“I hated that place until the very last race”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. gets 100% real on the love-hate relationship with Rockingham

By Palak Gupta

Modified Apr 19, 2025 18:23 GMT

NASCAR Xfinity: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship - Source: Imagn — Dale Earnhardt Jr at Phoenix Raceway on Nov 9, 2024. Image: Imagn

NASCAR Xfinity Series team owner and former driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. has opened up about his mixed feelings toward with Rockingham Speedway, which returned to NASCAR competition this week after over two decades.

Rockingham or The Rock hosted NASCAR Cup and Xfinity races every year until 2004. The track sat mostly empty for years until new owners fixed it up and now it is back on the Xfinity and Truck calendar. In light of the track's return, Earnhardt Jr. spoke about his struggles there and said, in a clip of the 'Dale Jr. Download' podcast:

"I hated that place until the very last race, and now I'm almost sad that I didn't get more shots at running there. It was hard, and that, you know, it just made me have a hard time appreciating the track because of how brutal it could be. Went there as a rookie in the Cup Series and literally ran dead last the whole day, busting my ass, not knowing what in the hell was what I needed to be doing different. But I ran in the freaking back."

Expand Tweet

Earnhardt Jr. further shared his rough experiences on the 0.94-mile oval in North Carolina. He pointed to a first-lap crash at Rockingham in 2001 after his father, Dale Earnhardt, died in a similar wreck at Daytona. Earnhardt Jr. finished in 43rd place that year.

"[In] '01, wrecked there, embarrassed the hell out of me...Just wanted to be under the radar that day and then I couldn’t have been more in front of the freaking spotlight," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.

He also mentioned a run-in with Kurt Busch at the track. However, when he finished at Rockingham in fifth place in 2004, he felt like he had figured the track out. But NASCAR stopped racing there. It previously hosted two Cup races each season but dropped it after 2004 as it needed upgrades and was lagging in attendance.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. on his favorite race at Martinsville

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was one of the popular drivers in NASCAR during the 2000s and 2010s. He was awarded the Most Popular Driver Award 15 consecutive times, from 2003 up until the season he retired from full-time racing in the Cup Series in 2017.

The two-time Xfinity Series champion was also successful on tracks like Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway, where he won four straight races. However, during a conversation on Bussin' With The Boys in March 2025, Earnhardt Jr. said one of his favorite races was at Martinsville in the mid-2000s, where he crashed early in the race but fixed the car to finish in the top five.

"This is like my favorite race I didn’t win because of all the stuff that went wrong and how bad it should have been, but we just didn’t stop trying," he said (1:07:00 onwards).

Dale Earnhardt Jr. now co-owns JR Motorsports and is a broadcaster for the Cup Series at Amazon Prime.

About the author

Palak Gupta is a dynamic motorsports writer with a unique blend of experience in economics and a passion for storytelling. Her enthusiasm for writing and a keen interest in racing steered her toward this field. With two years of professional writing experience, Palak has previously worked with Bhoomi, a non-profit organization, and as a content executive at MoreTasks Business Solution.

To maintain accuracy and uphold journalistic integrity, Palak relies on reputable sources such as official websites, trusted news outlets, and credible channels, while also keeping an eye on trends across social media platforms and forums like Reddit. She actively follows developments in motorsports, constantly seeking unique angles for her stories to deliver fresh and engaging content to her readers.

Inspired by Ross Chastain’s unconventional yet spectacular wall ride during the 2022 NASCAR season, Palak appreciates daring moves that defy norms and capture the spirit of motorsports. Although she doesn't have a favorite driver, she admires such moments that make history.

While she recognizes that NASCAR may never reach the global prominence of Formula 1, Palak suggests expanding internationally and investing in technology to grow its audience. Palak is also an avid movie and documentary enthusiast, enjoys gardening, and loves to sketch and paint in her spare time.

Know More

Edited by Tushar Bahl