Dale Earnhardt Jr. breaks silence on Jimmie Johnson’s “Dale Sr. vibe” remark over Austin Dillon’s Richmond win
Jimmie Johnson made a stark remark on Austin Dillon's win and claimed it be giving off Dale Sr. vibes.

Austin Dillon, Dale Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Jimmie Johnson (Via IMAGO)
Richmond made its second appearance on the NASCAR calendar last weekend, and the race was a rollercoaster. Austin Dillon won the race in a controversial manner, which was then later followed up by Jimmie Johnson as he claimed the win to be in Dale Earnhardt Sr. fashion. Subsequently, the NASCAR legend’s son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., has given his reaction and dislodged such claims.
Dale Earnhardt Sr. is one of the greatest drivers of all time in the stock car racing sphere, along side Jimmie Johnson and Richard Petty. The former is infamous for his aggressive driving styles compared to the last two. Seeing Austin Dillon taking out his rivals to win the race on the final corner, Johnson felt that it was in line with the tradition of the No.3 car.
Though Dale Earnhardt Jr. admitted that his father was rough in his early days, he asserted that things were entirely different back then. He further explained that his father had never taken out two other rivals in the last corner for the win, that Dillon did to secure a spot in the playoffs.
Dad[Dale Earnhardt Sr.] was rough, he had a little spell especailly in that blue and yellow car where '86 '87, he got pretty rough... Back then, certainly a different time. I don't know if I saw Dad ever clean two of them out in the last corner.Dale Earnhardt Jr. said
Dale Earnhardt Jr. urges NASCAR not to neglect the wrongdoings from Richmond
With the Cook 400 being decided on the last corner, fans were left disheartened by how the 34-year-old had taken out the other two cars to secure his maiden win of the season. Following this, experts and drivers pooled in to urge NASCAR to reevaluate its decision and to set a good precedent for the younger generation coming forward.

Earnhardt Jr. joined in on the discussion and lamented how the line was crossed. He mentioned that Joey Logano deserved to be penalized for his pit road incident. Similarly, he emphasized how the spotter injuncting the RCR driver to tackle his opponents was wrong.
So a lot of lines got crossed. I would expect the #22 Joey Logano penalty for pit road. I had expect something around the spotter audio and I'm not sure what NASCAR could do or would do beyond that. I think that it's a very important moment for NASCAR, they cannot not deter this. That was too far.Dale Earnhardt Jr. said on his podcast
Despite the NASCAR Hall of Famer stating that the regulatory body needs to punish such intolerable actions, the racing body has seemingly let go of the incidents, as no penalty has been issued to any driver. Thus, a huge threat lies in the form of younger drivers taking out fellow competitors as such actions have been allowed to get past the stewards without any repercussions.
In case you missed it:
- (Video) Joey Logano nearly hits Austin Dillon’s family and RCR crew on the pit-road at Richmond
- Denny Hamlin reminds NASCAR about their “responsibility” amidst Austin Dillon controversy