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Dale Earnhardt Jr Dismisses the Family ‘Gene’ Factor With Kyle Larson & Kyle Busch Examples

Published 02/18/2022, 8:58 AM EST

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“There’s guys that are good, there’s guys that are pretty decent, there’s guys that are talented. But then there’s one little group that just has something special, that everyone else doesn’t have. It’s a rare once-in-a-generation kind of talent.” This is what NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr had to say about the drivers who are inexplicably good.

In a recent interview, Dale Jr. was asked whether his daughters have the racing genes to make good racecar drivers.

And according to the JR Motorsports owner, one doesn’t have to have the genes, the ‘it’ factor to make it in racing. “I don’t know that there’s a certain real attribute that you can be born with (that) makes you a great racecar driver,” he said.

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As for what is required, Earnhardt Jr has a very short but apt answer – “You either just have it or you don’t.” 

Dale Earnhardt Jr names the two current drivers who are inexplicably good

Dale Earnhardt Jr continued to describe the one thing which has perplexed him, something that has been the toughest to understand – “You’ll see a guy race and they will be so fast and there’s no explanation for why they’re this good.”

“Like Kyle Larson.”

“Where did his ability come from? This guy can win and drive anything. Any type of horsepower, any type of car, he seems to excel,” he said.

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Earnhardt Jr. then went on to put a Joe Gibbs Racing driver in the same category, “Kyle Busch is the same way.”

“They have this raw ability to connect to the car,” he continued.

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“I always felt like that the best way to describe it was when things are working really good, you and car almost feel like one thing.”

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Written by:

Shaharyar Khan Chauhan

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Shaharyar is an F1 & NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. A graduate in Journalism from Amity University, he has been a passionate follower of motorsports for a better part of the decade. A Max Verstappen and Ferrari supporter, he dreams of a pairing of the two in future.
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