It’s no secret that Dale Earnhardt Jr is a fan of video gaming and that is not just limited to racing on the simulator. The former Cup Series driver recently revealed that he has been playing Hell Let Loose a couple of days back and his playing style is quite unusual. Hell Let Loose is a tactical World War II multiplayer-only first-person shooter game. Usually, players charge straight to the objective but Junior prefers a different route.
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On a recent episode of his podcast, the 49-year-old said that he plays as an automatic rifleman and he flanks around towards the objective rather than heading straight for it. This usually means that he doesn’t have to face heavy fire which his other teammates do. But when the commander of his gaming group calls him out for taking the less dangerous route to the objective, he has quite a convenient response.
“Sometimes when you’re flanking, you’ll see some other guys are flanking and you’re like, “Hey, I’m glad I’m flaking ’cause I caught you flanking.” The commander comes over, “Junior what are you doing way over there? Get in the match.” The commander’s cussing at you…and then when you meet somebody you’re like, “I caught the flankers down here,” he said.
Like a lot of other gamers, Junior doesn’t like it when someone tells him how to play a game. Everyone has their style and the former Cup Series driver’s logic is that since he’s the one who spent his money to get the game, he should be able to play however he wants to. That is a fair argument to be made in all honesty.
Fans equate Junior’s gameplay to his racing style
Fans related a lot with the whole ‘don’t tell me how to play’ mentality and they made their opinions clear on X (formerly Twitter). “Like when in a squad and your teammates are all dead but they hang out and tell you how to play differently. Mute all. Lol,” one user commented. “It’s my $59.95 and flank if I want to, flank if I want to,” quipped another.
Some fans related his style of playing Hell Let Loose to his style of driving a race car. Turns out taking the high line on the race track is also a form of flanking “High line, even in the video games,” one fan commented. “Ok, Ok, From now on Dale, instead of inside or outside or three wide, etc. Add Flanking to your repertoire!!!! PLEASE ” quipped another user.
Experiences like these are what make the common race fan relate so much to the two-time Xfinity Series champion. Despite being one of the greatest race car drivers of all time, Junior’s connection to fans at all levels is truly something to marvel at.
