Skip to main content
Come Fan with UsSunday, June 21, 2026

Juniorism! Dale Earnhardt Jr. Drops NASCAR Knowledge On Michigan TV Reporter

Dale Earnhardt Jr., if you haven’t heard, is a polite guy. He doesn’t like to disappoint anyone, and that includes reporters who ask him a question – even if he doesn’t have much of an answer.

Because of that, what occasionally happens is he’ll drop what we’ll call a “Juniorism” – an overly simple answer, but an answer nonetheless.

When a local TV reporter asked Earnhardt Jr. on Friday about his “strategy” for the Michigan race, the driver dropped a perfect example of a Juniorism.

"I don't really have a strategy," he said. "Just go out there and try to lead, get to the front. If you're not at the front, get to the front, pass the guy in front of you. Pretty simple."

Wise words for any up-and-coming driver: To win the race, try to get to the front. If you’re not at the front, try to pass the guy in front of you.

Folks, this is a fail-safe strategy to winning a NASCAR race. You can’t go wrong!

To Earnhardt Jr.‘s credit, he actually gave the guy about a two-minute answer which consisted of talking about the track conditions and the tire and things like that, though I’m not sure it was much of a soundbite for the dude’s nightly local newscast.

Then again, there was this as well:

“Run as hard as you can,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “The track is pretty smooth; you just run as hard as you can every lap. There’s not much to it. You don’t have to save your tires or anything. It’s pretty much laid out there for you.”

Perfect.

I also enjoyed one of the recent Juniorisms in Pocono, when someone asked Earnhardt Jr. about the $100,000 payout to a fan if he won the Pocono race.

“I really don’t know much about it other than I guess the guy at the race track is going to pay someone some money if we win,” he said. “That would be good for whoever gets the money and we’ll be enjoying the trophy in Victory Lane. Everybody wins, I suppose.”

Beautiful.

See More:

More in General

GeneralFromPosting and Toasting
An SB Nation New Yorker needs our helpAn SB Nation New Yorker needs our help
GeneralFromPosting and Toasting
General
Sabastian Sawe breaks 2-hour barrier, shatters marathon world recordSabastian Sawe breaks 2-hour barrier, shatters marathon world record
General

The mythical two-hour mark was broken at the London Marathon.

By Bernd Buchmasser
A Huge Dog
THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND, EPISODE 1THE HISTORY OF CHARGING THE MOUND, EPISODE 1
Play
General
Super Bowl 60 coin toss resultsSuper Bowl 60 coin toss results
General

The Seahawks and Patriots will open the Super Bowl with the coin toss to determine who starts with the ball. We have the full coin toss results for Super Bowl 60.

By David Fucillo
General
Marc Marquez completes a comeback for the agesMarc Marquez completes a comeback for the ages
General

MotoGP’s Marc Marquez completed a comeback for the ages with his 2025 title

By Mark Schofield
General
How to make sure SBNation.com appears in your Google search resultsHow to make sure SBNation.com appears in your Google search results