Nobody missed the nail-biting rivalry that unfolded in the 2025 NASCAR Xfinity Championship race. Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s prodigal driver, Connor Zilisch, was looking forward to capitalizing on a 10-win season. However, Richard Childress’s star, Jesse Love, shattered his rival’s dreams by grabbing the title. Despite the fresh nature of this strong competition, Dale Jr. feels closer to a member of Childress’s team – due to old familial ties.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wells up with emotion

“I love you, man. I gotta tell you,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. told Danny Lawrence, the director of Richard Childress’s NASCAR O’Reilly Auto Parts program. “And you’re like family to me. I would do anything in the world that you asked me to do. Like, you’re one of those people that, when I see you, I know that your reaction, and you’re glad to see me, is as genuine as can be. You care about what I got going on.”

Now 51 years old, Danny Lawrence used to be Dale Earnhardt‘s engine builder at Richard Childress Racing. The NASCAR Hall of Famer has spent a lot of time in close proximity with the Intimidator, cultivating an unbreakable bond and creating memories.  Around the 25th anniversary of Earnhardt’s tragic passing in the 2001 Daytona 500, Lawrence got together with his former colleague’s son to cherish old memories.

“We compete against each other,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. continued. “I got Xfinity, and you got Xfinity. Sometimes, our cars bash into each other. That’s never changed the relationship between you and me. And you’ve always been one of the few people that always say, ‘Man, your dad would have been proud of you.’ You’re always going out of your way to tell me those things to make sure that I’m in a good head space. That’s just your nature.”

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Indeed, Connor Zilisch’s clash with Jesse Love was not the only instance of rivalry. JR Motorsports and Richard Childress Racing, being top teams in NASCAR’s second tier, such competition is customary. But the bond between Lawrence and Dale Jr. is stronger, as the latter affirmed. And Lawrence gifted the veteran driver something recently – a Simpson Performance Products-branded box containing a wrapped racing helmet belonging to the late Dale Sr.

Such a reunion keeps those iconic memories fresh and alive for fans. And while they were at it, Dale Jr. brought up an old confusion about his dad.

Clearing up doubts about a questionable picture

Dale Earnhardt Sr. was regarded as the king of stock car racing in his time. But at the same time, he was involved in a fair share of controversies. One such issue lay in a photograph showing him with his foot under the front valence/splitter during a technical inspection. His detractors contended that he was trying to lift the nose slightly with his foot to disrupt the measurements before a race. Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently cleared up this speculation of race manipulation.

“What he is truly doing in that picture is… back in the 80s and the 90s, the front valence height on the car was critical to how competitive your car was going to be. He would walk around, and he wanted to, if he could, take a tape and measure every car on the grid out there on the grid and the garage. But instead of doing that, he’d walk over and slide his foot under there,” Dale Jr. said.

With a treasure chest full of memories, Dale Earnhardt Jr. continues to remember his dad through the people who knew him – even if it is a current rival.