‘I’d Have Smacked Him Right in the Face!’ NASCAR Veteran Kenny Wallace’s Passionate Defense of Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The advent of social media has given people a platform to be as critical as they want to be over any particular topic. Sporting fans have found a way to criticize athletes when they don’t do well, sometimes even crossing the line with their critique. Dale Earnhardt Jr. has often been on the receiving end of public bashings, and NASCAR veteran Kenny Wallace has recently come forward to share his two cents on the matter.
Not too long ago, NBA Star Kevin Durant called out fans for being too critical of the sport without watching any matches. NASCAR insider Jeff Gluck chimed in on the conversation, claiming the same could be said for NASCAR.
To further his point, Gluck used Earnhardt’s example of getting a lot of attitude from the fans. With the Earnhardt name officially joining the argument, Wallace decided to join in and say what he would do if he were in the icon’s place.
Swap Kenny Wallace In for Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Things Would Take a Violent Turn
Taking to his official YouTube channel, Wallace uploaded a special 2-minute video dedicated to his good friend. He criticized the trolls for living in anonymity and taking digs at Earnhardt. He then firmly stated that if something of the sort happened to him, he would not think twice before resorting to violent retaliation.
“Dale Jr., you know I love you,” Wallace said. “Me and you are good friends, but I tend to look out for us.” He added that if somebody were to text him, asking if it was a planned move to stay as far back in the grid as possible, “If he was standing right in front of me, I’d have smacked him right in the face.”
In his career, Earnhardt has won two Busch Series Championships and two Daytona 500s. While he has never been able to lift the NASCAR Series Cup, Wallace feels even multiple-time Cup Series champions have to bear the brunt of fans’ frustrations.
Per Wallace, a driver could win eight championships and still have fans criticizing them on social media. “I see people chew Kevin Harvick’s a** out. I see people chew Jimmie Johnson’s a** out.”
The criticism of Earnhardt or his team feels premature to the insiders even more because of how young the JR Motorsports setup is. They made their NASCAR debut only last week, thanks to the efforts of Justin Allgaier during the Duels. Despite the inexperience, the team managed to finish in the top 10, albeit it came thanks to a series of crashes further up the grid.
