SportsCentury: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

[@cynthiadye1679]

Jr will always be #1 in my book.

[@iankhan4614]

The Earnhardts pain was additional when Kerry was involved in the crash that claimed the life of Blaise Alexander at Charlotte during the ARCA REMAX series event in October of 2001.

[@CRAWLER3888]

Glad we got the Bud 8 back this year!

[@vapinbachelor289]

Me too, it was awesome to see in Person

[@mattburke9554]

Not really, nobody cares about late model

[@CRAWLER3888]

@@mattburke9554 just you pal. Go watch something else and let us have our fun…

[@iankhan4614]

​@CRAWLER3888 it now should be in the modified series.

[@iankhan4614]

@@mattburke9554 i believe that the throwback paint scheme was awesome.

[@teresagoodwin7458]

Awesome video. Thank you for sharing this Precious Priceless Treasured Blessing with me 🏁🏆🏁💞🤗💞🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@CocaColaDude]

3:17 NR2003. Best racing game ever made

[@joshysbrand3567]

Kerry the invisible earnhardt

[@iankhan4614]

Kerry, who was grieving over the loss of his father at Daytona, was then aimed with death threats for the wreck that took the life of Blaise Alexander.

[@joshysbrand3567]

Guys gotta be a tuff sob

[@iankhan4614]

@@joshysbrand3567 It was very difficult and trying years for the Earnhardts to continue on with DEI. Back to Kerry Earnhardt, take a grieving son and have thousands of people blame him for a racing accident that took Blaise Alexander's life. Those two losses really affected Kerry's racing career. As a matter of fact, he didn't race much after 2006. Now to Dale Jr, shame on those who critical of him not living up to his father's success. Hes been a tremendous racer and a great competitor. The man earned 26 wins and 2 Daytona 500 wins. That's a lot of wins. Some drivers today will never reach those numbers.

[@malsonrules]

bet having dale sr as your dad is way harder than having any other dad

[@leannelane7004]

So you're saying having a father who led you to fame and fortune and unlimited opportunities although that doesn't define success in God's eyes, just the worlds eyes, is worse than having a father who abandons or abuses his kids? Wow.

[@christianp.a.ferraro9272]

7:25

[@derekreynolds8307]

Nice video, you didn't really say anything about Kenny that the world didn't already know though

[@stevensmall9398]

Who's kenny?

[@punktalley]

Kenny who?

[@iankhan4614]

​@@punktalley Schrader.

[@ValorMotorsports]

Dale should have been getting Kelly Dale Jr. and there mom in a new house IMO.

[@jakesmith9486]

When there house burnt down sr was just starting nascar probably wasn’t loaded yet

[@GameBender0]

If jrs expectations wernt so high he may have been a better driver but im sorry he far underperformed at Hendrick and i believe thats because the 48 and 24 and honestly the 5 car had better equipment every week Jimmie for sure was given the best equipment jeff right there with him aside from his restrictor plate track wins and dominance he accomplished nowhere near what was expected of him i think he would have gotten at least 1 title with gibbs especially if he got the 18 ride or imagine dale in the 11 car at Daytona even denny dominated Daytona in the 11 but Hendrick was way more worried about Jimmie7× jeff3×

[@punktalley]

I think when his dad died, he didn't really care too much about winning. I think he wanted to prove to his dad he is worth being proud of as a person...as his son. But after his dad passed away, he no longer had a reason to be the best driver. I think the only reason Jr. raced another day after his dad's death was because he felt like he had to for the sport of NASCAR and his dad's legacy and the expectations that he felt came with those things. All he ever wanted was to impress his dad and have his dad's attention. He tried so many things to get his dad's attention and have his dad show love for him as his son...winning races was it. After his dad passed away Jr. would win if his car was good enough and/or when Jr. felt like he needed a win whether it was to keep his ride, to get the media off his back or because he thought he owed it to his fans and the fans of racing. Other than that, he really didn't care to or have a reason to win. He just enjoyed racing and every part of racing. It brought him back to being Dale Earnhart's little boy and being at the track with his dad. He no longer had a reason to drive other than the fans he had prior to his dad's death and the fans he gained from his dad's fan base. Those fans didn't need him to win a championship to be a fan. Those fans didn't care about championships...well most of them that are his true fans...not a fan of his success or his cup standings but instead the fans of a man...the person that his fans love, and Jr. knows those fans really care about him...his health, his physical and mental health...they really do love him, and he loves them back. That's why Jr. does so much for the people and the sport. When he lost his dad, he felt like he owed it to the sport to show up and drive as a way of paying his debt back to the sport and to the people that gave him and his dad their way of living life.

[@iankhan4614]

​​@@punktalley My favorite Dale Jr moment was when he and Michael Waltrip spoke out for Sterling Marlin. There was so much misdirected anger pointed towards Sterling over what had happened at Daytona that day, but both realized that he wasn't at fault. Now back to the Dale Jr carrier. As a great racer and a tremendous competitor, he was always reminded of and was expected to live up to his father's accomplishment. Part of me wished that he was able to drive the race car to his own best. Those who were critical of Earnhardt Jr need to look at his total wins. He earned 2 Daytona 500 wins and 26 cup series wins. Some driver weren't or may never reach those numbers.