Dale Earnhardt Jr. Lost The Points Lead & Was Fined $10,000 During 2004 NASCAR Season For… Cussing On TV

Out of all the ridiculous things NASCAR has done over the years, this is up there as one of the worst.

Even if you’re newer to the sport, you still probably know how popular Dale Earnhardt Jr. was while he was a driver, and still is to this day. He raced in the Cup Series for 18 seasons, won 26 races, including two Daytona 500 victories, and he also holds the record for most Most Popular Driver Awards, winning it 15 consecutive times from 2003 to 2017.

But similar to his dad, Jr. was great at Talladega Superspeedway, and he won six times there in Cup Series, tying for second all-time, with his father, Dale Earnhardt, leading all drivers with 10 wins at Talladega. It’s Earnhardt Jr.’s winningest venue in the series, but a post-race interview there over 20 years ago in 2004 cost him a championship trophy.

At the time, Jr. was in first place in the Nextel Cup standings, and he was obviously having a great season, poised to potentially take home the coveted championship trophy if he was able to maintain that good driving for the rest of the season. Right behind him was Kurt Busch, who was behind by 13 points with seven races to go that season, and he ultimately won the championship. Sadly, though, it wasn’t anything on the track that kept Jr. from winning it all that year… it was a simple slip of the tongue during a post-race interview.

In February of 2004, NASCAR president Mike Helton told drivers to watch their language on radio and television. Several driver received fines that year for dropping expletives that were broadcast around the world, and Jr. fell victim as well. During an interview in Victory Lane after he won, he was asked what it meant to him to score his fifth win there, at a track that was so important to his father as well.

Jr. responded with a hilarious answer, clearly excited by everything going on, saying it “don’t mean s***” because his dad had won there ten times and he had “a lot more winning to do”:

“Well it don’t mean s*** right now, daddy’s done won here ten times. So I gotta do a little more winning, but we’re gonna get there. He was the master, I’m just following his tracks.”

The announcer apologized for his language during the broadcast, but I love this and we all know they say MUCH worse these days on live TV and no one hardly bats an eyelash:

He was docked 25 points and fined $10,000 for saying s*** on TV,  and Richie Gilmore, director of competition for Dale Earnhardt Inc., said at the time that the team would appeal NASCAR’s decision, though obviously, they lost. He called it a “huge setback for the entire company”:

“This is a huge setback for the entire company. We’re in a sport that focuses its primary attention on the final 10 races of the season, and we’re racing against formidable teams for a championship. We’re facing a setback from a competition standpoint for something that should be considered a personal foul. We have no choice but to appeal the points portion of the penalty.

I think we’re the only sport that takes points off of the board after they’ve been scored. The popularity of this sport is based on colorful personalities and the fact that everyone can relate to these drivers and their emotions. Now, it seems like that’s a detriment. This whole incident is going to force everyone in the sport to rethink showing any excitement in what should be a jubilant moment.”

I totally agree… how can you take points off after they’ve been “scored,” so to speak? Especially considering, once again, there was nothing nefarious going on with the driving or car itself. It’s insane…

During the winner’s interview in the press box following this indecent, obviously before he knew about a fine or anything else, Jr. defended his use of what NASCAR deemed
“inappropriate,” explaining that he can’t imagine anyone was overly offended by his language or they wouldn’t have turned on the race in the first place:

“I hope they understand that it was in jubilation and I know me and those other guys that got fined let it slip, but it’s two different circumstances. I think that when you’re happy and joyous about something and it happens, I think it’s different than being angry and cursing in anger. If anybody was offended by the four-letter word I said … I can’t imagine why they would have tuned into the race in the first place.”

Yeah, he’s got a point… racing fans aren’t exactly delicate, and the frustration knowing he was bumped out of first place, putting the championship pretty much out of reach especially considering they did have a few other issues that year at places like Martinsville, just sucks. It seems so unfair, and in my humble opinion, the punishment certainly did not fit the crime in this case.

Jr. did still get credit for the Talladega race being the 14th victory of his career and fifth at Talladega but, points penalty essentially moved him to a fifth place spot in that race if you were just looking at the points. There were 190 points still available at each of the last seven events that year, so he still had a chance, but this kind of thing can really harm the momentum as a team, and like I said, just seems so extreme, especially by today’s standards.

Jr.’s just a good old country boy, and I loved his response and how he answered that, but unfortunately, like I said, a lot of the time, NASCAR has had a tendency to try to polish everything up, even though that’s the complete opposite of their roots and what so many people love about the sport.

“What does it mean to win here, not only once, but to win here five times?”

“Well, it don’t mean sh*t right now. Daddy’s done won here ten times!”@DaleJr Read More