Dale Earnhardt Jr. Pens Down Short Note After Living Ultimate Prediction Come To Life: “..Means the World to Me”
The final race of the season saw the championship four drivers battle it out on the race track, with Team Penske’s Ryan Blaney emerging as the 2023 Cup Series champion over his fellow competitors.
While Blaney surely would have been elated with his first Cup career title, somewhere behind the scenes, former NASCAR driver and Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. was left mesmerized as well. Earlier, Junior rallied behind Blaney, selecting the Team Penske driver as his championship favorite.
Not long after the conclusion of the race at Pheonix Raceway, Junior penned down a short note over social media after his prediction turned out to be the real deal.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares thoughts after his prediction comes to fruition
In the note, Junior first mentioned how it was an emotional day for him to witness Kevin Harvick finish his career and how seeing that makes him realize how far he has come in his life.
This was an emotional day. Watching @KevinHarvick finish his career drives home just how far into this life I find myself. So many years and memories in the past. And @Blaney, who I remember talking to on the grid of his first cup start. I brought the beer to the post race party…
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) November 6, 2023
He then spoke about Blaney’s win, commenting on how he recalled the Team Penske driver’s first Cup Series start. Also, he was the one to bring the beer for the post-race party back then.
Blaney winning the title was a sight to witness for both Junior and the fans of the sport. His wheel-to-wheel battle with William Byron during the dying stages of the race concluded with a second-place finish behind the lord of the watermelons, Ross Chastain.
With that the 2023 Cup Series season came to a close and the drivers and teams would finally get some time off to celebrate and reflect upon everything that transpired this year.
About the author
-
![The RCR team had a challenging day during the third race of the Cup season. Although Kyle Busch crossed the finish line in 5th place and had been a frontrunner, having led for 43 laps, the disappointing 35th-place finish of Austin Dillon only compounded the team's frustrating results. While Busch maintained his composure, Dillon was visibly upset with the on-track incident involving Denny Hamlin. During the race at Circuit of the Americas, on lap 78, Austin Dillon and Denny Hamlin were vying for the P20 position when Hamlin, after locking his #11 Toyota's tires, unexpectedly collided with the driver's side of Dillon's #3 car, hurtling it into the gravel and triggering a caution. Television replays captured a trail of dust from the Joe Gibbs Racing car just moments before it seemingly lost braking power and instigated the crash. However, the situation escalated when NASCAR shared the video of the incident with the caption, "The Nos. 3 and 11 make contact and the yellow flag flies." Unable to contain his frustration, Dillon responded sharply, "Correction. The No. 11 made contact with the No. 3." The sentiment among fans largely favored Dillon's perspective. One spectator commented, "And then his teammate wins. They knew what they were doing!" while another lamented, "Sadly if this didn't happen there a good chance @KyleBusch could have won today." Yet another chimed in, "Yep! Always cover Gibbs/Toyota/Hamlin. It’s all headline semantics. He drove into your side, video supports no attempt to steer away." Due to the caution, Bell was able to have fresher tires, which helped him pass Busch with five laps remaining. Otherwise, the old tires would have most likely slowed down the #20 car. That's why the fans blamed Hamlin for instigating a deliberate wreck that helped Bell to outpace the #8 RCR driver. However, one fan referenced a past incident to needle Dillon, recalling when he maneuvered the #11 driver into the wall at Richmond last year to secure his playoff position [which ultimately did not pan out due to NASCAR's decision], remarking, "Remember when you right rear hooked the 11 into the wall to win?" Nevertheless, the replay footage seemed to clearly show it was Hamlin who initiated the collision with the #3 driver. Dillon's frustration was quite visible during his post-race interview as well, where he expressed, "Our car handled well, and we were just trying to be patient until the end. With 18 laps to go, we were running inside the top 20, and the #11 locked up his front tires and wiped us out." "My team did a great job trying to make the repairs, but the damage in the rear was too much to fix, and we had to go to the garage." He voiced disappointment on behalf of his RCR team, lamenting that they had a car capable of finishing in the top 15, and it was unfortunate they couldn't demonstrate the same at COTA. Nevertheless, Dillon appeared optimistic about the upcoming race in Phoenix, hinting at a rebound from the setback.](https://thesportsrush.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/d8fc8a02-austin-dillon-300x300.png)
Neha Dwivedi •
“They Knew What They Were Doing”: Fans Chime in as Austin Dillon Fires Back at NASCAR With a “Correction”
-
Neha Dwivedi •
Ryan Blaney Reveals the Biggest Reason His Father “Absolutely Despises” Speedway Racing
-
Gowtham Ramalingam •
“It’s a Safety Issue”: Josh Berry in Agreement With Dale Earnhardt Jr. Over NASCAR Controversy Around Christopher Bell Pit Road Incident
-
Srijan Mandal •
Kyle Busch and Richard Childress’ Love Extends Beyond NASCAR, Suggests Wife’s Post
-
Srijan Mandal •
Kyle Larson Not Too Confident Ahead of Phoenix Despite Being Only Champion Left Standing
-
Gowtham Ramalingam •
NASCAR Trivia: How an Olympic Gold Medalist Went on to Train the Likes of Kyle Larson & Ross Chastain