"I'm having an out-of-body experience": Dale Earnhardt Jr. on making "core memories" with daughter Isla during Phoenix NASCAR Xfinity race

JR Motorsports co-owner Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared how he and his daughter experienced an emotional roller coaster watching the Xfinity event at Phoenix, as Justin Allgaier missed out on a victory in the final laps.

Dale Jr. explained that his eldest daughter, Isla Rose, wished to watch the complete Xfinity race at Phoenix last Saturday. He added that it was the first time the father-daughter pairing watched the drivers take a checkered flag together.

The excitement was through the roof at Dale Earnhardt Jr's residence, as #7 JR Motorsports driver Justin Allgaier was in the lead with five laps left in the race. However, disaster struck when his left rear wheel went down and the #7 Chevy slammed into the outside barrier, ending his race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. narrated the recent occurrence, as his daughter Isla, couldn't comprehend what unfolded before her eyes. He believes a "core memory" was etched in her mind. The 49-year-old said on his podcast Dale Jr. Download:

"So me and her [Isla] watched the finish of the race together for the very first time. She's starting to fall in love with the idea that JR Motorsports has got a chance to win this race, right? She's really starting to cheer for Justin [Allgaier] louder and louder with each lap, and she's starting to understand, it's starting to make sense."

He continued:

"We're watching and all of a sudden, he goes into the corner and spins out, crashes. I cannot believe this is happening. I feel like I'm having an out-of-body experience. I'm like. 'Isla! He's wrecked! He's wrecking!' She was shocked and didn't know why he wrecked."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. added that his five-year-old daughter got emotional as she realized Justin Allgaier missed out on winning the race.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr's driver explains possible reason behind Phoenix crash

The #7 JR Motorsports driver elaborated on his experience in the final laps of his Xfinity outing at Phoenix, as he claims a piece of debris robbed him of the race win.

Justin Allgaier explained that he must have run over debris, and ruled out tire wear as the reason behind the rear left tire going flat. He explained in a post-race interview with Fox Sports:

"I definitely had to have run something over. Wear-wise there was no way we were wearing the left rear far enough to do that. Going through the dogleg I felt it wiggle a little bit and I knew what it meant. At that point, there’s three laps to go or two laps to go and you have to hope that it holds on and unfortunately, it blew out and that was the end of it."

Chandler Smith inherited the lead after the wreck to win the Xfinity race and sympathized with Allgaier.