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DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 14: Dale Earnhardt Jr. watches the action from the garage prior to practice for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Xfinity Series United Rentals 300 on February 14, 2025 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 14 NASCAR Xfinity Series United Rentals 300 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon25021410552300
Imago
DAYTONA BEACH, FL – FEBRUARY 14: Dale Earnhardt Jr. watches the action from the garage prior to practice for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Xfinity Series United Rentals 300 on February 14, 2025 at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, FL. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: FEB 14 NASCAR Xfinity Series United Rentals 300 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon25021410552300
As racing fans, we all have unfulfilled wishes. Almost every day, we wonder and theorize about the historic moments for our favorite teams and drivers, and wish that we could warn them about it so the outcome would have been slightly different. It seems like Dale Earnhardt Jr. also has a wish that would end up changing the career of a historic character and NASCAR legend if it had ever come true.
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Dale Jr. recalls the iconic moment of David Pearson’s career
In a recent social media post, Dale Jr. was seen commenting on David Pearson’s career-defining moment. “I want to run up to the window net and tell David, ‘I know this feels bad, but don’t y’all do anything rash this week.'”
He was replying to the post about David Pearson’s 1979 incident during the CRC Chemicals Rebel 500 race at Darlington. What happened was that when he came in to pit, Pearson misheard the command and floored his throttle. His team was going for a four-tire stop strategy instead of a two-tire stop.
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Someone from the crew yelled ‘Whoa!’ after bolting on two tires. Pearson misheard it as ‘Go!’ and accelerated out of the pits with only two tires. As a result, he was eliminated from the race. Not only that, Pearson decided to part ways with his team, Wood Brothers Racing, in the aftermath of that incident.
I wanna run up to the window net and tell David “I know this feels bad, but don’t yall don’t do anything rash this week” https://t.co/5WSocnUqxy
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) April 9, 2026
It was one of the biggest splits in racing history at that time. Pearson was winning almost every other race while he was racing for them. He might not be eligible for the championship, but Pearson was easily able to rack up wins, leaving legends like Richard Petty in his dust.
Ironically, it also marked the end of his racing career in the Cup Series. David Pearson was not able to witness the same success he had previously and subsequently ended up quitting NASCAR in 1986. He is ranked second on the list of drivers with the most Cup Series wins. With three championships to his name, David Pearson is one legend who was hailed as the best by Richard Petty.
Who knew what his career would look like if he had stayed with Wood Brothers Racing until he retired from the sport? He already has 105 wins to his name, but the way he was driving every season, he might’ve ended up crossing or matching Richard Petty’s iconic 200-race win milestone.
While Dale Jr. is highly active about the careers of former NASCAR drivers, he also has some things to say about imaginary NASCAR drivers.
Dale Jr. plays along as NASCAR drowns in Figgy Earnhardt narrative
A while ago, a fan posted on Reddit about an imaginary driver called Figgy Earnhardt. Seemingly, they think that it is some sort of Mandela effect, and no one remembers him. As one of Earnhardt’s sons, Figgy was supposedly a racing driver too.
Since the post went viral, multiple celebrities from the NASCAR community and even the NASCAR official channels have also commented on the reality of the same. While most of them are playing along for the sake of fan engagement and enjoying the drama and debates that come with it, Dale Jr. did something really unexpected.
It was only a matter of time before he was asked about Figgy Earnhardt by Dirty Mo Media. At the moment, Dale Jr. simply refused to comment about the matter. He did not deny the existence of Figgy Earnhardt, but he did not accept it either. After leaving the purists disappointed and the controversy theorists overjoyed, people thought that it was over.
However, the very next day something highly unexpected and hilarious came up. Dale Jr.’s Dirty Mo Media posted about their apparel. It was merchandise about Figgy Earnhardt. It seems like the joke has finally gone a bit too far. But what do you think? Was Figgy Earnhardt a what-could’ve-been or a would-never-be?
Written by
Edited by
Suyashdeep Sason