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The HOF means a lot to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s election to the NASCAR Hall of Fame is a special accomplishment.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. knew he would never be a seven-time NASCAR champion like his dad.
It wasn't realistic to think he would match Dale Earnhardt on the track. The Intimidator was tough as nails, didn't tolerate any nonsense and built a winning résumé that made him a first-ballot Hall of Famer in NASCAR's 2010 inaugural class.
Junior did not hoist the Cup.
He built a career as NASCAR's top ambassador, finding a large audience that was beyond his father's reach.
Earnhardt told The Associated Press that his dad was important to him because of his success but also because of the reaction to whatever he did. Being an asset to the sport is what I thought of when I thought of that. I wanted to have the same value.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame will induct Earnhardt along with his father and two other people on Friday night. The hall welcomed five members each of the first 11 years, then changed the rules to only have three members in the next class.
The first three-member class was delayed because of the swine flu. He is being celebrated for his performance accomplishments, but also for the enormous role he has played since his father was killed on the final lap of the Daytona 500 21 years ago.
Earnhardt was a rising star when his father died. Junior was sponsored by Budweiser because of his dad's work at Dale Earnhardt Inc.
The Earnhardt fan base was filled with blue-collar people who wore Chevrolets and wore Wranglers, just like their favorite driver.
Earnhardt Jr. was profiled in Rolling Stone magazine and showed off the nightclub in his home on MTV's "Cribs." His appeal to a wide range of artists resulted in him appearing in music videos for them, but it seemed silly to his dad.
When Dale was killed, his legacy fell to a young man. Dale Jr. says he suffers from severe anxiety, but he was able to navigate the spotlight with brutal honesty and raw emotion.
The third-generation racer became a 15-time winner of NASCAR's fan-voted most popular driver award, and over the past two decades has built an empire centered around the sport his family holds in such high regard. Earnhardt's television special series "Lost Speedways" and the "The Dale Jr. Download" podcast are fan favorites.
He and his sister, Kelley, grew their race team into one of the best in the Xfinity Series and he is a lead analyst for NBC Sports.
The void created by the late Earnhardt's never got to be seen by his children.
Earnhardt told AP that he thought he would be surprised. He said his dad didn't think his children would be successful race car drivers, so his two Busch Series titles caught him off guard.
"I think he would be happy and proud, but also typical of his Dad, who would say 'Well, if you try a little harder here,' or 'Maybe you should prioritize this,'" Earnhardt said. "That's what I would expect from him, and I would welcome that type of criticism today."
Earnhardt left DEI six years after his father's death because of a difficult relationship with his widow. His free-agency courting was one of the most frenzied in the history of NASCAR.
He thinks his father would think he wasn't good enough. He agrees.
I realized what being a driver is about once I got to Hendrick, and I could have done a lot more with the cars I had.
I wish I would have done things differently. Dad would have pointed them out.
Earnhardt's off-track success has an influence on NASCAR. He tested the new Cup car at Daytona last week so he could discuss it with an audience, and he asked the Hall of Fame to allow his widow to give a speech at the ceremony.
He believes he can convert NASCAR's toughest critic. He's spent the last 20 years holding NASCAR's vice chairman Mike Helton in the highest regard, confident that if his father's close friend respects him, then he was doing things right.
Earnhardt credited his sister, who is co-owner of JR Motorsports, for what his father might think.
"I think that he would be so proud of Kelley and who she is, the amount of respect, her stature, I think that would matter a lot to him," Earnhardt said. She's a lot of the reason why we've accomplished everything we have. He would be correct. He wouldn't tell her. He would tell me about Kelley and then talk to Kelley about me.
I would do everything in my power to hear what he thinks about everything we've done. I would do everything I could to know what he would say. I think about it all the time.
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