Dale Earnhardt Jr. defends his ‘good times’ stance from Bubba Wallace insider at Ryan Blaney’s wedding

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was spotted at Ryan Blaney’s wedding, which took place in Aspen, Colorado on December 12. Blaney married his longtime partner Gianna Tulio in the presence of NASCAR Cup Series regulars like Denny Hamlin, Chase Elliott, and Austin Cindric.

However, Dale Jr. didn’t look quite happy in a group photo uploaded by race car driver and commentator Mamba Smith. While everyone threw a smile at the camera, the two-time Xfinity Series champion had a serious face on.

Nevertheless, he commented,

“Good times.”

Bubba Wallace’s spotter, Freddie Kraft, entered the thread and promptly called out the JR Motorsports owner for not smiling. He zoomed into Dale Jr.’s not-so-happy face and asked,

“You sure?”

Dale Jr. responded by explaining the reason why he wasn't smiling in the picture. He wrote,

“Everyone knows It's physically harder to smile while wearing a tux.”

Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired from full-time racing in 2017. Since then, he has been running at least one race every year for his team, JR Motorsports owner.

This year, he finished seventh at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 20. Furthermore, Dale Jr. is expected to run select late-model races through 2025.

Today, Earnhardt Jr. is one of the most respected personalities in the world of NASCAR. A 50-year-old man now, Dale Jr. lives in Mooresville, North Carolina with his wife Amy and daughters Isla Rose and Nicole Lorraine.

“Man, what do I need to do to do that?”- Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalls measuring himself against Cup Series rival

Dale Earnhardt Jr (left) chats with Matt Kenseth (right) on pit road during the qualifying for the AAA 400 Drive For Autism at Dover International Speedway. (Image Source: Imagn)

Throughout his career, Dale Earnhardt Jr. amassed 26 triumphs, including a pair of wins in the crown jewel Daytona 500. Despite his success, there was just one fellow racer who he was jealous of back in the day. And that’s Matt Kenseth.

In a recent episode of Dale Jr.’s podcast, the veteran racer explained why he considered Kenseth his biggest rival while racing in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series.

“I was jealous,” Dale Earnhardt Jr. told Kenseth (via The Express). “I was envious of you winning the Rookie of the Year title. And then I was envious of you winning a championship, I never won a championship. And I thought, ‘Man, if he's gonna do it, I wanna be able to do it.’”

Notably, Dale Jr. would always rejoice at Kenseth’s success. But at the same time, he would measure himself against Kenseth and often got frustrated at not being able to replicate the same level of performance. Dale Jr. added,

“I didn't measure myself against anyone else the way I did you. And so if you were running well or doing well, I thought, ‘Man, what do I need to do to do that?’”

Kenseth retired in 2020 after having picked 39 wins in NASCAR’s premier racing series. He also won the 2003 NASCAR Cup Series championship, something that Dale Earnhardt Jr. was never able to do throughout his career as a race car driver.