NASCAR\u2019s got a reputation for unfiltered characters who don\u2019t hold back when it\u2019s time to throw shade. The garage is a pressure cooker, and drivers aren\u2019t shy about calling each other out when tempers flare.\u00a0 Take Denny Hamlin at Gateway in 2022, when Ross Chastain wrecked both him and Chase Elliott in the same race.<\/p>\n
Hamlin didn\u2019t sugarcoat it on TV, \u201cIt\u2019s good he takes responsibility, but it doesn\u2019t fix the issue. He\u2019s making a lot of mistakes and it\u2019s cost a lot of people. Until he gets a ton of enemies, then it\u2019ll be a problem.\u201d A week later on his Actions Detrimental podcast, he doubled down, \u201cYou can\u2019t just say \u2018my bad\u2019 every week. At some point, you\u2019ve got to clean it up.\u201d That was Hamlin drawing a line in the sand, and fans ate it up.<\/p>\n
Then there\u2019s Joey Logano, who had his own moment after Denny Hamlin squeezed him into the wall at Martinsville in 2019. Logano let it rip post-race, \u201cHe\u2019s just a hack. Just a hack.\u201d That clip went viral, and \u201chack\u201d became a go-to insult drivers tossed around for years. It was raw, real, and exactly the kind of spice NASCAR thrives on. Logano didn\u2019t care about making friends, he wanted to make a point.<\/p>\n
ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n
Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n
Kevin Harvick\u2019s<\/a> no stranger to the game either. After Chase Elliott held him up at Bristol in 2021, costing him a shot at the win, Harvick unloaded, \u201cIt\u2019s kind of chicken-sh*t. You know, I don\u2019t care who he is. That\u2019s the way he races me, so that\u2019s the way I\u2019m going to race him from here on out.\u201d The tension boiled over into a viral shouting match in the garage, helmets still on, that had fans buzzing for weeks. That\u2019s NASCAR, grudges don\u2019t just simmer; they explode.<\/p>\n Kyle Busch and Brad Keselowski\u2019s feud from the 2010s was another classic. Busch didn\u2019t hold back in a 2010 press scrum, \u201cBrad\u2019s just an ass. That\u2019s all he is. He\u2019s a big mouth.\u201d Keselowski fired back on SiriusXM, \u201cKyle doesn\u2019t like me, and that\u2019s fine. He doesn\u2019t have to. But I\u2019m not here to make friends.\u201d That back-and-forth was pure NASCAR drama, the kind that keeps the sport\u2019s pulse pounding.<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Contrast all that with Dale Earnhardt Jr., who built a 20-plus-year career as the guy everyone liked. Unlike his dad, the \u201cIntimidator,\u201d who thrived on rivalries with Terry Labonte and Rusty Wallace,<\/a> Dale Jr. was the diplomat, relatable, fan-friendly, and rarely stirring the pot. He kept things chill, focusing on racing over trash-talking, which made him a locker room leader in the garage. That\u2019s why when he drops a rare spicy comment, it hits like a thunderclap.<\/p>\n Since retiring in 2017, Dale Jr.\u2019s let loose a bit on The Dale Jr. Download, sharing wild stories, like Tony Stewart chucking a helmet through his truck window, or admitting how Talladega wrecks scared him. He\u2019s gotten candid, even dropping takes on today\u2019s drivers that he\u2019d have dodged as a racer. So when he mentioned \u201csome jerks out there\u201d in the Cup Series during a recent podcast, it sent fans into a frenzy. Dale Jr. calling anyone a \u201cjerk\u201d? That\u2019s not his usual vibe, and now everyone\u2019s playing detective, trying to figure out who he\u2019s talking about.<\/p>\n Fan reactions and speculations<\/p>\n Dale Jr.\u2019s \u201cjerk\u201d comment, dropped at 14:15<\/a> during a Chase Briscoe interview on The Dale Jr. Download, lit up Reddit with fans tossing out guesses left and right. One fan summed up the challenge, \u201cHonestly have no clue, pretty sure nearly the current entire cup field has been on the download at this point.\u201d It\u2019s a fair point, Dale\u2019s podcast has hosted a who\u2019s who of NASCAR, from heavyweights like Denny Hamlin, Joey Logano, and Kyle Larson to veterans like Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. Even new blood like Carson Hocevar and Noah Gragson have pulled up a chair.<\/p>\n Another fan took a playful jab, \u201cJerks according to Dale Jr: the drivers anyone responding to this thread doesn\u2019t like.\u201d That\u2019s a clever way to call out how fans project their own grudges onto Dale\u2019s vague comment. He\u2019s always been careful not to name names, sticking to general gripes like \u201cdrivers need more respect on track\u201d or \u201cthat was a dumb move.\u201d So when he says \u201cjerks,\u201d fans fill in the blanks with their own villains, Logano for his aggressive blocking, Kyle Busch for his sharp tongue, or Hamlin for his knack for stirring up drama.<\/p>\n One theory got specific, \u201cPeople keep saying it can\u2019t be Hocevar because Dale praises him but he says the same stuff about Kyle Busch. I think Jr can think those types of people are good for the sport but still jerks.\u201d This one\u2019s got legs. Carson Hocevar\u2019s<\/a> made waves for his raw, sometimes reckless style, like when he intentionally wrecked Taylor Gray in a 2022 Truck race at IRP, drawing major heat. Dale\u2019s praised Hocevar\u2019s talent but called out his immaturity. Same deal with Kyle Busch, Dale\u2019s said on air that Busch\u2019s polarizing attitude is \u201cgood for the sport,\u201d but Busch\u2019s tantrums and fines for language could easily land him in the \u201cjerk\u201d category.<\/p>\n ADVERTISEMENT<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Another fan widened the net, \u201cHaven\u2019t listened but going off the content here\u2026 are we sure it\u2019s drivers? Could it be a spotter? An annoying AF Australian crew chief who always messes things up?\u201d This is a smart angle. Dale\u2019s vented before about more than just drivers, officiating, team radio chatter, even crew chiefs. The \u201cAustralian crew chief\u201d likely points to James Small, Martin Truex Jr.\u2019s strategist, who\u2019s taken flak for botched calls, like in the 2023 Southern 500 when Truex\u2019s dominant car faded due to pit miscues. Spotters, like Joey Logano\u2019s T.J. Majors, a longtime pal of Dale\u2019s, have also sparked drama with heated radio moments. Dale\u2019s \u201cjerks\u201d might not just be behind the wheel, which makes the speculation even juicier.<\/p>\n