Dale Earnhardt Jr. has poured back into the sport as much as he ever took from it, whether it was fame or fan love. From helping revive short-track culture and breathing life into dormant venues like North Wilkesboro Speedway to grooming Cup-ready talent through JR Motorsports, he has kept his hands on the wheel long after stepping out of the seat.
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Many assume the one thorn in his side is not winning a Cup title, unlike his father, with seven. Turns out, that is not the only hill he dwells on. In a recent chat with Hard Rock Bet, where he serves as a brand ambassador, Junior circled back to something he shared in 2025 on The Dale Jr. Download. He once said the regret that sticks with him is not being the teammate he could have been.
Reflecting on the same, he added: “I think in the first half of my career, I was competitive with my teammates, and while I was okay with seeing them do well, I was somewhat envious, and it was me who was supposed to be the best car in the organization, in my mind. My teammates were almost a complementary piece to the whole puzzle, and that probably wasn’t the best way to be a good teammate.”
He further continued, “I wasn’t really as supportive, or I didn’t lend them advice, or try to really help them as much as I probably could have. I went to Hendrick Motorsports, and then I wasn’t the big man on campus anymore.”
“I was working with Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon, who had won championships and had a ton of seniority at Hendrick Motorsports, and I learned what it was like to be on the other side of things, and I learned what it was like to watch them be good teammates to me, to be supportive, to be helpful.”
And while it’s not such a prideful thing to do, Dale Jr. did not sugarcoat it, preferring to come out and admit his reluctance out loud, even so, in the years after his driving career. Often, for someone in their late 20s, life moves at full throttle, and the world can shrink to a single lane, shifting focus to only oneself.
That is the nature of a sport like NASCAR. It can nudge drivers toward looking out for the number one spot, and nothing else. Putting oneself first and being selfish can pay off, especially at a level as high as the Cup Series. Still, Dale Jr. believes there were stretches where he could have stood taller for those around him.
Maybe that is why he now goes out of his way to lift young drivers who enter the garage. From nurturing their craft via his O’Reilly Series team to sharing insight that shapes the sport through his podcast, Junior has spent years trying to give others the support he once struggled to offer.
