“She was always looking out for me”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. credits sister Kelley’s role in key phase of his childhood

Dale Earnhardt Jr. shared heartfelt words for his sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller, as he explained how she took care of him as a child when their parents were away for racing. He revealed this in the latest Prime Video documentary, "Earnhardt."

The documentary follows the life of the late legendary driver, Dale Earnhardt, who clinched seven Cup Series championships before it was tragically cut short. He crashed at the 2001 season-opening Daytona 500 and could not be saved. His son, Dale Earnhardt Jr, then rose through the ranks, becoming one of the most popular drivers in the sport.

In the documentary, Dale Jr. mentioned how difficult it became for him and his elder sister, Kelley, after his father divorced their mother. He would be away from home during race weekends with their step-mother, Teresa, leaving the kids with nannies. Although the latter were present to take care of them, Dale Jr recalled that they would still miss their mother.

This was the time, he stated, Kelley would take care of him, making sure he never felt left out.

"When dad went out of town to a race with Teresa, we had nannies that lived in the house with us, and man, we miss mom. We miss mom terribly," he said (0:19 onwards). "So Kelly and I latched on each other in this time. You know, she was always looking out for me, making sure that I had lunch money or if she heard an argument coming in the room after everything had settled down."

This was understandably a difficult time for the growing kids, however, they helped each other through the years.

---

Kelley Earnhardt on being the elder sister and taking care of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

While it was seemingly a difficult time for a young Kelley Earnhardt to take care of her little brother, Dale Earnhardt Jr, she mentioned that she never felt it like a load. She stated that it could have been because of her mental immaturity at the time, around the topic.

"I can't say, you know, like as I was going through it, it didn't feel heavy, it didn't feel unusual, you know, it wasn't like a load to carry. Probably, primarily because I had an immature brain about it, right," she said (01:09 onwards).

The kids grew up around racing, and Dale Earnhardt Jr took a more professional approach, racing in both the Xfinity and Cup Series. They still work together as co-owners of JR Motorsports, alongside Rick Hendrick and L.W. Miller. JR Motorsports is one of the more successful teams in the Xfinity Series and made its Cup Series debut earlier this year during the Daytona 500.