Dale Earnhardt Jr. has always been shy and he’s even admitted to that here, but we got a new look of Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his interview with Dan Patrick on The Dan Patrick Show.
In an in-depth 20 minute interview, Dale Jr. went very deep on his childhood growing up with a legend as a father and about how that deeply affected his childhood. He also talked about being so introverted to the point where he wouldn’t leave his motorhome at the track unless he had to as well as some of his views on NASCAR.
Dale Jr. acted like how many kids acted when they felt they weren’t getting enough attention from their parents. He would act out and get in trouble, almost getting kicked out of a Christian school and then into military school. That even included going into therapy both as a child and an adult to try to work through some things, namely growing up with divorced parents as well as witnessing his mother’s house burn down at six-years-old and her making the difficult decision to give up custody to Dale Sr. because she couldn’t support Dale and his sister Kelley after that.
Dale Jr. didn’t say it but he insinuated a feeling of how many people felt when they have a famous parent. Having a famous parent may be great but what many don’t realize is that you’re sharing them with everybody else. So when Dale Jr. said that he and his sister would try for five minutes of their father’s time at the end of the day after being at the shop trying to making a living as a NASCAR driver, that’s a sense of sharing him with everyone else.
When he became a driver, Dale Jr’s shyness and his introverted personality would come out for the early part in his career when he revealed he would never leave the track during a race weekend and wouldn’t leave his motorhome unless he had to. In a way, I see where Dale Jr. is coming from. I’m very introverted and I might be outgoing with my friends and people I know but it can be torture having to go to something that’s a public setting with many people you don’t know. And sometimes, instead of going out just for the fun of it, I can have a great time at home, alone. Dale Jr. credited his wife Amy for changing him because she wanted to go out and not stay in the motorhome all weekend and got him to get out of his comfort shell.
It wasn’t all serious, Dale Jr. had thoughts about the current state of NASCAR. He feels the current state is strong and may not want to be President of NASCAR but maybe a slightly lower position with some influence because he didn’t think he would be a good President and that someone from the France family should be President.
All in all, it’s a very eye-awakening interview definitely for both NASCAR and non-NASCAR fans. This is a rare glimpse into the mind of one of the greatest NASCAR drivers ever and the son of arguably the greatest NASCAR driver ever.
