Being a seven-time champion of a sport often comes with its own set of perks, and Dale Earnhardt certainly made use of them during his time in NASCAR. ‘The Intimidator’ as he was often referred to, the former Cup Series champion did not like the suffix ‘Senior’ being added to his name, despite his son going by the same credentials.
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Several people called him Dale Sr. or Earnhardt Sr. during his time in the sport, majorly to differentiate him from his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. who shared the track with his father, the Cup Series legend.
However, the elder Earnhardt often corrected people on how to address him. An instance of the same came before the 2000 Daytona 500 when both he and his son appeared in an interview with prominent reporter Ralph Shaheen.
Shaheen went on to introduce the father-son duo as ‘Senior’ and ‘Junior’ to which the former #8 Chevrolet driver responded, “No. Dale Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr.”
Dale was called “Dale Earnhardt Sr” in an interview with Ralph Sheheen before the 2000 Daytona 500 and quickly made that point:
“No. Dale Earnhardt. Dale Jr.” https://t.co/HB1baLU8pk pic.twitter.com/2vprTr4BKw
— Seth Sharp (@SethSharp35) July 26, 2023
The former Richard Childress Racing driver’s longtime spotter, Joey Meier, also confirmed the news. Meier mentioned how Earnhardt’s team members also came under scrutiny for making the same mistake in an X(formerly Twitter) post and wrote, “Today’s PSA. Dale HATED being called Dale Sr. I felt the wrath more than once for doing so.”
Why did Dale Earnhardt dislike being called ‘Senior’?
As is often the case, people rarely appreciate being called old. And that was precisely what adding the ‘Senior’ suffix to Dale Earnhardt’s name did. Meier once again confirmed it when he answered the same question posed by a fan.
“I’d say, the same reason most people don’t like when a younger person says ‘Sir’ to them. ‘Sir is what my father was called’,” wrote the former spotter.
Regardless of what you would call him, Dale Earnhardt remains one of NASCAR’s biggest icons of all time, with few drivers coming close to the aura ‘The Man in Black’ had in his heyday.
Good Morning from North Carolina!
Did you know Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was a Kannapolis native? He was known as "The Intimidator", "The Man in Black", and “Ironhead”.
Dale Earnhardt Sr. is regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history and named as one of the NASCAR's… pic.twitter.com/rDbwDZZzV4
— Margo (@MargoinWNC) November 24, 2024
He practically became the face of the sport for fans from the world over, with people recognizing the #8 Chevrolet Lumina and the iconic mustache even before they knew what stock car racing was in the first place. Now, that echelon of popularity certainly allows the late driver to be called by whatever name he prefers.
