It took Dale Earnhardt Jr. time to come to terms with the loss of his father, who died in a tragic crash during the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. In past interviews, Dale Jr. admitted that his early relationship with Dale Earnhardt Sr. lacked depth, largely because his father was either at the racetrack or buried in the garage working on his car.
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But once Junior stepped into the NASCAR arena himself, the pieces began to fall into place. He started to understand what it took to climb the same mountain his father had conquered.
Appearing alongside his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller on Today, Dale Jr. revealed a few more details on the topic when he was asked how his father’s relationship with his own dad, Ralph Earnhardt, shaped the way Dale Sr. connected with his children. Junior pulled the curtain back.
“I think that Dad, you know, and he tells this story in his and he tells this story in his own words, that he was really, really angry when he lost his Dad at a young age,” he said. “He lost his father before his career took off,” suggesting that Dale Sr. may have carried a deep need for his father’s approval that was never fulfilled.
Without Ralph there to guide him, Dale Sr. believed he might never live up to the standard his father had set. But despite carrying that weight, he went on to defy every expectation, winning seven Cup Series championships — a feat Junior finds deeply inspiring. Still, that hard-earned success came with a cost.
While Junior expressed pride in his father’s accomplishments, he also reflected on the toll it took. “It also made him very rugged, very tough, and difficult to connect with on a personal level,” he admitted.
That guarded nature, according to Junior, made it hard for many to build genuine personal relationships with Dale Sr. His hardened exterior often acted as a wall few could get past.
Given that both Kelley and Dale Jr. grew up under the roof of divorced parents and had to move away from their mother to live with a father whose schedule left little room for bonding, the two leaned on each other. In the absence of constant parental presence, the siblings forged a close bond and looked out for one another through it all.
Did Earnhardt and his son not connect mentally?
During the interview, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller were shown a clip from Earnhardt, Prime Video’s upcoming four-part documentary premiering May 22.
In the segment, Dale Jr. recounted how he used to keep a series of photos of Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s dramatic 1982 Pocono flip taped inside his school locker. Each time he opened it, he would look at those images and think, “My Dad is a badass. I am his son.”
But despite the admiration he held for his father, their bond was not always built on common ground. Reflecting on their dynamic, Junior admitted, “Him and I didn’t connect mentally. He was this tough, hardworking, dirt under his fingernails, do anything guy. I was tiny, short, and shy and quiet. I wasn’t making any sense to him.”
Kelley echoed that sentiment, saying their father was a strict and demanding presence, much like many fathers from that era, shaped by a different set of expectations and values.
Now, with both siblings approaching the age their father was during his peak, and having spent years immersed in the garage and the demands of the sport, they might be at a place from where they can view him through a different lens — one shaped by experience, responsibility, and a deeper understanding of what it takes to live and lead in that world.
