In the fast-paced world of NASCAR, few names carry the weight of Dale Earnhardt Sr. But behind the dark shades and legendary career was a man who, according to one former engineer, Derrick Finley, who worked at Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI), was more than just a racing icon. He was a proud, humble leader who knew how to connect with his people.Derrick Finley shared how Dale Earnhardt Sr. was extremely proud of him and how he loved to introduce him to everybody, joking that the driver had not even graduated from high school, yet he had an engineer working for him. That humility and humor were classic Dale Earnhardt Sr. But so was the way he could sense when his crew needed a break.“When we first started the Cup team, there were only about seven of us, working out of an old beer-head shop. We were putting in 12-hour days, seven days a week, just trying to get a car ready for race day. And sometimes he could read the, he could read the room, you know. He'd look and he'd say, man, these guys are worn out," Derrick Finley said via Davey Segal's Victory Lane.Finley explained how Earnhardt Sr. would just go to his cabinet and take out a bottle of Crown and Jack when the team was tired and they'd just sit around, drink, and he’d start telling stories. He further added that some of the best memories he has experienced are sitting next to Earnhardt Sr. and just listening to him talk.For those who worked closely with him, Dale Earnhardt Sr. wasn’t just “The Intimidator”; he was family.Dale Earnhardt Jr. speaks about his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s, closetDale Earnhardt Jr. recently opened up about his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s closet that has remained unopened and untouched since his demise in 2001. He further explained that the items that have remained there have never been seen in the last 24 years.The NASCAR legend's personal items have been left alone by his family, as shared by Earnhardt Jr."He had this closet where nobody's been in this closet since the day he passed away. There's a lot of stuff in there. If I could go to a space to take a look at what is physically there, that's absolutely no question where I'd go. There's all kinds of stuff in that room that you know, old racing uniforms and his gun collection, and all types of stuff like that," Earnhardt JR. said via Dale Jr. Download.Earnhardt Sr. suffered a fatal crash during the final lap of the Daytona 500 race in February 2001. He won a record seven NASCAR championships during his prestigious racing career. His son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., continued his racing legacy and carries the name forward.