In the aftermath of the massive Talladega wreck in 2012, Dale Earnhardt Jr made some controversial remarks about NASCAR and fans. Those comments managed to anger Brian France, who was the CEO of NASCAR during that period of time.

Dale Jr asked, “I got out of the car and said the sport was bloodthirsty. We had a big crash on the last lap. Rumor gets back to me, that personally piss*d you off. Were there moments, where you had a hard time not taking something personally?”

Brian France said, “The answer is, of course, I got piss*d and it is personal.”

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Junior’s comments came right after the “big one” at Talladega during the final lap of the 2012 race. The wreck involved a massive 25-car pile-up and looked horrifying at first.

What did Dale Earnhardt Jr say?

Junior’s statement came after the end of the race when a journalist’s comments seemingly angered him further.

After the race, a journalist told Junior, “I know it s*cks for you guys but for the fans, it’s awesome to watch.” Right after hearing the statement, Junior responded, “Really? It’s not safe. Wrecking like that is ridiculous. It’s bloodthirsty if that is what people want. It’s ridiculous.”

When asked how he would sum up the race, Junior responded, “If this is how we raced every week I would find another job.”

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Later on, he retracted the statement after it was met with much criticism. Junior also apologized for saying those things in the heat of the moment, especially after witnessing such a massive wreck right on the final lap of the race.