Dale Earnhardt Jr. followed the footsteps of his father to become a decorated NASCAR driver. However, his father was as celebrated for his on-track brilliance as he was for his flamboyant character. Earnhardt Jr. has shared many stories about his father with his fans.
Here’s one he revealed on his podcast a few years back.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Recalls the Time His Dad Broke His Hand Punching Someone
Earnhardt Jr. shared the story in his podcast “Dale Jr.’s Download” in 2020. The Earnhardts have a massive 300-acre farmland property. Earnhardt Sr. was a private person, so he naturally didn’t appreciate anyone trespassing on his property.
“He’d probably chase you down on foot and tackle you,” Earnhardt Jr. playfully replied when asked what his father would have done if he’d caught someone entering the property without permission.
“So, a guy was working on a tractor during the day on Dad’s property,” the two-time Daytona 500 champion began. “He saw some deer, went to a bar later that afternoon, happy hour drinking with a buddy. He’s telling his buddy about the deer. More they drank, the braver they got. They decided they were gonna come back to Dad’s property at dark, around dark. Jump the fence and shoot one of the deer.”
As you can imagine, things did not go according to plan.
“Dad and his farm manager guy are walking the powerline, and they’re in this treeline, walking this powerline, just happened to be there at that day,” he continued. “They heard the gunshot and they saw the deer run down the powerline and fall down, and so, they hid in the treeline and waited for those guys to come up to the deer.
“When they got to the deer, Dad just ran after the one with the gun. He tackled the guy, and he broke his hand on his face. The only reason he stopped punching the guy was because he recognized the guy’s voice once he got in his face, I guess. He started saying, ‘Hey man! Stop!’
“Dad had held him there after the cops got there. But he handed up getting a cast on his arm, and he went to the banquet with that cast.”
Earnhardt Jr. also revealed that his father would tell the story to a lot of people, but left the deer part out. He did not want more people to show up on his property and hunt the big bucks roaming there. Dale Sr. was not a big hunter, he just wanted them around his property.
Nevertheless, the Earnhardt stories continue to prove the legacy the patriarch left behind, making an impact on those around him and the sport at large.
