"Rusty felt dad lied to him" - Dale Jr. reveals untold story of Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s feud with Rusty Wallace

Two-time NASCAR Xfinity Series champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared a story about a disagreement between his father, the late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr., and Rusty Wallace. Dale Earnhardt Sr. won seven Cup Series titles during a career that spanned 26 years.

Former Cup Series driver Dale Jr. followed in his father's footsteps to pursue a career in NASCAR. He made his NASCAR debut in the Busch Series (now Xfinity) in 1996. Two years after his debut, he made his first full-time appearance in the Busch Series and went on to win two consecutive titles in the years 1998 and 1999. Moreover, Dale Jr. secured 26 race wins in the Cup Series, yet he couldn't capture the title, as his father did.

The late Earnhardt Sr. was known to be a fierce and aggressive competitor. Fear ran among his fellow racers, on and off the track, and his driving approach and his personality earned him the nickname "The Intimidator." In his 26-year career, besides being a seven-time champion, Earnhardt Sr. secured 76 Cup race victories, including triumphs in most of the prestigious Crown Jewel events.

Dale Jr. recently revealed an untold story from the 1995 Cup Race at Bristol Motor Speedway, featuring his father and NASCAR Hall of Famer Rusty Wallace, on the Dirty Mo Media podcast with former MRN Pit Reporter Winston Kelley. Here's what he said:

"Rusty and dad had been talking,[...] They were both recognizing that Jeff Gordon was going to be something they were going to have to deal with long term, and so they felt like that you know at Bristol between the two of them they would decide not to give each other a hard time and team up and and give everything they could to Jeff Gordon." [45:49]

"The race gets going, and Dad pops Rusty in the back end sends Rusty in the wall, and Rusty's like what the hell? We were not going to do that,[...]It's almost like Rusty felt like dad lied to him you know and then took advantage of it, and so it seemed like he showed his frustration after the race," Dale Jr. added [46:27]

NASCAR Hall of Fame Executive Director and MRN Pit Reporter Winston Kelley, who was on pit road after the 1995 Goody's 500-night race in Bristol, recalled the incident vividly. As he was interviewing Dale Earnhardt Sr., a frustrated Rusty Wallace threw a water bottle at "Big E" for not following through with their agreement. Dale Sr. finished the race in P2, while Rusty Wallace ended up in P21.

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"I love watching other people do it" - Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares thoughts on racing career outside NASCAR

After retiring from competing full-time in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been witnessed competing in at least one Xfinity race every season. Recently, it was revealed that Earnhardt Jr. is going to race in the 200-lap Late Model Stock Car race at Langley Speedway, in Virginia.

In a recent interview with FloRacing after the practice session in Virginia, Dale Jr. was asked about his scanty race choices, besides racing in NASCAR. He responded by saying,

"I don't enjoy [it] at my age and what I got going on with my life, to get in a car and have to run as hard as you can, run Q laps [qualifying], every lap of the race where there's not really whole lot of fall off, it's just not that interesting to me. [However] I love watching it. I love watching other people do it." [02:33]

Out of 36 drivers, Dale Earnhardt Jr. finished the Hampton Heat 200 in position P5. This marked his debut run in the Late Model Stock Car series.