“Nobody Was Safe”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. Credits His Mother for Little-Known Trait

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has built a Hall of Fame career of his own, carrying on the legacy of his legendary father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., and ensuring the iconic surname remains synonymous with NASCAR greatness. But he didn’t only inherit his father’s racing instincts. Earnhardt Jr. also picked up a few specific traits from his mother Brenda Jackson, who passed away in April 2019.

While most people ask Earnhardt only about his father, he recently shared something he got from his mom, who divorced the legendary Earnhardt Sr. in 1977. In a 12 Questions interview with Jeff Gluck, when asked what people often get wrong about him, Dale Jr. revealed that people never realized how much of a “smarta**” he really is.

“When I went to race at Hendrick Motorsports, Jeff Gordon was like, ‘Man, I didn’t know you were as funny or as big of a smarta** as you were.’ That’s something I got from my mom. And this is a compliment. My mom was an unbelievable smarta**, and I loved it about her.”

“She was going to pick on you, she was going to jab, but it was all in fun, and it was hilarious, and nobody was safe. If you slipped up around her, you might get called out. And she was just so damn funny,” he continued.

12 Questions with @DaleJr just dropped: https://t.co/x3b6mBWEHx

— Jeff Gluck (@jeff_gluck) October 22, 2025

Dale Jr. and his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, shared a close bond with their mother in their early years, only growing closer to their father later in life. The turning point came after a house fire at their mother’s home, a moment revisited in the Earnhardt docuseries on Amazon Prime earlier this year.

At the time, the two children were living with Brenda while Dale Sr. was trying to make his mark in NASCAR. The fire left their mother without a home or the means to care for them, forcing her to give up their custody. From that point on, Dale Sr. stepped in, taking them under his wing as he climbed the ranks of stock car racing.

Kelley and Junior then moved in with Teresa Earnhardt, their father’s partner and eventual wife. Though their relationship with Teresa was complicated, their connection with their father deepened, one developed in both hardship and heritage, shaping the man and driver Junior became later.

About the author

Neha Dwivedi

Neha Dwivedi is an experienced NASCAR Journalist at The SportsRush, having penned over 5500 articles on the sport to date. She was a seasoned writer long before she got into the world of NASCAR. Although she loves to see Martin Truex Jr. and Kyle Busch win the races, she equally supports the emerging talents in the CARS Late Model and ARCA Menards Series.. For her work in NASCAR she has earned accolades from journalists like Susan Wade of The Athletic, as well as NASCAR drivers including Thad Moffit and Corey Lajoie. Her favorite moment from NASCAR was witnessing Kyle Busch and Martin Truex Jr. win the championship trophies. Outside the racetrack world, Neha immerses herself in the literary world, exploring both fiction and non-fiction.

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