“Took My Lungs A Lot of Time to Rehabilitate”: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Experience After Quitting Smoking

Despite his now wife Amy’s firm disapproval before they got married, Dale Earnhardt Jr. smoked heavily for over 15 years. In 2019, he admitted that at one point, he went through roughly a pack and a half of cigarettes a day.

What began as a casual weekend habit quietly tightened its grip, becoming part of his daily routine and eventually his mornings.  He tried repeatedly to quit, but nothing stuck until Amy Earnhardt drew a hard line, making it clear that smoking was a deal-breaker for her as the couple looked to spend their lives together.

Looking back, Dale Jr. says the change left him healthier, both physically and mentally. Reflecting on the social pull of the habit, Junior explained how he used to rationalize smoking whenever he went out partying or spent time at the track. In his mind, the timing and setting always made it feel acceptable. He convinced himself people would see it as social smoking, especially during nights out at bars, and while playing video games for hours on end.

When fans or someone who recognized him would say hello and catch him smoking, he brushed it off internally. He would tell himself that he is just out with the guys. It’s not a big deal, and he hardly ever smokes. Junior acknowledged that he said whatever was necessary to justify it and quiet his own conscience. After quitting in response to Amy’s ultimatum, Dale Jr. noticed a clear difference.

“I feel like I for sure had a lot more sore throats, colds, congestion, more susceptible to getting colds, and that type of respiratory illness and infections. I have way less sore throats now. It was definitely tied to smoking. After so much smoking, it took my lungs a lot of time to rehabilitate themselves,” he said.

Touching on what helped him and his body get back to being healthy, he added,  “Cycling helped me do that. I wanted to bike to challenge my lungs, help them regroup, and make them healthier. I was more self-aware of what it was doing to my body.”

Given that he knows how much control smoking had over him, so much so that the everyday decisions he made were also around smoking, now, Dale Jr. has turned that experience into motivation to help others trying to quit.

In 2019, he partnered with Nicorette to launch Nicorette Coated Ice Mint Lozenges, the first coated lozenge of its kind, using his own journey to encourage family, friends, and fans to take the same step away from smoking.

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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