Dale Earnhardt Jr Once Again Proves Why He’s the Most Loved NASCAR Driver to This Day

Published 08/09/2022, 11:40 AM EDT

Without a doubt, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a household name in the NASCAR community. Despite never winning a Cup Series title and achieving the kind of success that his father enjoyed, Dale Jr. is still very much respected.

One accolade that he has, that no one else does, is the record for consecutive Most Popular Driver awards.

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Recently in a Twitter thread, the JR Motorsports owner/driver showed why he is still well-loved. As he told in the tweets, he took over NBC Sports’ play by play segment from Rick Allen.

Initially, he was hesitant because he did not believe that he deserved it and there were many others who were more qualified.

Nevertheless, the former Hendrick Motorsports driver decided to take a stab at it. He confessed that it was “Scary, but fun”.

Short thread of appreciation:
I ask to do a tiny bit of play by play the past few years for NBC. I don’t deserve it, because there’s hundreds of folks more qualified. NBC is kind to let me try it. It’s a huge thrill to be honest. Scary. But fun.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) August 8, 2022

What did Dale Earnhardt Jr say?

Admittedly Allen has limited himself to running the play by play on Sundays. However, Dale Jr has insisted that he views the NBC anchor as the “voice of NASCAR”.

Allen was pretty accommodating, especially during the Michigan weekend when there were weather concerns.

Dale said, “I just want people to know that Rick is one of the most genuine people I’ve ever worked with. He’s a great teammate, even when you are playing his position in the game. I look up to his talent in the booth, and appreciate his support both professionally and personally.”

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At Michigan, Dale Earnhardt Jr was supposed to work after the conclusion of the Count Down to Green program. However, Allen had asked him to prepare a rundown for the CDTG show in case of a weather interruption.

Needless to say, the NBC anchor was right on the money, so Dale Jr. and Jeff Burton covered a few segments in the booth.

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Unlike the race at New Hampshire, both of them were confident and ready, largely because of Allen’s advice.

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Written by:

Dhruv George is a senior Motorsports author for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.

Edited by:

Ranvijay Singh