Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the doting father of two young daughters, Isla Rose and Nicole Lorraine. He loves them beyond reason and makes it a point to have their backs through every day of life. While this may be the character of many parents out there, Junior has a special need to be this way. It is because he never received such extra care and affection from his own father.
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The disconnection that wavered between Junior and Dale Earnhardt Sr. back in the day is not unknown to the world of NASCAR. It has been retold in a significantly new dynamic through the recently released Prime Video docuseries titled ‘Earnhardt’.
In a promotional interview for the same, Junior spoke about what drives him to be a better father to his daughters.
He said, “I am a different father to my kids because of that. I tell my girls every day that I love them, they’re beautiful, I’m thankful for them, and they just make my life incredible. I don’t know why that wasn’t easy for Dad to express.” One of the reasons for that was the heavy demands of the racing career that Earnhardt Sr. had.
He was working his way towards being the greatest legend in motorsports, and spending sweet time with his children was a luxury he couldn’t afford. Fortunately, Junior has understood this and empathized with him deeply now. He explained that he doesn’t hold anything against his old man. But he has one wish that can never be fulfilled.
He said, “I don’t hold it against him today. I would love to talk about it. That would be awesome. I’m not mad at him. I’m not disappointed. But I’d love to talk to him about it. That’s the one thing that will never happen.” To have such a desire and not be able to make it happen must be heartbreaking for the former driver.
But what was it that led to such a situation in the first place? The ball starts rolling with the death of Ralph Earnhardt, Junior’s grandfather. Junior said in an interview with TODAY that his father took it hard when his grandfather passed away. It was before Earnhardt Sr. started the journey to become a seven-time Cup Series champion.
Strong anger festered in him at the inability to get his father to witness all the great deeds he was doing out on the race track. This might have reflected negatively on Junior and his other children. “It also made him very rugged, very tough, and difficult to connect with on a personal level,” Junior added.
All’s well that ends well. Junior has stopped the ball once and for all by showering his daughters with all the love in the world. It is the biggest misfortune that Earnhardt Sr. isn’t around to see this.
