Houston Rockets jersey history No. 13 - Larry Smith
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. addressed cheating accusations from an internet troll by inviting them to visit his shop. He highlighted the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet, which has been in his possession for fifteen years, as a rebuttal to the claims.
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BRISTOL, TN - SEPTEMBER 20: Dale Earnhardt, Jr 88 JR Motorsports Hellmann s Chevrolet watches the action from pit road during practice for the NASCAR, Motorsport, USA Xfinity Series Food City 300 on September 20, 2024 at Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, TN. Photo by Jeff Robinson/Icon Sportswire AUTO: SEP 20 NASCAR Xfinity Series Food City 300 EDITORIAL USE ONLY Icon2409201424300 ©IMAGO/Icon Sportswire
Dale Earnhardt Jr. still has the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet sitting in his shop on a lift. Most people donât know that. The car has just been sitting there, quietly, for fifteen years, even as the conversations around it faded. That detail matters here because when someone on the internet decided to question whether Juniorâs victory was fair, Dale Jr. didnât reach for statistics. He pointed straight at the lift.
When a social media user by the handle @S1apSh0es came across a throwback post celebrating Jr.âs July 2010 NASCAR Nationwide Series win at Daytona, they didnât exactly have good things to say.
âThis mfâ was the most cheated up race car I had ever seen. He didnât even need the draft,â the user wrote on X.
Earnhardt Jr. then ended up challenging the user online with an open invitation: âI got it at my shop right now on a lift if you ever wanna come over and show me what your talking about.â
The accuser, faced with an open invitation to put their money where their mouth was, withdrew the accusation almost immediately, while Jr. kept it light: âWell, now you gotta really come see it sometime.â
This isnât the first time a Daytona win with Earnhardtâs name on it has attracted this kind of noise. The accusations go back further than 2010. When Dale Sr.âs son won the Pepsi 400 at Daytona in July 2001, just five months after his father passed away on that same track, the conspiracy crowd came out then, too.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. invited an internet troll to visit his shop to see the No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet, which he claims has been there for fifteen years, in response to cheating accusations.
The accusations were made by a social media user with the handle @S1apSh0es, who criticized Jr.'s victory at Daytona in 2010.
The No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet, which has been in Dale Jr.'s shop for fifteen years, serves as evidence against the cheating claims, emphasizing his long-standing connection to the car.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. responded directly by inviting the troll to his shop instead of engaging in a statistical debate.
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And Dale Jr. was furious. He said that winning that race was the biggest moment of his career, and that having people question it felt like a slap in his face, his fatherâs face, and crew chief Tony Euryâs face all at once. âI never drove harder in my life,â he said at the time.
He might have felt the same this time, even if slightly, because the 2010 race had its own layer of meaning.
To even get that No. 3 Wrangler Chevrolet on the track, it took conversations between Dale Jr., Rick Hendrick, Richard Childress, and Teresa Earnhardt. Now, those are four people with enough personal history and professional friction between them that just getting them in the same room was its own achievement.
They put all of it aside to honor one person: Dale Earnhardt Sr. The car wore a retro paint scheme, a direct tribute to the Intimidatorâs iconic look from his championship years, and Jr. took it to Victory Lane by holding off a hard-charging Joey Logano, who was right on his bumper at the end and easily could have dumped him.
In Victory Lane, Jr. said something rare, considering that he rarely talked publicly about his father in personal terms. But that night he said, âI never knew what I was going to get with Daddy â he was a loose cannon. But I think heâd be proud.â
Now, the comment from the user came on Dale Sr.âs birthday, who would have turned 75 this year. So, the comment must have been a disturbing one for Junior. Still and all, there is one perspective that helps him sail through.
Even after well over two decades of his passing, Dale Earnhardt remains one of the most celebrated drivers in the sportâs history. He was extremely powerful on the track, and his unapologetic behavior earned him millions of fans throughout his career. Even now, many of his records remain unbroken, and he continues to be an inspiration for the new drivers.
It is that power, that personality of his, that makes Dale Earnhardt Jr. feel that he simply doesnât need one particular day to celebrate his father.
âI enjoy this one, his birthday. It usually doesnât register for some reason. I see a lot of posts on social media I think itâs cool, every day is a great day, right. Every day is a Dale Earnhardt day, not just a birthday,â he said. âI see posts of dad all the time, every day, all year so, itâs just a little more on his birthday.â
When Dale Sr. died, the full weight of NASCAR landed on a 26-year-old Dale Jr.âs shoulders; a responsibility he has since admitted he couldnât handle at the time. So, the man who came out the other side of that, steadier, clearer, more sure of himself, isnât going to be rattled by an anonymous account with a grudge.
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