A range of emotions rocked New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Warm and fuzzy feelings of camaraderie featured in Team Penske’s fold, with Ryan Blaney winning and Joey Logano finishing 4th. On the other hand, a starkly different picture appeared in Joe Gibbs Racing. Tension and animosity ran riot among this team’s drivers, especially Denny Hamlin and Ty Gibbs. And the impact of the JGR emotional scale hit Dale Jr. as well.

The 26-time Cup Series race winner hung up his helmet in 2017. Yet the endless stories of success, failure, and everything in between never cease in Dale Jr.’s podcast. One of the more forgettable ones surfaced recently, as Dale Jr. could relate to the JGR fiasco in the Magic Mile – and he was in Hamlin’s place.

Dale Jr. digs up his rowdy history

There are two sides to the Magic Mile debacle. From Ty Gibbs’ side, the 2022 Xfinity Series champion challenged his competitors as hard as he could, whether they were his competitors or not. However, Denny Hamlin’s side is a little heavier, as both he and Christopher Bell were in tight spots for playoff points. Gibbs, as a non-playoff racer, had almost nothing to gain in fighting for a 10th-place position. Hence, Hamlin’s warning bumps and eventual aggression received support from veterans like Dale Earnhardt Jr. Junior brought up Gibbs’ not-so-delectable history of wrecking teammates, like getting into Brandon Jones in 2022.

Yet at the same time, Dale Jr. also brought up his own rowdy history. “I’m sitting here talking about how foolish it was for Ty to run the guy hard, and then I forgot that I had wrecked my teammate at Charlotte,” Dale Jr. said in a recent Dale Jr Download episode. He referred to a 2005 Coca-Cola 600 race where Junior tapped his DEI (Dale Earnhardt Inc.) teammate, Michael Waltrip, from behind. This triggered a five-car wreck. It collected Waltrip, Matt Kenseth, and Terry Labonte. Two-time Cup champion Labonte was even taken to the hospital for observation.

In hindsight, Dale Jr. regretted being the focal point of that chaos. “I honestly wasn’t that mad at Michael, things had been boiling,” he explained. He gave a brief description of the fiasco: “If I run the top in a corner, and I’m coming off of the top down a straightaway and I’ve big momentum, I have a problem if you pull up in front of me, I don’t care who you are…That was kind of what happened with Michael down the front straightaway in Charlotte…We were side by side with some cars. I was trying to like push him through a little bit, but ended up wrecking me and a bunch of other people and him.” Then Dale Jr. admitted sadly, “It was dumb. I regret it.”

Michael Waltrip was not the only veteran Dale Jr. locked horns with. Jeff Gordon, a four-time Cup Series champion, was usually known for his iconic rivalry with the legendary Dale Earnhardt. However, Dale Jr. slipped out a little-known truth, that Gordon had beef with Earnhardt’s son as well. He said, “The only thing that ever happened between me and Jeff was, he always complained about the way I raced…We go to Daytona and Talladega. Um, if I push bump draft him in the corner, (he said,) ‘Tell that eight to quit bump drafting in the corner!'”

Clearly, Dale Jr. has been in very rough situations, quite like the Magic Mile dilemma. Yet his popularity buried those past instances of disrepute, as a driver brought to attention recently.

Getting to be Dale Jr. for a day

On the other end of the spectrum in New Hampshire, Team Penske had a blast. Joey Logano started from the pole but had to yield the victory to his teammate. Nonetheless, Logano was content. Firstly, the tire test that he undertook in late July benefited his entire organization, and Blaney’s crew chief, Jonathan Hassler, credited Logano’s efforts. Secondly, New Hampshire is Logano’s hometown racetrack. Returning to the familiar sights and sounds boosted his motivation. More importantly, the roaring cheers of the NASCAR fans were, in a rare situation, directed at him. And Logano reminisced about Dale Jr.’s extraordinary popularity.

The 2024 Cup Series champion counted himself lucky to be like Dale Jr. for one day. Joey Logano said, “You’ve got to cheer for the hometown guy. And it’s fun to enjoy that piece of it. It’s the only time I ever feel a little bit like Dale Jr. – just a little bit. It’s super cool, really neat to be Dale Jr. I’ve learned.”

Joey Logano is a majorly polarizing figure in the sport, with a vast swathe of fans against him. From setting off conflicts with rivals to clinching the Cup title as the worst average finisher, there are many reasons for his disrepute. However, Logano laments about that. He said, “I feel like I’m misunderstood a lot of times. I think the industry knows me really well and the kind of person I am. I don’t know if all the fans understand the kind of person I am, or don’t understand how you can race one way and be happy all the other times.”

Clearly, Dale Jr. has left behind his rowdy personality a long time ago. Nevertheless, the stories still make for titillating podcast sessions!