Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s relationship with his father as a young boy was a mixed bag of emotions. While they did not share the strongest of bonds until he was racing cars, his old man did play a huge role in shaping his character. Now, 49 years old and the father of two children himself, Dale Jr. is bent on instilling his kids with the right set of values and principles just like his father did to him and his siblings.
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In a recent interview on the Sports and Forks podcast, he was asked about the one thing that he wanted to teach his daughters. He said, “I want them to always be honest. So, trying to teach our kids like, ‘Hey, did you do this? Did you break this? Did you steal this?’ I want them to tell me the truth. I don’t want them to have to hide it or feel like they’re going to be, you know, I don’t want them to fear the punishment enough to tell the lie.”
Dale Jr.’s first daughter, Isla Rose, was born in 2018. His second daughter, Nicole Lorraine, was born in 2020. The job of raising them to be respectable members of society is a duty that the icon shares with his wife, Amy Reimann. He believes that being honest, truthful, and trustworthy goes a long way in life. “If you can raise them to be fair and honest then all the other things fall into place,” he concluded.
Isla cries when Dale Jr. loses a race – just as he did when his father lost
Dale Jr. appeared on Today last year to talk about a new children’s book that he had written when he revealed how his daughters were just beginning to understand how racing worked. At first, Isla hadn’t been able to quite connect watching her father get inside the car in front of her and then watching him on TV moments later. But last year’s Xfinity Series race in Bristol was when she could finally understand it.
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He said, “Me being out on the racetrack and competing, she didn’t really know what all that meant. But now she gets it. She was sad that we didn’t win the race.” The race ended with Dale Jr. being forced to quit his car following an issue with the electrical components in his JR Motorsports ride. Thankfully, he escaped the fiery accident unscathed.
He noted how Isla’s reaction was something not far different from his own as a child. His father, the legendary Dale Earnhardt Sr., lost a few races in his time despite the incredible skill and talent that he had. Whether Isla or Nicole will want to follow the family path into racing is a question for now. But as long as they are honest and truthful about things, Dale Jr. appears to be up for everything.
