Tuesday will be the 24th anniversary of the death of the legendary NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Sr. On February 18, 2001, Earnhardt Sr. was tragically killed after crashing on the final lap of the Daytona 500.
In the years since then, his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been back to the Daytona International Speedway many times. In fact, he’s managed to win the Daytona 500 twice. But it hasn’t been easy.
Earnhardt Jr. Opens Up About ‘Embracing’ Daytona
Given what happened to his father at the Daytona International Speedway, it would be be understandable if Earnhardt Jr. had decided never to set foot on that racetrack again. In a new interview, Earnhardt Jr. is revealing how he managed to overcome this trauma and learn to “embrace” Daytona.
“Daddy loved Daytona,” Earnhardt Jr., 50, told Fox News. “Loved winning here. Just loved to win any race here. He loved to add to that number whatever it was (34). Gosh, I loved coming here as a kid. Just a lot of great memories. So, when he passed away, I had to make a decision. I had a career in front of me, and I was coming back multiple times….I had to figure out a way to be OK with it.”
“I knew that it wasn’t the track that took him…I knew that, wherever he was, he still felt the same about Daytona,” he continued. “So, I’ve embraced it. Him losing his life in this property brought this property closer to me. That doesn’t work the same with other people and tragedy, but, for me, knowing I had to keep coming here, I made some peace with it, embraced the track and loved it.”
Watch Earnhardt Jr. talk more about this in the video below.
Related: NASCAR Fans Are Freaking Out Over Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s New No. 8 Budweiser Car
Earnhardt Jr. Praises His Dad
Earnhardt Jr. won the Daytona 500 in 2004 and 2014, respectively. Indeed, he frequently credits his father for much of the success that he’s had in the NASCAR world himself.
“He knew how to treat people,” Earnhardt Jr. said of his father in a previous interview. “He knew how to he just did everything right in my eyes.”
“And then I thought, we were gonna do this together, right?” Earnhardt Jr. added. “And I was racing with for him. I drove his car, he owned my car, I was racing for him, and I was winning. We were celebrating, we got tight. We weren’t real tight for a long time.”
Related: Home Video Surfaces Showing Dale Earnhardt Just Before 2001 Daytona 500 Crash
Earnhardt Jr. Struggles With His Father’s Death
That’s why it was particularly difficult for Earnhardt Jr. when his father passed away.
“When I lost the man, it was like I thought I was on this path that was gonna be just this linear, smooth ascension to something great,” he explained. “And I thought, now I’m not sure you know what I’m gonna do? I could screw this up, right? I don’t know that I have the wisdom and the ability to do what he did.”
Earnhardt Sr. would certainly be proud of everything that his son has accomplished in the decades since his untimely passing. In the end, we can all learn a lot from the way that Earnhardt Jr. managed to overcome this tragedy and achieve incredible success in the Daytona 500 himself!
More about:NASCAR News
Read This Next
