The recently released Earnhardt docuseries gave NASCAR fans a deep dive into the personal lives of not only Dale Earnhardt Jr., but also people close to him. Two of the four episodes of the series, streaming on Amazon Prime, are out already, with the remaining two releasing on May 29.
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One of the heart-touching segments of the series came from Junior’s sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, who shared the hardships of growing up as a child in the Earnhardt household. She also narrated the siblings’ story with utmost honesty and confidence.
The series delved into how her childhood role was more often than not looking after her younger brother when no one was around them. Embracing the ‘mother hen’ role in Junior’s life, along with keeping her own life on track, Miller exhibited extreme mental fortitude.
People often shy away from sharing their hardships with others, let alone sharing them on screen. But Kelley did this during an interview with USA Today Sports.
“I think there comes an area of maturity where you feel more comfortable sharing the good and the bad. I think also we’re just as a society changing — from [being] interested in that human interest area — and that it is okay to talk about bad things, right? It’s better, it’s more healthy for people,” reflected Kelley.
In stark contrast, Junior found opening up to his fans and the world comparatively harder. Maybe it is because of his nature, the subject matter at hand, or a mixture of both, possibly.
“Kelley’s braver in that sense in terms of telling it like it is. I felt like it was hard,” said Junior. He then gave the example of the two episodes of the series that are yet to be released to reiterate it.
“Doing those interviews in those two episodes was really hard, and then going back and watching it after they’ve edited it all together with the imagery was hard. You’re reliving one of the more difficult parts of your life, and that’s not something you entertain on a casual Friday,” said Dale Jr.
The ultimate vision of the project, as Junior and Miller explained, was to introduce Dale Earnhardt, known as ‘The Intimidator’, to a newer audience. The generation of fans who may not have seen him race, or don’t even know who he is, and his significance in NASCAR.
