This past Saturday’s 4-driver elimination from Cup Series Playoffs wasn’t the only major happening of the weekend. The Bristol Motor Speedway also saw one of its old friends start a race for the first time in 2023. Getting behind the wheel of his No. 88 Camaro to start for his team, Dale Earnhardt Jr. dusted open his racing suit again. Despite retiring long back from mainstream racing, Junior takes his car out for the occasional spin to stay connected with the tracks. As he did so on Friday for the Xfinity Series race, he faced trouble that surprised him.

Talking about the deeply sensitive issue that he had faced in the qualifying lap, he disclosed his feelings to long-term friend and ‘Dale Jr. Download’ co-host Mike Davis.

Dale Earnhardt Jr’s battle with anxiety and nervousness that took him aback

Over his long and famed career, Dale Jr. has managed to arguably fill the shoes of his father Dale Earnhardt. With 15 ‘Most Popular Driver’ awards helming his long list of accolades, he has conquered extreme tracks like the Daytona and Talladega on multiple sessions and earned the nickname ‘The Pied Piper of Daytona’ for his dominance in the former. In all the years that we have seen him race, he has never shown an ounce of hesitation or nervousness to take on the toughest of opponents or the trickiest of racetracks. But, concerningly, that doesn’t seem to be the case for now.

His first start of the year ended with a P30 after Dale Jr had to quit due to a fire and smoke anomaly in his car. Despite leading for 50-odd laps the incident had left him shaken enough to immediately pit and leave the car.

Talking to Mike Davis, he revealed that his feeling of nervousness had set on him much before the smoky affair. Narrating the moments before his car was to break into the track for the qualifying lap, he said, “I was watching them (Pace Trucks) out the front of the windshield. I’m strapped in, waiting on them to wave me out onto the track right? And so the nervous tension crescendoed to a like… almost nauseating, puke moment.”

Dale Jr’s Camaro was the first car to be sent out onto the track for qualifying. Perhaps that had countered in along with the pressure of the start to shake his nerves. Regardless of that, the more he let out of his heart in the podcast, the more viewers were left in despair for his little daughter, who was the primary reason for him to get behind the wheel at Bristol after so long.

Watch This Story: Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Dilemma: Losing a Prized Pupil to Spire Motorsports

Junior’s mental state at Bristol nearly broke his daughter’s heart

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In the pre-race interview with NBC, Dale Jr had been asked about his sudden urge to race again. He’d answered as his 5-year-old daughter Isla Rose Earnhardt clung to his neck, “Well, I am racing for my daughter.”

“So that she can see what we like to do, and what we have done all our lives. Just gonna have some fun. I missed Bristol, I ain’t raced here for 6 or 7 years.” It was these moments of warmth that have left fans shuddering in the wake of the driver’s revelations to Mike.

While the flaming accident that he got into later in the race weighs heavily, his emotions in those few seconds until he was pulled out from the car must have been a nightmare to experience in the state his mind was in. Luckily, he had managed to escape without severe physical injuries. Had it not been for the timely intervention of Joe Gibbs Racing’s crew, things might have turned out differently.

Opening up himself further, he said to Mike, “I was kind of like, I am taken aback by how nervous I was in that moment (Before the qualifying lap). Then in one minute, I was going to be completely on the other side of that extreme. (…) Dude, I don’t know how to not get that way. I wish I wasn’t like that. I wish I wasn’t that nervous or anxiety-ridden.”

48 Years-Old Dale Earnhardt Jr Reveals Bristol Motive With Heartwarming 5-Word Admission

Going into the race to prove to his daughter the hero that he was, he absolutely did that as he crossed the victory lane with his driver, Justin Allgaier. His revelations show us the harsher side of racing and remind us what mental strength it takes to step inside a high-performing machine and drive it at nerve-racking speeds. While it is disheartening to hear about Dale Jr.’s moment of weakness, we can be assured that he will conquer his demons like he always has done. As always, the NASCAR community will stand behind his back as he does so!