Chase Briscoe’s curiosity forces him to ask Dale Earnhardt Jr. to spill the beans on the post-race conversations with the Intimidator

Chase Briscoe questioned Dale Earnhardt Jr. over the latter's race against Dale Sr. in the now-defunct IROC series. Briscoe wanted to know if there was any 'smack talk' after the father-son duo had a 1-2 photo finish at Michigan International Speedway in 1999.

On the final lap of the Michigan race, Dale Earnhardt Sr., nicknamed The Intimidator, was leading the race when his son Dale Jr. moved to the top to take the lead off turn three. However, The Intimidator had a better run on the frontstretch to regain the lead and win by 0.007 seconds.

In an X post, Earnhardt Jr. shared an excerpt of the closing laps of the 1999 race and wrote, “I had him.” This led Chase Briscoe to ask him about what the behind-the-scenes post-race was like.

“What was the post-race conversation like? Any smack talk? Killer race,” Briscoe asked.

Below is Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s post on the social media platform X.

IROC, a.k.a. International Race of Champions, was an American racing series fielding the top drivers from other series to go head-to-head in equal machinery. The 1999 season saw Dale Earnhardt Sr. win three of the four races and secure the championship over drivers such as Dale Jr., Jeff Burton, and Jeff Gordon.

The following year, Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined his father in the NASCAR Cup Series (formerly Winston Cup). He drove the #8 Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) Chevrolet before switching to the #88 Hendrick Motorsports Chevy in 2008.

Dale Jr. concluded his career with 26 Cup victories, including two Daytona 500 wins (2004 and 2014). Meanwhile, Chase Briscoe currently drives the #19 Joe Gibbs Racing Toyota following Martin Truex Jr.'s retirement last year.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained Chase Briscoe's early struggles at Joe Gibbs Racing in 2025 season

During the Nashville race weekend, Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained why Chase Briscoe had a slow start to the 2025 NASCAR Cup Series season. He said Briscoe needed time to get used to a faster car after driving the #14 Stewart-Haas Racing Ford in four previous seasons.

In a pre-race episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, the 50-year-old stated:

“He (Briscoe) told me that his only problem and the reason why they’ve struggled was he wasn’t able to go out there and really commit to the race car in qualifying. No knock on SHR, but he said that the Joe Gibbs cars just had so much more ability that he’s just not used to.” [16:54]

The former Hendrick Motorsports driver was also optimistic about Briscoe's future in the #19 team, saying the 30-year-old should start competing against teammates Denny Hamlin and Christopher Bell at the front.

“I think it took longer for us than we anticipated for that team to get going, but I’m not surprised and won’t be surprised to see him running as well as Denny (Hamlin) and C (Christopher) Bell over the next several weeks,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. concluded. [17:52]

In the last two races (Charlotte and Nashville), Chase Briscoe won the pole position. However, he only finished 17th at Nashville after leading for 51 laps. Team Penske rival Ryan Blaney took the checkered flag ahead of Carson Hocevar and Denny Hamlin.