Dale Earnhardt Jr. touches on The Intimidator’s character progression in NASCAR: “He had many phases”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. laid out his late father's character progression, saying Dale Sr., nicknamed The Intimidator, had many phases. However, one common denominator was that Earnhardt Sr. was aggressive throughout his career.

The statement followed Amazon Prime asking Dale Jr. which active driver reminded him of his father. His first answer was sophomore driver Carson Hocevar, who's starting to become notorious for being aggressive. He also picked Ross Chastain and defending Cup champion Joey Logano.

In an X post, Dale Earnhardt Jr., 50, asked his followers their thoughts about his picks while describing his father's character development.

“What do y'all think? Any drivers remind you of dad's driving style? He had many phases. Young rookie, pissing off the vets. 86/87, he dominated while bulldozing much of the competition. Mid 90s, he's still rough you up, but seemed a bit more selective. I loved the aggression then and today,” he wrote.

His father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., joined NASCAR in the '70s before securing a maiden championship title in 1980 as a second-year full-time driver. He carried on to win six more titles in the renowned #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, tying Richard Petty on the all-time list.

Dale Sr. earned the nickname The Intimidator for his aggressive driving style, pushing other drivers to their limits to win races. He concluded his career with 76 Cup victories, eighth on the most wins list behind fellow seven-time champ, Jimmie Johnson, who won 83 times.

Earnhardt Jr., meanwhile, won 26 Cup races, including two Daytona 500 victories (2004 and 2014). He currently serves as a booth broadcaster for Amazon Prime's five-race NASCAR coverage alongside Steve Letarte and Adam Alexander.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalled getting caught by his father with cigarette ahead of their race at Daytona as teammates

On a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared the time his father caught him with a cigarette at Daytona International Speedway. He was joking around with former Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) team member Steve Crisp when The Intimidator unexpectedly walked in their trailer.

Dale Jr. was caught before they headed out to the pre-race ceremony for the Rolex 24, a 24-hour endurance contest, where they ran as teammates in the #3 C5R Corvette alongside Andy Pilgrim and Kelly Collins.

Recalling the pre-race incident with his father, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said:

“I was a closet cigarette smoker back then... It was about time to go out to the pit road for the pre-race ceremony, and dad was coming by to get us. I grabbed that helmet and I put it on, I put one of them cigarettes in that little plug for the drink.” [0:05]

The former #88 Hendrick Motorsports driver added:

“Steve Crisp starts snickering, and dad turns around and goes, ‘Don't f**cking encourage him’. Dad's like, ‘Get your head in the game, you a*****.’ ‘This is serious shit.’” [0:38]

Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained he was about five feet away from the team during the pre-race photo-op because his father was mad at him. But they ended the enduro race on a high note after finishing fourth overall and second in their class.