Dale Earnhardt Jr. stopped “focusing on becoming a better racecar driver,” after his father’s death
Follow Us
Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt’s death was one of the most tragic incidents in NASCAR history. The record 7 times world champion died in a multi-car crash at Daytona. He was trying to ensure the top 2 finishes to Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. by holding up the rest of the field.
Dale Sr.’s death revolutionized NASCAR as a sport and forced the organization to start the long battle to make the cars safer. Dale Earnhardt Jr. struggled to cope with his father’s death for a long time and his entire racing career was influenced by the tragedy since.
One of the most unfortunate effects of his father’s death was the lack of focus on racing and developing his career Dale jr. showed since the incident. He told Miami Herald, “I was doing whatever I wanted to do. I wasn’t focusing on becoming a better racecar driver. I wasn’t going to the shop and asking, “How can we be faster? How can we do better?”
The situation got much worse in 2004 when he had his best season ever. Dale Earnhardt Jr. lacked the discipline to make It even bigger. He said, “The worst ex of me basically mailing — not mailing it in, but trying to get away with the minimum effort — was around 2004 or so, walking into the garage when the practice had started,”.
Dale Earnhardt Jr’s moved on from his father’s death with the help of his sisters and crew chiefs
Dale Jr. pointed out that his father’s death when he was 26 was, was a really scary experience. He added that he was fortunate enough to have his sister Kelley Earnhardt coming into the sport. She was the guiding voice of Jr’s professional life and my personal life.
“It wasn’t a blessing. It was really scary. I was lucky that Kelley (Earnhardt, Dale Jr.’s sister) came into my life and wanted to be a bigger part of it on the professional side and be a guiding voice in my professional life and my personal life,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.
She helped Dale Jr. to fill the void of his father’s death and keep his career on track. He said, “I’m still so close to her today because she filled a lot of that void and kept me from spiraling into “wasting away my career and my life,”.
He also pointed out that his crew chiefs Tony Eurys Sr. and his son were great motivating forces in his life. He said, “Tony Sr. and Tony Jr. were great motivating forces in my life. Tony Sr. was, especially at that time,”.
Also read: Chris Buescher and RFK Racing have “got it all figured out,” to chase Cup Championship next season
Stay Updated!
Justin P Joy
(4859 Articles Published)