NASCAR Hall of Fame icon Darrell Waltrip opens up about frenemy equation with Dale Sr.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Darell Waltrip has weighed in on his complex relationship with the late Dale Sr. He recalled how their friendship used to change on the track, where they wanted to kill each other.

During the 1980s, Waltrip and Earnhardt went head-to-head in one of NASCAR's most intense rivalries to date. A famous example of their conflict comes from the 1986 Miller High Life 400 at Richmond Raceway, where Earnhardt spun out Waltrip during the final laps, resulting in a multi-car wreck that cleared the path for Kyle Petty's first Cup Series win.

Earnhardt's move had garnered backlash throughout the garage and earned him the 'Ironhead' nickname. However, the tension between the two drivers eventually faded, with Waltrip even driving the #1 car for Earnhardt-owned DEI in 1998.

Speaking on the 'Earnhardt: NASCAR's Companion Podcast' while promoting the documentary series, Earnhardt, Waltrip recalled the interesting dynamic he shared with Dale Sr.

"I don't know if I knew him as a race car driver or as a friend. We were frenemies. We were friends sometimes. We were enemies sometimes. We were friends off the track, but we were usually enemies on the track," he said (via NASCAR's YouTube channel). [3:46nonwards]

"Had a lot of respect for Dale, but there were times when I wanted to kill him and that's just the way it was. And the same way he felt about me. I'm sure that there were times when he probably wanted to kill me, but we were just frenemies," he added.

On May 29, Prime Video released the final two episodes from the four-part series capturing Dale Sr.'s life and legacy on track. Rodney Childers, a former NASCAR crew chief, offered his take on the heartbreaking final chapters of the documentary, sharing how it was emotionally taxing to revisit Earnhardt's final years.

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Rusty Wallace recounts heated exchange with Dale Sr. during their infamous 'water bottle race'

NASCAR veteran Rusty Wallace recently opened up about his on-track scuffle with Dale Sr. that ended with him chucking a water bottle at the latter. During an interview with ESPN's Ryan McGee, Wallace shared the aftermath of his post-race encounter with Earnhardt in the 1995 race at Bristol Motor Speedway.

The two drivers had initially planned to take out the rising star Jeff Gordon, but the plan backfired in lap 33, when Earnhardt spun out Wallace instead, resulting in a 21st-place finish for Wallace, while Dale Sr. finished as runner-up. Frustrated by the outcome, Wallace decided to retaliate with a water bottle aimed at Earnhardt.

"I put my hand around the neck of the bottle and slung that bottle, and it went straight as an arrow, and it hit him dead in the forehead," he said (via NASCAR's X handle) [2:00 onwards]

Despite the altercation, Wallace revealed how they patched up soon after.

"The very next day, I call him or he calls me, basically we had a conversation and the madness was over just like that," he added.

The eventful day went down in history as the infamous 'water bottle race.' Dale Sr. finished second to Jeff Gordon for the Cup Series title that year, while Rusty Wallace settled for fifth place.