“I feel like every day, I gotta get up and earn respect.” That’s what Dale Earnhardt Jr, 15-time NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver Award recipient, once said. With 26 Cup Series wins, as well as the ownership of a championship-winning team, one would think that Junior doesn’t need to earn his place in the sport. However, Dale Jr. has never taken the ‘Earnhardt’ surname for granted, and his longtime friend and NASCAR veteran couldn’t help but share an eye-opening story about one of NASCAR’s most beloved figures.

Kenny Wallace reveals shocking Dale Jr. power dynamic

Kenny Wallace recalls it all too well. Speaking on Chase Holden’s YouTube channel, he remembered that he had asked Dale Earnhardt Jr., “What does it feel like to have that much power?’ on the Kenny Conversation podcast in 2023, and Dale Jr.’s answer stunned him.

Wallace recounted, “I’ll never forget it. He goes, ‘I don’t feel it. I’m always in trouble with NASCAR. I’m always trying to make up. I always feel like I’m in trouble with them.’ So now, after all this comes out, now I know what he was talking about. He can do all that good, but what he was saying that day—none of us could believe. Now it’s like, he probably has had his a– chewed out a lot by NASCAR. So he feels like he’s never good enough for NASCAR. ”

And it’s true, Dale Jr. has never shied away from expressing his views about the governing body. Still with the conversation and context, Junior added that while he has a “pretty good relationship” with NASCAR, he still finds himself in hot water from time to time because of things he says on his podcast, joking that it usually comes from “running (his) mouth a little bit too much.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been on NASCAR’s ‘bad side’ since his racing days. Back in 2004, he was fined $10,000 and docked 25 points for using a curse word during a post-race interview. The racer got a similar penalty at Bristol the same year for intentionally causing a caution. And in 2015, Junior received a costly pit-road speeding penalty at Dover, which he humbly accepted.

But the blunt criticism about NASCAR really kicked off on the Dale Jr. Download podcast. Especially when it comes to the Next-Gen car or the playoff system.

He said, “I don’t love the Next-Gen car… it’s an IMSA car- it’s a sports car. It’s got a diffuser, low-profile tires, big rims, and brakes. It’s not a NASCAR stock car.”

He argues that because of the design rises, including diffuser, tire/wheel combo, and underbody, the car undermines the kind of competitive, close-on-the-edge racing fans expect on road courses and short tracks.

Even with the proposed horsepower bump for 2026, he seems skeptical that it will solve the underlying issues. But it’s also the collective effort of drivers voicing out the same concerns that further proves Dale Jr.’s words to be the truth.  When it comes to the playoffs, the NASCAR veteran has voiced his unease with recent proposals to change the playoff season structure and with removing certain tracks from its schedule.

Junior has really been rallying for the return of the golden era and even mentioned how NASCAR was against the return to the 36-race full-season championship.

He said, “At the beginning of the year, the mere mention of a full-season points deal was pretty taboo, kind of early on that.”

This definitely gives just a glimpse of how much NASCAR and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are on opposite ends of things. Junior has time and again mentioned how he takes things up on his podcast, and how he’s “gotta earn respect” to date. However, all that seems to have paid off this year. With NASCAR under the spotlight amid a lawsuit battle with teams 23XI Racing and Front Row Motorsports, the NASCAR community seems to be stepping up to the occasion to make their demands clear.

Could Dale Jr. potentially take his place as a NASCAR leader?

Fans rallied behind Dale Earnhardt Jr. to take up top spots in NASCAR’s organization. Recently revealed court documents have cast both the sports leadership and the teams in an unflattering light. With NASCAR top brass calling Richard Childress a “stupid redneck” and saying that he should be “taken out back and flogged,” an uproar has been created within the NASCAR community. Moreover, certain comments criticize Tony Stewart’s SRX Series, among many.

These releases of private text and emails have offered fans a rare glimpse of the perspective of NASCAR’s decision-makers and sparked renewed debate about the sport’s leadership. Online, supporters are increasingly calling for Mark Martin and Dale Earnhardt Jr. to step into executive roles, highlighting their passion, credibility, and long-standing dedication to racing.

Fans have been writing, “Dale Jr. and Mark Martin need to be running the sport right now, they care about the sport and want to make the sport better.”

While another underscored Dale Jr.’s influence, saying, “The fact that executives were naming Dale Jr. in texts and were worried that he’d be able to pull the fans away from NASCAR to another series shows the power and pull Jr still has in the sport.. They were f-cking terrified that Jr would bring back N. Wilkesboro with another series.”

Calls for the veterans to assume leadership reflect a broad demand for accountability and revitalisation at NASCAR top. While neither has formally expressed interest in executive roles, many see their involvement as a potential turning point, one that NASCAR could really use right now. With ongoing legal battles and the December one trial looming, the spotlight may increasingly turn toward whether these revered former drivers will step up to guide NASCAR from within.