“We dealt with a lot of assumptions”: When Kelley Earnhardt opened up about the complex emotional burden of her father Dale Sr.’s ‘reputation’

Kelley Earnhardt once opened up on the complex burden of being Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s child. She explained that her father had a reputation for hard racing, thus, she and her brother Dale Jr. dealt with a "lot of assumptions" in their childhood.

Dale Sr. was renowned as the 'intimidator' for his rough and unforgiving driving style. While that contributed to the high-octane spirit of NASCAR, it sometimes wasn't cherished as much. Moreover, according to Kelley's admission, she and Dale were subjected to love and hate from others during the race weekend on Sundays, depending on how their father raced.

The 52-year-old had a lengthy conversation with the ThriveTimeShow in 2020 when she revealed her family doesn't function like a typical household. Kelley Earnhardt pointed out that her father was busy during the weekend at the track and his farm on the weekdays, and that she and Junior were in school so they didn't travel much to their father's races.

"We weren’t kind of the typical nine to five family of, of coming home. I’ll eat dinner together or things like that. And we didn’t travel to a lot of the races because my brother and I were in school, so we would spend with nannies and relatives and things like that," Kelley said.

The North Carolina native then shed light on the mixed emotional baggage they suffered from, courtesy of Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s intimidating race style.

"My dad had quite a reputation, uh, mostly the loved or hated him, uh, on Sundays, uh, after the race was over. And so we dealt with a lot of, uh, assumptions and, and different things like that and, and, you know, a little hate here and a lot of love there. And so, um, you know, it was, it was different for sure," she added.

Dale Jr. followed in his father's footsteps, raking in two Xfinity Series championships, 26 Cup Series race wins, 15 consecutive NASCAR Most Popular Driver awards, and more.

"That was definitely instilled by our dad": Kelley Earnhardt explains how her father shaped her character

Kelley Earnhardt talked nearly a month ago with former Cup Series driver Mike Skinner's wife Angie Skinner, when Angie appreciated that Kelley doesn't use her last name to get things done fast. Instead, she works her way through like any other netizen.

Kelly Earnhardt was quick to express her father's involvement in her approach. She explained Dale Sr. always taught them how invaluable hard work and taking responsibility for your actions are. She even revealed that she worked at different organizations, under bosses, despite her seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion father owning many organizations.

"That was definitely instilled by our dad. We didn't really get the opportunity to half do anything, you know, or rest on our laurels or our name or anything else. So, you know, right away we went to work, and I think really working under other people, and not in our family business, even though, you know, they were entities owned by my dad," Kelley Earnhardt said.

Presently, Kelley Earnhardt and Dale Jr. co-own JR Motorsports, which fields full-time entries in the Xfinity Series and earned its most recent title this past season as Justin Allgaier reigned supreme.