"It don't mean s**t right now": When NASCAR heavily punished Dale Earnhardt Jr. for cussing on live TV

In 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr. raked in his fifth win on the Talladega Superspeedway. However, his post-race interview proved costly as the race winner was slapped with a $10000 fine and docked 25 points, propelling Kurt Busch as the Cup Series leader.

Junior followed in his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s footsteps and entered NASCAR in 1996 as an Xfinity Series driver. After etching two titles in the National Series, The Intimidator's son was promoted to NASCAR's Premier level and began running a full-time schedule in 2000.

His tally of wins opened at the Texas Motor Speedway and he wrapped his rookie season with two victories. But as the years progressed, Earnhardt Jr. rose through the ranks and became a championship favorite.

Unlike his father, who had seven Cup titles in his arsenal, Junior couldn't come home with a Cup Series championship. Nonetheless, his 26 Cup wins testify to his supremacy at NASCAR's pinnacle level.

Talladega was among those tracks where Dale Jr. consecutively dominated the charts. He posted four consecutive wins in 2001, 2002 and 2003, and clinched the runner-up spot twice in 2003 and 2004, before placing his ride in the victory lane for the fifth time in the 2004 YellaWood 500.

But after acing the 188-lap run, Junior, during his post-race talk, cussed on live TV, attracting strict actions from the officials.

"Well, it don't mean sh*t right now. Daddy's done won here ten times!" Dale Jr. said, via Chicago Tribune.

That said, the 25-point penalty proved costly for Earnhardt Jr. in his quest to seal the Cup Series title.

"A huge setback": Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s team's director of competition voiced concern about his driver's penalty

At that time, Junior was driving for his father's birthed venture, Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI), with Richie Gilmore as the director of competition at the team. Dale Jr. began his run from 10th place but gained momentum in his #8 Chevy and contended for the win.

Before parking his car in the victory lane, Junior led 78 laps and dethroned Kevin Harvick, Kurt Busch, Tony Stewart, and polesitter Joe Nemechek, to name a few. However, because of his expletive words during the post-race talk, his win failed to keep him in the championship lead.

As a result, Earnhardt Jr. was dropped from 5543 points to 5518, with Busch, who settled in fifth, as the new leader with 5530 points. Gilmore wasn't pleased with how NASCAR shattered their hard work and criticized the officials. He said, via The New York Times:

"This is a huge setback for the entire company," Richie Gilmore, director of competition for Dale Earnhardt Inc. I think we're the only sport that takes points off of the board after they've been scored. The popularity of this sport is based on colorful personalities and the fact that everyone can relate to these drivers and their emotions. Now, it seems like that's a detriment."

Placed fifth, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished the 2004 Cup Series season with 6368 points while Kurt Busch went on to secure the title.