When you already have a history of scuffles, people hold you responsible for your words. Ty Gibbs had a colorful history in the 2022 NASCAR Xfinity Series title run, engaging in conflicts with rivals like Ty Dillon. It cost him $75,000 and also a lot of fan support. Memories of his rowdy nature returned on Sunday’s Watkins Glen race, where he disagreed with Chris Gabehart, a veteran Joe Gibbs Racing crew chief. As egregious as it sounds, Dale Earnhardt Jr. begged to differ.

After all, Ty Gibbs is young. The 22-year-old racer entered NASCAR’s premier level in 2024 and already has many good finishes to his name. But amidst his passionate drive for the 2025 playoffs, his temper may have spiralled – and Dale Jr.’s used a personal experience to justify it.

Dale Jr. recalled his own rowdy times

Being one of the most popular paragons of the sport, it is hard to believe that Dale Jr. may have a loose temper. However, there was such a time in the early 2000s. Sporting electric blonde hair and driving for his father’s company, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Dale Jr. used to be an impatient and rowdy kid. He was reminded of this past image of himself after Ty Gibbs messed up in Watkins Glen. Joe Gibbs’ grandson started the race in 14th place, but by Stage 2, things were going south. The No. 54 Toyota made contact with John Hunter Nemechek and then got trapped in traffic, while constantly complaining of a lack of grip in the tires. With consecutive finishes of 21st before this race, Gibbs became desperate and angrily spoke with Gabehart on the radio.

In a recent episode of Dale Jr Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said that in such a situation, Chris Gabehart is the perfect person to guide Gibbs. He placed himself in Gibbs’ shoes: “He needs a guy like Gabehart. Gabehart is there to help this kid, mentor this kid…Oh man, I’ve been in those moments on the radio where I’m upset…the car isn’t doing what I want, I’m in trouble, and I don’t feel like anyone else realizes just how bad this is. I’ve been in that, and you need a crew chief, a person on the radio that tells you, ‘We’re all here to help you, man, We’re not here to f—— argue’…so I thought it was refreshing.” Then Dale Jr. dug up a reference to his past.

Tony Eury Sr., a former DEI crew chief, led Earnhardt Jr. to two Busch series championships. During his first five years in the Sprint Cup series, the duo went to Victory Lane 15 times and sat on the pole six times. But to achieve this brilliance, Dale Jr. recalled how absolutely tough Eury Sr. was while handling him, much like Gabehart and Gibbs. “I was lucky that I had Tony Sr, Tony Jr – Tony Sr mainly, to keep my ass in line and not let me get away with running my mouth and being a little s—…Tony Sr was that guy for me, to basically say, ‘Shut the f up. Buckle down. Quit doing what the f you’re doing. It’s detrimental, it’s not helping.’ And I’m thankful for that because had he not been the guardrail, I would have abused all of the lenience.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. empathized completely with Ty Gibbs’ dilemma with the help of his past. While this was a story of growth, Dale Jr. also had a story of regret.

Reflecting on his missed opportunity

Kyle Busch may be in the doldrums at present. The Richard Childress Racing driver is currently riding an 81-race winless streak with no signs of hope. However, Busch once ruled over the Cup Series with his jaw-dropping racing skills. That led him to two Cup Series titles (2015, 2019) and 63 race trophies. That also led him to various scuffles with peers, including Dale Earnhardt Jr. At the 2008 spring race at the Richmond International Raceway, Junior had been in a position to win the race with three laps to go. However, Busch slammed into him in the final laps and foiled the dreams of all 112,000 spectators.

Recently, Dale Jr. recalled that particular incident and thought about what he could have done better. Running in the bottom lane for a few laps would have kept Busch in the dirty air, forcing him to move up. “I should have run the bottom for about two or three corners to see if I could make the bottom work… I gave him the bottom and he drove right up to my back bumper.” Years later, Dale Jr. also acknowledged that Busch’s aggression was not targeted. “I know that that wasn’t intentional. There was a lot of animosity between me and Kyle back then. He feels like I had taken his ride, which really wasn’t exactly how that all played out.”

With a checkered past holding many stories, Dale Earnhardt Jr. can brighten any situation. That includes the scuffle between Ty Gibbs and Chris Gabehart – let us see if Gibbs can perform better in Richmond!