There have been times when the late great Dale Earnhardt was very outspoken. We are talking about Kyle Busch’s levels of outspoken, and he sometimes had controversial opinions. Back in 2000, many drivers raised a number of concerns about the sheer speed of the Daytona International Speedway. However, the 7-time Cup Series champion was quick to dismiss the concerns and hit back at his rivals.

He said, “I’ve heard some drivers saying, ‘we’re going too fast at Charlotte, we’re going too fast here [Daytona]’. If you’re not a race car driver and not a racer, stay home. Don’t come here and grumble about going too fast, stay home. Get out of the race car if you’ve got feathers on your legs and b**t. Put a kerosene rag around your ankles so the ants won’t climb up there and eat that candy a**.”

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Why was Dale Earnhardt Jr at odds with his compatriots?

The main conflict arose because of the use of restrictor plates since 1987. As it turned out, a frightening crash from Bobby Allison prompted the introduction of the plates. This was because Allison’s car crashed at 210 mph into the wall and nearly killed several fans. With the help of the restrictor plates, the cars’ speed was greatly reduced and brought the cars closer together in groups.

While it made for exciting racing, many drivers still felt that it was unsafe. To make matters worse, NASCAR add its own shocks and changed the handling of the cars. This made it even more difficult for the drivers to speed up. In fact, at the Daytona 500, the average speed had reduced by 5 mph.

Suffice to say, Dale Earnhardt, Sr was furious. Eventually, the speeds began to increase, to The Intimidator’s liking. However, his contemporaries were not as receptive of the move. Owing to that, the 7-time Cup Series champion had harsh words for all of them.

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