Mike Skinner has revealed how Dale Earnhardt Sr. was initially reluctant to welcome a Cup Series teammate. Speaking on Kevin Harvick's Happy Hour podcast, he reflected on his time at Richard Childress Racing in the late 1990s.Richard Childress Racing, for most of its golden era, was synonymous with the No.3 Chevrolet. Team owner Richard Childress built the team with limited resources. On a shoestring budget and with fierce determination, Childress and Earnhardt formed one of the sport's most dominant teams and won six championships between 1986 and 1994.Dale Earnhardt (R) is congratulated by his car owner Richard Childress in 1990. Source: GettyThat changed in 1997 when RCR finally added a second full-time car - the No. 31 - driven by Mike Skinner. Promoted after a dominant run in the Truck Series, where he notched 28 wins and captured the inaugural championship for RCR, Skinner brought promise. But as he stepped into the Cup garage, the welcome from Earnhardt wasn't exactly warm (as per Skinner)."He (Dale Earnhardt) didn't want a teammate. And I think I'd stolen—not stolen, but I'd acquired some of his fans because I was in the Goodwrench truck. It wasn't my fault. That was our sponsor, right? And so it was a tough, tough road," Skinner told Harvick. (27:04 onwards)Dale Earnhardt spent his entire Cup Series career as a one-man army. Skinner's presence, even under the same roof and sponsor, felt quite different.Despite the rocky start in 1997, Skinner delivered his best Cup performances during his time at Richard Childress Racing. All of his top-five finishes came between 1997 and 2001. And, just as the relationship was improving, tragedy struck."Sadly, we lost Dale at the pinnacle of our relationship. We had never gotten along better," he added. (27:27 onwards)Earnhardt passed away in 2001, crashing on the final lap of the Daytona 500, and Skinner would move to Morgan McClure Motorsports in 2002. But he would never hit the same heights as a racer again as in RCR. His full-time cup career would come to an end a year later, when he was fired by MMM."Dale realized that sometimes having a teammate can be beneficial": Mike Skinner recalls Texas moment that helped him earn Dale Earnhardt's respectDale Earnhardt Sr. before the 1981 Firecracker 400 at Daytona. Source: GettyMike Skinner believes one test session at Texas Motor Speedway flipped the switch in their dynamic. Dale Earnhardt was struggling on the timing charts, sitting 40th, while Skinner topped the board. That disparity prompted a rare suggestion from Richard Childress to let Skinner do a practice session with the No. 3 car.Skinner, on his first timed lap, put it third on the board. The performance stunned Earnhardt and led to a rare exchange of insight."So, I told him what I was doing coming to the flag and he goes, 'Oh my god, I'm not doing that.' He goes, 'I'm running like we're in race pace, well, we're in qualifying trim'... And he jumped back out there and he ran good and ran good in the race and our relationship did a complete flip-flop. Then I think Dale realized that sometimes having a teammate can be beneficial." (28:12 onwards)It was that moment, Skinner felt, that finally earned him Earnhardt's respect. But just as their connection became stronger, fate intervened in 2001."When we lost Dale, I swear - to this moment- I believe I'd have won plenty of races the next couple years and he'd have won that other championship." (28:50 onwards)Dale Earnhardt had just come off a period of revival, following surgery and a renewed focus heading into the 2001 Cup Series. The team, Skinner emphasized, was in championship form, positioned for another title run that never came to be.