Dale Jr. Admits To Wrecking Other Drivers On Purpose

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The confession comes just shortly after a high-profile collision on the track gained heavy media attention during last Sunday’s race – and folks had suggested the crash was on purpose. 

“I’d be surprised if there’s a driver that hasn’t intentionally wrecked somebody at some point in their career,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. said in a recent episode of his podcast. 

Dale Jr. opened up about his intentional crashes with fellow NASCAR drivers and mulled over each one he could recall with co-host Tyler Overstreet, speaking frankly and honestly about why he had made those choices on the track. 

He could only pin down five separate times in which he intentionally wrecked another driver and even opened up about one that involved his now-teammate Kasey Kahne. 

“I spun Kasey Kahne at Richmond in 2004 in a Cup race. I got my back of him in the middle of a corner, and I meant to get into the back of him. I guess this would be a case where I didn’t want to spin him out – I was just trying to move him but ended up wrecking him.”

Dale Jr. even admitted to intentionally spinning himself back in 2004 to get a caution and said that there was another time when he turned a fellow driver because he needed time in the pit. 

“I would lump that one into the group, that was an intentional wreck. … I went to the back and made sure there was a lot of room between me and the next guy. I had a loose wheel or a flat tire, and if you pit, you’re gonna go down two laps. So I thought if I’d spin out, maybe I’d only lose one. And then I got fined because I admitted it. I kind of bragged about it, which was stupid.”

After publishing the podcast on his website, Dale Jr. continued to speak about it on his very-active Twitter page, adding one that he had forgotten to mention in the podcast. 

Listen to Dale Jr.’s confessional in the podcast below (starts at 5:00) and let us know what you think about it in the comments.