Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a simple one-emoji reaction to North Wilkesboro’s latest social media post

Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared a one-emoji reaction to a post by North Wilkesboro Speedway. The original post was asking X users if they would be at the speedway next weekend.

Dale Jr. is one of the most influential and popular figures on and off the track. He is the son of the legendary driver Dale Earnhardt, who won the championship seven times in his illustrious career.

Junior has carved out a legacy of his own, notching 26 Cup wins, ranking him among the drivers with the most wins without a championship. His two wins at the Daytona 500 and six wins at Talladega make him a master of restrictor plate racing. He made his name first in the Xfinity Series, where he won back-to-back championships in 1998 and 1999.

North Wilkesboro Speedway had tweeted:

"Show of hands if you will be at North Wilkesboro Speedway next week."

To this, the legendary driver responded with the waving hand emoji.

Throughout his racing career, Junior was a fan favourite evident by him winning NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award a record 15 consecutive times from 2003 to 2017. His connection with the fans deepened when he was sidelined from racing because of a concusssion in 2016.

Though Dale Earnhardt Jr. never won the Cup championship, his best finish in terms of points came in 2003, when he finished third. He qualified for the playoffs eight times in his career, making him one of the most successful drivers during the time.

After retiring from competition in 2017, Dale Earnhardt Jr. transitioned to a successful career as a broadcaster and team owner with JR Motorsports.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the controversy involving Ross Chastain amid the Denny Hamlin drama

On his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. addressed the controversy stemming from Ross Chastain’s aggressive block on Denny Hamlin during the Jack Link’s 500 at Talladega. Hamlin had argued on his own podcast that NASCAR should have black-flagged Chastain for stalling the Toyotas’ momentum with a risky move.

Earnhardt Jr., however, disagreed, asserting that while Chastain’s maneuver was "reckless as hell", it did not warrant a penalty.

"Dude, we can’t be black flagging drivers for swerving or blocking." [01:34:37]

"Listen, what Chastain did was absolutely reckless as hell, but yeah, it's reckless as s**t, but it's kind of like if he has the obligation or the right to make that move, if it wrecks the field, he's f***ed, and everybody will be disappointed and upset with him." [01:35:05 onwards]

"But he has that obligation, uh, prerogative to make that move and not be, uh, not—there's no, uh, there should be no conversation of a penalty. Um, and if he wants to drive that way, or anybody wants to drive that way, right, then he'll suffer the consequences of public opinion and his reputation, if it were to create a problem, right? It didn't," he added.

He emphasized that blocking and swerving are part of racing, and drivers should not be black-flagged for such actions unless they cause a wreck.