“An a** kicking”: When Dale Earnhardt left out all filters in defining his dominant Atlanta win
Dale Earnhardt was never afraid to share what was on his mind. Throughout the seven-time Cup Series champion's illustrious career, his blunt honesty made for some memorable quotes.
Race fans often remember Earnhardt's signature "rattle his cage" quote directed towards Terry Labonte after the 1999 Sharpie 500 at Bristol as an explanation for not trying to wreck him for the win on the final lap. Many also remember when Earnhardt stood in victory lane after finally winning the Daytona 500 on his 20th try in 1998, where he said "we won it, we won it, we won it."
One infamous Earnhardt quote that may get overlooked came in 1995 at the Atlanta Motor Speedway in the season-finale race. The North Carolina native had just wheeled his #3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet to a dominant victory, leading 268 of 328 laps to cap off the season with his fifth win of the campaign.
After the race, there's a video of Earnhardt standing in victory lane with the trophy in one hand. The champion driver approached someone in the crowd and made a statement regarding his convincing win that day.
"That's what you call an a** kicking," Earnhardt said.
However, Earnhardt's dominant performance wouldn't be enough to overtake Jeff Gordon for the points lead in the final race and win what would've been a record-breaking eighth championship. Gordon held off Earnhardt by 34 points to secure his first career Cup Series championship.
Dale Earnhardt went on to win eight more Cup Series races in his career, including the 1998 Daytona 500, the one race that eluded him throughout his career. Tragically, Earnhardt's career was cut short when he was killed in a last-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500 at 49 years old.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. once said he wouldn't apologize for talking about his father on his show
Dale Earnhardt Jr. carried on his father's legacy in the years following his tragic death, and still does to this day. Last year, the 15-time Most Popular Driver made it clear that if anyone took issue with him talking about his late dad on his show, the Dale Jr. Download, he wasn't sympathetic.
"I'm not gonna apologize for all of the Dale Earnhardt conversations that we have. I'm not going to apologize for "Becoming Earnhardt" or whatever we do in the future with that or all the guests that we have come in here that talk about dad. That's important to me. I get a ton from it. I think our listeners enjoy it. I know that we go heavy on the Earnhardt stuff. I know we do. Sometimes, it's heavy for me. Sometimes it's just a little bit too much for me," he said.
"Becoming Earnhardt" was a docu-series hosted by Earnhardt Jr. last year. The series walked listeners through the 1979 Cup Series season, his father's rookie year on the circuit. Earnhardt won his first career race at Bristol that year and earned Rookie of the Year honors.
On the racetrack this year, Jr. Motorsports, co-owned by Earnhardt Jr., won the Xfinity Series title with Justin Allgaier. Earnhardt Jr. will also be returning to the broadcast booth after taking this year off when he joins the TNT/Amazon Prime team in 2025.