“Miss you friend”: Michael Waltrip pens a touching note for Dale Earnhardt on NASCAR’s return to Rockingham
Former NASCAR driver Michael Waltrip shared a touching message dedicated to Dale Earnhardt Sr., featuring an image from their days off-track when they competed against each other in the Cup Series. Specifically, Waltrip shared a photograph of himself and Earnhardt at Rockingham as NASCAR returns to the track based in North Carolina this weekend.
The Cup Series raced at the Rockingham Speedway from 1965 to 2004, twice in a year, making it a track that both Waltrip and Earnhardt raced at together during their careers in the sport.
On X (formerly Twitter) account, the former Wood Brothers Racing driver posted a photograph of himself and the seven-time Cup Series champion on a pier holding fish. Waltrip also shared a hashtag with the #3 in it, as a tribute to Earnhardt's famous run with that as his car number.
"Going back to the Rock takes me back to fun times with Dale. We loved fishing. Miss you friend. #For3ver"
During Dale Earnhardt's time racing full-time in the Cup Series, which was from 1979 to 2000, he scored three wins at the Rockingham Speedway, two out of three of those wins came in 1987 and 1994, two seasons where The Intimidator would go on to take the championship titles. He also scored 13 Top-fives, and 28 Top 10 finishes at The Rock, accomplishing all of them during his time in the #3 car for Richard Childress Racing.
Michel Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt raced against each other from 1986, when Waltrip joined the Cup Series full-time, to 2001, when Earnhardt passed away after a crash at the 43rd running of the Daytona 500.
The year he passed away was also the season that Waltrip joined Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, and he would go on to race with the team for five seasons in total.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalls a difficult race at Rockingham the same year his father passed away
On a recent episode of his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, Dale Earnhardt Jr. spoke about the NASCAR Xfinity Series' return to the Rockingham Speedway and also shared his own experiences at the track.
While he never enjoyed competing on the short track, mostly because he didn't do well there, the JR Motorsports owner spoke about the event that was held there in 2001, where he crashed his car similarly to how his father crashed at the Daytona International Speedway earlier that season.
“Then, in ‘01 wrecked there, embarrassed the hell out of me. Dad was killed at Daytona, and then I go there and wreck in a very similar-looking accident. I was so embarrassed. I just wanted to be under the radar that day and just race my race and then I couldn't have been more in front of the freaking spotlight because of all that and that sucked.” [1:03:49]
Dale Earnhardt Jr. only raced at Rockingham Speedway for five seasons, from 2000 to 2004, with his highest finish of fifth place coming at his final time visiting the track in February 2004.