'Disrespectful' Dale Earnhardt Tribute From Female Driver Infuriates NASCAR Fans
There are a few things in the world of NASCAR you just don't do.
For example, you don't cheer for Bubba Wallace. Boos only! (That's a joke. But, frankly, most of y'all follow it to a tee).
You don't go to Dawsonville and not visit the pool room. You don't root for anyone other than an Earnhardt or Elliott in Talladega.
You absolutely refuse to go an entire race without complaining about the TV coverage and the commercials. Giving Denny Hamlin the finger is a must at most tracks. The double-bird is also acceptable.
But rule No. 1? You never, ever, disrespect Dale Earnhardt Sr.
He's to be treated like the King he was/is. You hold up the No. 3 on the third lap of every damn race, and you're always Bow-tie Til You Die.
Speaking of Chevrolet … that's, of course, what Dale famously drove for decades. A big, beautiful, Chevy … for the most part.
Yes, he did dabble in the Pontiac (what a throwback!) for a bit in the 1970s, but …
Dale Earnhardt drove a Ford?
Did you know that Earnhardt briefly drove a Ford in 1982? True story. He drove the Blue & Yellow Wrangler Ford for Bud Moore from 1982 to 1983 before making his permanent move to the No. 3 Chevy ahead of the '84 season.
Now, did the NASCAR legend have his best years ever in the Ford? Nope. Couple wins. Nothing great. But still, memorable, because you don't see Dale Earnhardt in a Ford very often. In fact, most don't remember.
Now that you have all that context, perhaps you'll understand why NASCAR's Most Popular Xfinity Series Driver, Hailie Deegan, is under attack for her Darlington paint scheme this weekend:
Hailie Deegan angers NASCAR fans with Dale Earnhardt throwback
Unfortunately, Hailie here is giving NASCAR fans a bit too much credit. You're expecting us to remember that Dale once drove a Ford? Come on. That's a tough ask.
When I saw this trending on Elon's Twitter last night, I figured, ‘Oh, maybe they all love it. Let me go take a look!’
Right away, I knew it was gonna be a bloodbath. It took me about four seconds to realize what Hailie had done, and a quick trip to the comments section proved me right:
Just a wasteland of angry, (possibly) drunk NASCAR fans laying into poor Hailie Deegan on an otherwise slow Wednesday night.
A quick trip to Google would've kept everyone's collective blood pressure in the green zone, but I reckon that's just how life is nowadays. We're a very reactionary world. A very angry society. Thanks Joe!
I get it, by the way. To be honest, I had to double-check that Dale did, indeed, drive a Ford, over his 30 years. Not exactly common knowledge for a 31-year-old, and I consider myself one of the biggest NASCAR fans on this planet.
Anyway, leave Hailie alone. Ain't her fault.
PS: bold move by NASCAR to have a driver with exactly zero career wins run a Dale Earnhardt paint scheme.