammates for the overall benefit of the team.

My teammates were almost a complementary piece to the whole puzzle, and that probably wasn’t the best way to be a good teammate. I wasn’t really as supportive, or I didn’t lend them advice, or try to really help them as much as I probably could have.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.

Everything changed when he was signed to race for Hendrick Motorsports’, where all of the sudden he wasn’t no longer the big dog. The team featured the likes of seven times champion Jimmie Johnson and four times champion Jeff Gordon, who humbled him and helped him to become a good teammate.  

I went to Hendrick Motorsports and then I wasn’t the big man on campus anymore. I was working with Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who had won championships and had a ton of seniority at Hendrick Motorsports, and I learned what it was like to be on the other side of things, and I learned what it was like to watch them be good teammates to me, to be supportive, to be helpful.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. asserted.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. admits he was a very selfish athlete

Talking on the same topic, he failed to his full potential as a racer and teammate in the first half of his career because. of the competitiveness. In his own words, he was a very selfish athlete in his 20’s and could have done a better job.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (via Imago)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (via Imago)

I’m fully transparent. If I feel like I didn’t hit the target, or if I feel like I didn’t live up to my potential, I’m completely comfortable telling you that and I definitely could have been a better teammate when I was younger, but man, when you’re in your late 20s, and things are happening so fast for you, it’s very selfish.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.

Furthermore, he asserted that being selfish is part of any sport, as being selfish most often reward the athletes with success. But always being like that hurt the individual in the long-run, as the end of the day racing is a team game.

It’s a very selfish thing when you’re in sports as an athlete, it can be easy to be selfish, and typically being selfish can be rewarding in competition. But I just think there were times where I could have been a better teammate, more supportive, more helpful. But I really didn’t know how to do that.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.

Junior was able to become a better racer and teammate when he was with HMS, which helped him to solidify his legacy as a racer loved and respected by everyone in the community. If he moved to another team that HMS after DEI, his legacy would have been entirely different.

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