The Rolex 24 at Daytona will always be special in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s heart. In 2001, it marked the first time he raced with his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr. Even though it was their debut in the event, they delivered a stellar performance.
But these days, Junior doesn’t think he’s got it in him to run with the best at Daytona anymore.
Dale Earnhardt Jr Believes He’ll Get Cooked by the Current Rolex 24 Drivers
In that 2001 race, Dale Jr., “The Intimidator,” Andy Pilgrim, and Kelly Collins drove a Corvette Racing machine in the GTS class. They finished second in class and an impressive fourth overall. Tragically, just a few weeks later, Dale Sr. lost his life in a crash at the Daytona 500.
Junior gave it one more go in 2004, teaming up with Tony Stewart and Andy Wallace. That trio grabbed a third-place finish in class and ended up fifth overall.
Two tries at the grueling 24-hour race. Two top-five overall finishes. Not bad for a stock car guy.
But since that 2004 race, Dale Jr. hasn’t returned for a third run. And now, we know why.
Earnhardt Jr. was one of his era’s best stock car drivers. He never snagged a Cup Series title, but he won 26 races, including the Daytona 500 twice. And when it came to superspeedways, they called him The Pied Piper. One of his most famous accomplishments was winning four straight races at Talladega from 2001 to 2003.
Nobody could touch him.
When he jumped into sports cars at the Rolex 24, he held his own. Junior said it was thanks to his hard-nosed NASCAR style. In the latest episode of the “Dale Jr Download”, he opened up about it.https://x.com/dirtymomedia/status/1931727980083958054?s=46
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“So when I ran the Corvette during the race in ’01, during the race in ’04, with the prototype,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “You’d get in there and you’d be 3/10th off a 1/2 a second off the A driver. But it was okay because when the race started, everybody dialed it way back…Now I kept trying to race hard to be able to say, hey look, I’m running the same lap time as you guys.”
However, according to Dale Jr., he would be unable to keep up with the current active drivers in the 24-hour race.
“Well, now, those cars are much tougher. The drivers have all gotten better, and they run the entire 24-hour race like they are qualifying. I wouldn’t see myself at this age part of any kind of a combination of drivers to be able to go out there and compete. It’s fun as hell but you are gonna find my ass probably at a 24 hours of lemons, before I go back to Daytona and run that race. That’s kind of my speed these days,” he added.
Well, Junior must be underestimating himself, but surely the NASCAR community feels differently. It would actually be fun to watch him come back for the 24-hour race.