It is not an easy ride in NASCAR to represent a family with a racing dynasty, as people might think. This was especially true for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt growing up under the wings of NASCAR’s Intimidator. Sharing the passion for racing on ovals, what could possibly go wrong for them, right? But as it turns out, their upbringing was rather tumultuous and on the edge at multiple times. “Me and my dad never talked racing. We just didn’t. I wouldn’t go up and ask him about that unless I wanted to upset him.” This quote by Dale Jr. gives a glimpse of how tough it was growing up in the Earnhardt family.

Despite these tough moments, both Dale Jr. and her sister, Kelley Earnhardt, cherish and value the teaching they got from their dad. And they even rated this chemistry on the scale of 1 to 10 while speaking with Large from Rubbin is Racing.

Was Dale Earnhardt a 10 out of 10 parent for Dale Jr. and Kelley?

Large put both Kelley and Dale Jr. on the spot, asking them to rate their father based on their childhood experience growing up. “I’m gonna give it an eight,” replied Kelley. And this rating stems from the memories of their father being strict on them, preparing his young kids for the world. “You felt like he didn’t like you, [like] he didn’t love you during times when we were in trouble,” she explained on the Dale Jr. Download.

The pendulum swung when Dale Jr. was asked to rate his father, to which he replied, “I want to give a 10, god almighty, there were some tough moments.” This admission comes from a time when young Jr. wasn’t appreciated or mentored by his father when he started racing Late Models. Even when he broke onto the NASCAR stage, the Intimidator had his doubts about handing his son the keys to one of his DEI cars in the Xfinity Series.

“I was running Late Models for four years, never seeing him. I don’t think he ever saw me race Late Models in the mid-90s. Then we got in the Xfinity Series. I had two years of that and one year of Cup, and he was gone.” Jr. said this in an interview back in 2017 at Pocono. Well, Jr. didn’t help his cause during his early days; he was wrecking cars almost every week, and this fumed Dale Earnhardt. Things took a turn for the worse after young Dale Jr. wrecked the crashed the No. 31 Chevy during the practice run at Charlotte. And the Intimidator was contemplating whether his son was worthy of a full-time ride or not. Had it not been for Eury Sr.’s intervention, Jr. might not have won the 1998 Xfinity Series title.

“I think the whole time, his plan was he was going to put you in that car. When y’all went to Charlotte, and y’all wrecked that car, that killed that guy. I’m telling you. He was so disappointed. I mean that ripped that man’s heart out. I mean I’m telling you, you was going in that car. He says, ‘What do you think about putting Dale Jr. in this car?’ And I said, ‘Dale, you spent money on Jeff Green, you spent money on Steve Park. Why don’t you spend your money on your own kid?” Eury Sr. revealed this story on DJD.

It is indeed tough to uncover the real person of Dale Earnhardt outside of his iconic #3 car. Luckily, the fans will be treated to some untold stories and chapters about his personal life thanks to NASCAR’s newest media partner.

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NASCAR fans can learn more about Dale Earnhardt

Later on in the month of May, Amazon Prime Video will launch a 4-part docuseries about Dale Earnhardt. Naturally, Dale Jr and Kelley Earnhardt will also be featured in the docuseries. The objective of this series is to explore the 7-time champ’s personal life and uncover the untold stories that stretch beyond his greatness on the ovals.

“This goes a little bit deeper. This goes way deeper. This might take you as far as you’ve ever been into what it would be like to actually have been in the same room with the guy, lived with him, been his son. I mean, it’s real personal. It gets into who he was as a human being. A lot of things have always really celebrated the shell, the man in Black, the stats, the championships, the wins, the success, the whole persona. That’s what the Dale doc does to the fullest. It celebrates how badass of a racecar driver this guy was,” Dale Jr. stated.

For a long time, NASCAR hasn’t been able to deliver stories that connect with the fans. And it is cool to see Prime Video taking the initiative and starting to paint a good narrative with a perfect start, uncovering the details behind the tough, stoic, hardcore racer that Dale Earnhardt was.