Dale Earnhardt Jr. isn’t just the face of NASCAR, he’s also its conscience

When Dale Earnhardt Jr. expounds upon a weighty topic, you know what to expect. Unequivocally, he will be equal parts candid, heartfelt, and authentic. There will be nothing bombastic in what he says or how he says it.

Being his sport’s most popular figure in addition to the son of a NASCAR all-time great whose legacy has taken on almost mythological proportions certainly affords Earnhardt a large platform to voice his opinion. It is not, however, a pulpit he takes for granted. Rather, he sees it as a conduit to spread a message of acceptance.

When NASCAR was scrutinized in 2015 for its lax policy regarding the Confederate flag being permitted at its races, Earnhardt had no qualms denouncing its presence. So what if NASCAR was a sport with strong southern roots, and many of his own legion of fans were quite proud of their heritage. Times change, and people need to change with them.

“I think if it’s offensive to an entire race,” he said. “It belongs in the history books; that’s about it.”

The latest example of that willingness to speak out was on full display this week in the aftermath of a violent white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., where a counter-protester was killed. When asked by a Twitter follower his thoughts on what transpired on the University of Virginia campus, Earnhardt tweeted: “Hatred, bigotry, & racism should have no place in this great country. Spread love.”

The message itself wasn’t profound. But that Earnhardt was the only high-profile NASCAR driver to even broach the topic on social media says a lot about him as well as those he races against weekly.

On Thursday, Earnhardt was asked what prompted him to comment publicly like LeBron James and many other athletes had. Not surprisingly, his words succinctly encapsulated the mood the majority of the country shares.

“It’s been a very difficult period of time over the last couple of years for our country, and obviously there is some stuff that happened today in Barcelona,” said Earnhardt, mere hours after a terrorist attack in Spain killed 13. “It just makes you wonder what in the hell is going on in this world.

“It’s really frustrating because we ought to be better than that. We ought to be smarter than that, than to be trying to tear each other apart. We ought to be working together, but it just seems like that is getting harder and harder to do and there is less and less of that.”

Such sincerity comes amid a time when many drivers prefer to shy away from saying anything potentially controversial, lest they offend a sponsor or fans (or display their own ignorance). Such reluctance brings to mind a quote famously attributed to Michael Jordan, ever the Nike pitchman, who once refused to endorse a Democratic Senate candidate by remarking, “Republicans buy sneakers, too.”

Earnhardt, who has 2.2.million Twitter followers and is a national spokesman for Nationwide Insurance and Mountain Dew, has no such hesitation to be a driver of social change.

It’s among the many reasons why NASCAR will have a large void to fill when the 42-year-old steps away from racing full time at the end of the current season.

Beyond being NASCAR’s most marketable star and its lone remaining mainstream crossover personality following the recent retirements of Jeff Gordon, Carl Edwards, and Tony Stewart, Earnhardt is upfront and provides a levelheaded perspective on everything from rule changes to social issues.

Although Kyle Larson, Chase Elliott, and a horde of young talents will ensure NASCAR has a competitive and entertaining product on the track, less certain is who will emerge as the leader off the track. It’s one thing to raise a raucous about rules and procedures. It’s another thing altogether to be at the forefront pertaining to topics outside of racing.

“It’s sad and frustrating to see what happened and you feel sort of somewhat responsible to speak on it,” Earnhardt said. “I think that it’s great that a lot of athletes did speak on it. It encourages people like myself to speak up.”

Now, more NASCAR drivers need to follow Earnhardt’s example.