Dale Earnhardt's daugher explains why she had 'tough time' when he was alive
Dale Earnhardt's daugher explains why she had 'tough time' when he was alive
Jarrod Castillo Thu, July 9, 2026 at 6:57 PM UTC
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller are the heads of JR Motorsports (Image: Getty)
Kelley Earnhart Miller shared why she had a "tough time" when Dale Earnhardt Sr. was alive.
Kelley Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. are among the most recognizable figures in NASCAR, and the two own and run JR Motorsports (JRM), a powerhouse in the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series. Though JRM makes occasional appearances in the Cup Series, the team has found its niche in the series just below the top flight, developing stars both in the car and off it.
Now, she has explained on a recent podcast why she had a "tough time" growing up and the business side of the sport, which she learned from the NASCAR legend. Her admission comes years after she revealed she never worked for Dale Earnhardt while he was alive.
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"At the time with my dad, when he was living, I had a really tough time with the way that he allowed us to be part of the business," she began. "You know, and he allowed us to be part of things in a very arm's length way that was helpful in the way to learn from other people and not have to worry about those family boundaries that happen, especially when you're less mature, right?
"When you're a young 20-something-year-old, and you don't have the different experiences that I think are so important, you know, you have to be exposed to things in order to get those experiences."
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Dale Earnhardt's business philosophy remains alive with his children (Image: Getty)
What's more, she noted that because the elder Earnhardt would bring business matters home, she was able to continually learn from him and build business acumen as she grew older, even after his death.
"We learned from him and the way that he carried himself and the way that he did things and the business and all that," she continued, "he and I got to learn that sitting on the opposite side of the table at Sports Image, you know, let's say because I was, you know, involved in being an account manager for some of his sponsors.
"And so he was [on] the opposite side of the table, putting the pressure on us on, what their expectations were and things like that and how to live up to those expectations. So, I feel like I had a really good foundation of business and things to learn and do."
Despite learning from her father, Kelley Earnhardt Miller admitted she had never worked for Dale Earnhardt and suggested a complex family dynamic was the cause. "I think a little bit, but I think that it had more to do with Teresa than anything, to be quite honest. He could put me in arms-length businesses that made sense, and he did," she said on the Dale Jr. Download.
"I'm sure we had our feelings then of how we failed and felt unloved or not. We just didn't have the right family unit, I'd say.
"But I don't think it bothered us as much in the end because we had such a good relationship. And keep in mind, we were going to our mom's and having a heck of a time in Virginia when we would go there, that would be awesome. We'd spend weekends with her when she would come down.
"So we had a good life, you know, when we had a roof over our heads and all that kind of thing. It's just that in the family with Dad and Teresa, it just wasn't very family loving, you know, situation."
Source: “AOL Entertainment”
