Dale Earnhardt Jr. opens up about conflicting feelings about first race after his dad died

Dale Earnhardt Jr. still recalls the one time during his career he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be behind the wheel of a race car.

The race? The Dura Lube 400 at Rockingham Speedway. The Date? Feb. 25, 2001 — seven days after his father, Dale Earnhardt, tragically passed away after a last-lap accident during the Daytona 500. Earnhardt Jr. detailed the conflicting feelings he had going into the race in an appearance on the “Dan Patrick Show” Friday.

“Rockingham after my dad passed away — that was the next race we went to,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I didn’t wanna race, I didn’t wanna be there. But I mean, I didn’t wanna be anywhere else. It was kind of one of them situations where you didn’t want to be anywhere and you didn’t want to be doing nothing but you needed to be doing something. It was just a weird place to be emotionally and mentally.”

Earnhardt Jr. went ahead and raced that day at Rockingham. His time in the No. 8 Chevrolet was brief, as he was involved in a multi-car accident on the first lap of the race. Earnhardt Jr. didn’t return to the race and finished P43.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalls nearly signing with Joe Gibbs Racing

Earnhardt Jr. had a big decision to make and two possible routes to go following his departure from Dale Earnhardt Inc. [DEI] after the 2007 NASCAR Cup Series season.

Having already made the decision to leave the company founded by his father, Earnhardt Jr. had two offers on the table — one from Joe Gibbs Racing (JGR) and one from Hendrick Motorsports. The NASCAR Hall of Famer chose the latter, kicking off the second half of his career behind the wheel of the No. 88 Chevrolet. Though he has no regrets, Earnhardt Jr. still looks back on that decision, and how different things could have been with JGR.

“I don’t regret it, but probably going to Gibbs,” Earnhardt Jr. recently told Jeff Gluck of The Athletic. “When I was looking at what I was going to do after [DEI], I literally was only looking at Gibbs and Hendrick. I’d went and met with Gibbs, we had a great meeting, and they offered me a contract to sign. And then I went to meet with Rick and he offered me a contract to sign.

“I have no regrets over how all of that played out. But you cannot help but wonder, ‘What would it have been like had I went the other route?’”