“I had everything; He had nothing" - $300M-worth Dale Earnhardt Jr. reflects on Dale Sr.'s determination after losing his dad

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently hosted his father's closest friend, Donnie Rives, on his podcast. Dale Jr. opened up about NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s sheer determination to move forward and accomplish things despite losing his father, Ralph Earnhardt.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s family has been in the sport for three generations. Dale Jr.'s grandfather, Ralph, initially worked at a cotton mill in North Carolina before starting his journey as a full-time racer on the dirt tracks. Ralph then didn't want his son to pursue racing. However, Dale Sr. dropped out of school and went on to become a seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion.

In a recent episode of the guest segment on the Dale Jr. Download podcast, NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. reminisced about the time when his father, Dale Sr., lost his dad. Junior, who is worth $300 million(according to Celebrity Net Worth) claimed that unlike him, Earnhardt Sr. didn't have any good living conditions after the death of his father. He said:

"When I lost Dad, I had a comfortable existence. I had a job and an amazing race team around me and I had everything, right? When he(Dale Sr.) lost his dad, he had nothing. He was working a job at Great Dane or whatever, right? I mean, he had nothing, barely enough food in the fridge to eat, no racing job."

The 49-year-old Dale Jr. reflected on how his father in those days accomplished things without much support or backing.

"I think it's so incredible that he made it out of sheer determination. He's just making it up, trying his hardest every day. I don't know how in the hell he did it. It's insane what he accomplished," Dale Earnhardt Jr. added.

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Donnie Rives revisited the time when Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s grandad passed away

Donnie Rives, one of the best friends of Dale Sr., knew his father, Ralph Earnhardt, who died from a heart attack at the age of 45 in 1973. Rives claims Ralph's death was at the same time when Senior's NASCAR career was about to start.

Speaking on the Dirty Mo Media podcast, Rives opened up about Ralph Earnhardt's loss. Rives said (24:30):

"Well, it was a real shock but when he passed away, that's the same time the doctors had already told him he was going to have to lay off [racing]. During that time, I wasn't down there as much but I really missed him and of course, I told Dale, I did."

However, it didn't take much time for Dale Sr. to channel his hard work and determination into becoming one of the greatest drivers in the history of NASCAR.