Dale Earnhardt Sr. did not always have the best relationship with his children. Dale Jr. has spoken on multiple forums about how he was always left wanting for his father’s love and approval. It was only after he became a successful race car driver that this yearning was satisfied to a certain level. As it happens, his sister, Kelley Earnhardt, faced similar issues as well.
Advertisement
Kelley was recently on Earnhardt: NASCAR’s Companion Podcast. Sharing personal reflections of her father with Ryan McGee in a deep conversation, she explained how she needed her father’s approval in everything. However, it was a tad different from what Junior sought.
She said, “I don’t look back and see myself seeking the same approval that Dale (Junior) was seeking. But we did both seek approval. We looked for it differently. Dale wanted the approval emotionally, this connection between him and Dad. I had that connection with Dad. I was good at a lot of stuff. I didn’t need that part of it.”
So, what did she want? She wanted a little pat on the shoulder after she’d done a good job at whatever task had been assigned to her. She continued, “I needed the after fact that said, ‘You did really good on that.’ Like those straight A’s you brought home. ‘Girl, you kicked ass!’ No. It was, ‘You better bring straight A’s or you’re grounded.'” As a result, it was tough love that came Kelley’s way.
Why was Kelley jealous of people close to her father?
Junior had been able to close the emotional distance between his father and himself once he got into the race car. But that opportunity never took off for Kelley. She revealed during the release of Amazon Prime’s Earnhardt documentary that she hadn’t spoken to her old man for weeks before his death at Daytona in 2001.
The emotional pressure of this reality has now led her to feel jealous when hearing people talk fondly about how close they were with Earnhardt. She said, “Even when I’m watching other people speak about Dad, there’s a level of jealousy at times when other people who got more time with my dad than I did in more relaxed, fun situations.”
She admitted to feeling jealous when hearing Michael Waltrip speak about his vacation to the Bahamas with Earnhardt and the fun time they had together. The little child in her still wanted to spend more time with her father and have as much fun with him as others appeared to have had.
Despite the weight of feeling such emotions, Kelley has understood that her relationship with her father wasn’t inferior by any means. She has chosen to remain graceful rather than carry resentment.
