Earnhardt Jr.living vicariously?

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet, stands in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on August 31, 2012 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Tyler Barrick/Getty Images)

 

Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 National Guard/Diet Mountain Dew Chevrolet, stands in the garage during practice for the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Advocare 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway on August 31, 2012 in Hampton, Georgia. (Photo by Tyler Barrick/Getty Images)

Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes fans can relate to the emotion Tony Stewart showed after his wreck with Matt Kenseth at Bristol last Saturday night.

“I’m sure everybody watching the race has somebody’s neck they’d like to wring,” Earnhardt said Friday at Atlanta. “Maybe they live vicariously through that emotion in some way. There’s probably a co-worker or two they wouldn’t mind running their fist into his face. It’s probably more likely than you imagine. . . .

“When we get out (of the car) and do things such as Tony did, the fans really connect to that. They really connect to that emotion. And driving down the road, somebody cuts you off on the highway — you would love to shoot them the bird or something. Maybe you do.”

Greg Engle
About Greg Engle 7421 Articles
Greg is a published award winning sportswriter who spent 23 years combined active and active reserve military service, much of that in and around the Special Operations community. Greg is the author of "The Nuts and Bolts of NASCAR: The Definitive Viewers' Guide to Big-Time Stock Car Auto Racing" and has been published in major publications across the country including the Los Angeles Times, the Cleveland Plain Dealer and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He was also a contributor to Chicken Soup for the NASCAR Soul, published in 2010, and the Christmas edition in 2016. He wrote as the NASCAR, Formula 1, Auto Reviews and National Veterans Affairs Examiner for Examiner.com and has appeared on Fox News. He holds a BS degree in communications, a Masters degree in psychology and is currently a PhD candidate majoring in psychology. He is currently the weekend Motorsports Editor for Autoweek.