It was the spark that lit one of NASCAR’s most memorable modern-day rivalries. Dale Earnhardt Jr. had joined Hendrick Motorsports beginning with the 2008 NASCAR Cup Series, signing a five-year deal to replace Kyle Busch in the No. 88 Chevrolet. Busch, meanwhile, parted ways with Hendrick at the conclusion of the 2007 season and joined Joe Gibbs Racing for 2008, a move that would set the stage for one of the year’s most talked-about on-track incidents.
That moment came on May 3, 2008, at Richmond Raceway, when a late-race battle between the two ended with Earnhardt Jr. being put into the wall by Busch, allowing Clint Bowyer to take the victory. Neither driver won that night, but the contact ignited a rivalry that would dominate headlines.
While the animosity between them cooled over the years, culminating in Busch’s appearance on The Dale Jr. Download podcast, the split between their fan bases has remained pronounced. With the upcoming Richmond race weekend bringing renewed attention to that 2008 clash, Earnhardt Jr. has offered a candid reflection on the incident, admitting he could have approached those final laps differently. The timing, as Richmond approaches once again, has only amplified the buzz surrounding their historic feud and its lasting impact on NASCAR’s short-track drama.
Dale Jr.’s honest breakdown of his Richmond clash with Kyle Busch
Reflecting on that May 3, 2008, night at Richmond, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was candid about the mistake he believes cost him the race. “We fired off on a restart, Kyle spun his tires and I ran the top immediately. I should have ran the bottom for about two or three corners to see if I could make the bottom work,” he admitted on The Dale Jr. Download.
He added that keeping Busch in dirty air might have forced him higher, giving Dale the chance to hold the lead. “I gave him the bottom and he drove right up to my back bumper… maybe a couple more laps go by and I’m able to do something different.”
The misstep, combined with Denny Hamlin’s flat tire, changed the race’s momentum and opened the door for Clint Bowyer’s win. The misstep, combined with Denny Hamlin’s flat tire, changed the race’s momentum and opened the door for Clint Bowyer’s win.
Busch, speaking on the same podcast years later, recalled the intensity of the backlash. During the discussion, the two revisited the fallout, which included Busch receiving “crazy death threats” in the days that followed. “There was death threats to the house,” Busch said, adding that the security concerns at the time were real, even if Dale suspected he “may have overstated some of them.”
At the time of the wreck, Busch maintained his stance to ESPN that it was “hard racing” and not intentional, though he acknowledged the optics were always going to be heated given the circumstances.
The feud became one of the defining moments of 2008, igniting a storm of fan reactions. NASCAR.com reported that Busch was showered with boos as he climbed from his car that night, with Clint Bowyer joking afterward that the reaction was “louder than my win.”
Earnhardt loyalists painted the incident as calculated payback, while Busch supporters insisted it was simply short-track racing at its fiercest. For months, the clash remained a fixture in highlight reels, forum debates, and even T-shirt slogans.
Over time, though, the animosity gave way to mutual respect. Busch has joined Earnhardt on The Dale Jr. Download and other shows, with the two sharing laughs and trading stories about that infamous night. While their fan bases may never fully agree on what happened in Turn 3, the drivers themselves have put the matter to rest, proving that even NASCAR’s most explosive feuds can eventually run their course.
However, Dale Jr. knows his fans well, as he jokingly pointed out, “…our fan bases are not well aligned me and Kyle have had a bit of a history on the racetrack but have since uh you know become pretty good buds, but our fan bases still are having a hard time understanding…some of them still hold a grudge”
Fans question Dale Jr.’s silence as father’s legacy faces extinction
As outrage builds in Mooresville, North Carolina, over Teresa Earnhardt’s proposal to rezone nearly 400 acres of land once tied to Dale Earnhardt Sr. for a $30 billion data center project, one absence in the debate is drawing attention, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s. While his siblings, particularly Kerry Earnhardt, have spoken out publicly against the plan, Junior has remained completely silent.
Social media has been quick to notice, with NASCAR fans questioning why the sport’s most popular driver for over a decade hasn’t weighed in when the land tied so closely to his father’s legacy is at stake. The proposal, put forward by Teresa Earnhardt, would transform the rural property into a high-tech hub, a move critics say will strip the area of its natural character and disrupt the community.
Kerry Earnhardt has been outspoken on social media, particularly on X: “Dad would be livid… Data Centers don’t belong in neighborhoods. Natural resources are depleted, wildlife uprooted!” His remarks have fueled a growing local and online backlash, painting the project as an affront to Dale Sr.’s heritage. With Kerry and other family members taking such a firm public stance, Junior’s silence has become as much a talking point as the controversial project itself.
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