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NASCAR’s final race of the season is speeding into focus on Sunday, Nov. 8, as drivers and fans alike congregate in Miami for the big event. The 2026 NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Homestead-Miami Speedway is sure to be thrilling, but with the closing race ahead, we couldn’t help but look in the rearview at the time one of NASCAR’s legends spoke to Playboy.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. sat down for the Playboy Interview just a few months after his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., died in a crash during a race they were both competing in. Earnhardt Sr. died on Feb. 18, 2001, during the final lap of the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
“You’re doing quick glances at the mirror—I saw smoke and cars at the wrong angles, cars crashing,” Earnhardt Jr. told Playboy about witnessing the crash. “Then the race ends and I’m excited. ‘Man, I finished second in the Daytona 500!’ Even though he crashed, my father was going to be happy about that. I went looking for him, but he wasn’t at the care center. Some cops took me to the hospital. I was about five minutes behind him. Never saw him. I’m sure I could have if I’d wanted to, but I didn’t, not after I knew.”
Earnhardt Jr. sat down with Playboy for the September 2001 issue, opening up about his dad, the allure of NASCAR, and the feeling of driving the car. Here, we’ve compiled his five most interesting and poignant quotes.
On a column he wrote about his dad before his death:
“Well, I loved him, didn’t I? Since he died, people have tried to make it sound more theatrical, but we were pretty much like any other father and son. He was hard to talk to, but that was just him. I wrote that thing and thought he should hear it first. He was sitting upstairs in his office. ‘I’ve been writing this online column for Nascar,’ I said, and I read it to him. I’m halfway through, and he gets out of his chair and walks over to me. I thought he was mad. But he says, ‘Man, I knew how you felt, but that really puts it in perspective.’ And since he died, that’s something I think about a lot. He knew how I felt. He knew how I loved him.”
On how his father’s death changed him:
“It brings death closer. In this job your instinct is to block it out. Now it’s always there. But you know what? I’m more determined to succeed. Before, I wanted to be a champion. Now I’m going to be a champion, I have to be a champion.”
On what makes racing cool:
Drivers like to downplay the sheer speed of it. They always say, ‘Aw, it’s just like driving around town.’ But it’s really cool! It’s like water skiing—the first time you water-ski you’re yelling, ‘”‘Slow down!’ Then you get to liking it and you’re hauling ass, cutting cones and yelling, ‘Faster!'”
On what it feels like to drive a race car:
“The car sticks to the ground better than you’d think. It feels like a huge hand is pushing down on you. The faster you go, the more air you have pushing down, and the better the car sticks.”
On how he handles the physical demands of racing:
“If I’m sore after a race, I’ll drink four or five beers and get in a good mood.”