Dale Earnhardt Jr. admits 'bad decisions' during DEI run while reflecting on drivers' growth in NASCAR

Retired NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. reflected on his early years racing for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, a team owned by his late father, Dale Earnhardt. The 26-time Cup Series race winner introspected during an episode of Dale Jr. Download while discussing today's driver growth.

When looking at some of the younger, up-and-coming drivers in the Cup Series, such as Carson Hocevar, Earnhardt Jr. expressed how some of them don't become elite drivers overnight and need some time behind the wheel to reach that level. When the former Hendrick Motorsports driver was asked how he endured the learning curve in his rookie campaign in 2000, he felt it started strong but didn't end as great.

"I came in and won in my, I don't know, 16th start at Texas. Then, we won Richmond, then, we won the All-Star Race and I'm like ... 'This is just as easy as the Xfinity Series,' and then we got our teeth kicked in the last half of my rookie year. It was like, 'OK, I don't know why we were so good out of the gate, but this is really hard all of a sudden," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said (55:24 onwards)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. then explained he felt he and the #8 DEI team got their feet under them by 2004, the same year he won a career-high six races. However, due to poor decisions on his part and within the organization, Earnhardt said they weren't able to carry the momentum through 2005 and beyond.

"I made some bad decisions. We made some bad decisions, personnel wise, that derailed that thing from happening and what it might've been," he added. (56:01 onwards)

The self-reflection led Earnhardt Jr. to believe that young drivers in today's NASCAR need a few years to reach their potential, and cited top stars Joey Logano and William Byron as a few examples.

"For some guys, there's real, true multi-time champions out there that are going to need that four years. If you can be patient and wait, it pays off," Dale Earnhardt Jr. noted.

Recently, Dale Earnhardt Jr. also revealed the number of tickets for the Coca-Cola 600, which are reportedly still up for grabs.

---

Dale Earnhardt Jr. teases remaining amount of tickets left for Coca-Cola 600

This weekend, the NASCAR Cup Series circuit takes to the North Wilkesboro Speedway for the annual All-Star Race exhibition. The following week, the circuit will return to the Charlotte Motor Speedway for the longest race on the schedule, the Coca-Cola 600.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., who will be in the Amazon Prime broadcast booth for the Coca-Cola 600, took to X to let fans know that there are still available tickets for the race. Charlotte Motor Speedway, which has a capacity of 95,000, seems to have a few empty seats for the upcoming race, according to Earnhardt.

"I hear there are less than 150 grandstand tickets left for the 600," he wrote.

This year's Coca-Cola 600 will be the debut on Amazon Prime as part of a new broadcasting agreement with the streaming service and TNT Sports. Dale Earnhardt Jr. will serve as a color commentator alongside former crew chief Steve Letarte. Adam Alexander will serve as the play-by-play announcer.