Throughout his long and legendary career in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Sr., the Intimidator, arguably the greatest figure in the history of the sport, said some very quotable things. But there’s one from the many that resonates the most with a majority of drivers today, drivers including the likes of Denny Hamlin and William Byron.
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Recently, Motorsports on NBC posted a compilation of answers from several NASCAR drivers across the three national divisions where they were asked about their all-time favorite racing quotes. There were answers ranging from Tony Stewart’s iconic moments or those from Kyle Busch, but the majority stuck with the Intimidator’s replies and, in particular, the iconic 1999 post-race interview one.
“Pretty much any of them that my grandfather said,” Jeffrey Earnhardt said, while Daniel Hemric said, “Just meant to rattle his cage.”
“Rattle his cage” was also the response that came from William Byron, Denny Hamlin, and Carson Hocevar. The current Xfinity Series champion, Cole Custer said, “Dale Earnhardt quote, I think he was talking about Talladega, I think it’s in the media center,” while team owner Brad Daugherty described, “It was after they were testing a new wing, guys just didn’t like it.”
“He says, ‘Well, maybe we can get kerosene rags, tie it around their ankles so the ants don’t crawl up and chew their candy a**es off.’ I thought that was a great quote.”
Why Dale Earnhardt Sr. said the ‘kerosene rag’ thing to other NASCAR drivers?
Back in the year 2000, there were some drivers in NASCAR who were complaining about the high speeds the racecars had become capable of on tracks like Charlotte and Daytona. This was something that didn’t sit well with Earnhardt. And he didn’t mince his words about the critics of the high speeds.
“If you’re not a racecar driver and not a racer, stay home,” he said. “Don’t come here and grumble about going too fast. Stay the hell home.”
Earnhardt furthered his rant by urging such drivers to get out of the racecar if they have feathers on their legs or their “butt”. “Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won’t climb up there and eat that candy a**,” he added.
The Intimidator wondered if they were going to pull insurance if they went over 200mph, demanding that everyone needs to “grow up” and decide if they really want to go racing or simply exist on a racetrack together.
