Being a son of seven-time NASCAR champion was never going to be easy for Dale Earnhart Jr. in terms of expectations.
Not just for Dale Jr. but what The Intimidator achieved is something extraordinary. His statistics compared to his father turns pale but there is no denying the fact that Dale Jr. has been a huge presence in the NASCAR industry.
Speaking about racing statistics, Dale Jr. amassed 26 career Cup Series victories including two Daytona 500 wins, and two championships in NASCAR’s second-tier series. His popularity in the NASCAR circle is verified by the 15 wins as NASCAR’s fan-voted most popular driver award. But it terms of racing, Dale Jr. admits that he could have achieved more and his father would have pointed out the same.
“Once I got to Hendrick and really realized what being a driver is about, and really understood what kind of commitment it takes, I look back on the Bud years and go, ’Wow, I really could have done so much more with that because I had some really awesome race cars and we had a hell of a team,” Earnhardt said.
“There’s some regrets and mistakes and things that I wish I would have done differently. Dad would have pointed those out for sure.”
One thing that Dale Jr. is going to match his father on is being inducted into the Hall of Fame, which is going to take place this Friday.