Ask any NASCAR fan and they'll probably be happy to give you their opinion on Teresa Earnhardt. Teresa doesn't have the best reputation among NASCAR fans these days. The widow of the late, great Dale Earnhardt hasn't exactly done much to endear herself to her late husband's fans or his children since Earnhardt was killed in the 2001 Daytona 500. Teresa was the third wife of Dale Earnhardt, the stepmother to
Dale Earnhardt Jr. And when Earnhardt tragically lost his life in the final turn of the Daytona 500, Teresa also inherited another role: NASCAR team owner. Dale Earnhardt had started his race team, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., in the 1980s to field cars for himself in the then-Busch Series. The team eventually grew into the Cup Series, and in 2000 he began fielding a car for his son, Dale Jr. Longtime NASCAR fans know how the story ends: With the sport’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., leaving the team his father built after a bitter (and public) battle with his stepmother over ownership in the company, and the team folding just a few years later (after Teresa said they would just
"make another Dale Jr." if he left the team). It’s a saga that’s left many in the sport unwilling to even discuss Teresa Earnhardt. And when the fans discuss her, they usually don’t have many nice things to say. Teresa and her stepsons, Dale Jr. and his half-brother Kerry, have had a turbulent relationship to say the least. Aside from Dale Jr.’s battle with his stepmom over his dad’s race team, Teresa also filed a lawsuit against Kerry over his use of the Earnhardt name when Kerry announced plans to roll out a line of homes and furniture called “The Earnhardt Collection.” Then there was the commercial that Budweiser released to honor Earnhardt Jr. before his last race in the Cup Series. Fans quickly noticed that the commercial didn’t feature Jr.’s #8 on the car, or any of the trademarks of Dale’s DEI car that are still owned by Teresa, leading many to assume that Teresa refused to allow Budweiser to use the DEI trademarks in honoring Dale Jr. So yeah, there's a reason NASCAR fans aren't big fans of Teresa Earnhardt. Publicly, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has refrained from speaking about his stepmother too much, though he did recently discuss her handling of the Earnhardt estate when it was revealed that Teresa had let go of the trademark from his iconic #8 car, a trademark that Junior has since applied for himself.
"I just want to say that my feelings around this are pretty plain and basic. I either want Teresa to have it, and if she were to come in and re-up, I'd be totally comfortable and happy about that. Or I would like to have it. I would love it to stay either hers or mine, and not end up somewhere else. There's one thing that I'll say about Teresa, is in terms of owning a trademark and protecting things like that, protecting our legacy and our family name, I have a lot of trust in her around those things. She's very smart, very savvy, always thinking. She takes some emotion out of business decisions and says, 'This is what's fair. This is what's right.' So in terms of this, I would be completely fine if she reacquired the trademark." And during a recent episode of his
Dale Jr. Download podcast, Junior once again reiterated that despite their "hot and cold" relationship, he's always believed that Teresa was fair:
"We've all said what we've said, we've all had different opinions from time to time. And I had a hot and cold relationship with Teresa over the years. But I've always said at this table, she's fair. She's as straight and fair as could be. And there's been some moments where she's done some things that have impressed me, or surprised me... She's done a really good job protecting dad's legacy and taking care of that over the years." The conversation was between Junior and his father's longtime friend Donnie Rives, who expressed his admiration for Teresa:
"Teresa's very fair, in my opinion. I have high respect because she had, even before Dale's passing, she had a lot on. And as Dale said, it might take her awhile to get it done, but when it's done, it's right. And as husband and wife, he really loved her. First class. He put her first, and I respected him for that, because he and her, they gelled like mine and his friendship... Everybody has little disagreements on stuff, but when it come down to it, Teresa was really good at managing Dale. Period. And not just me, I've heard him tell lots of people, 'If it wasn't for that lady right there I wouldn't have nothing.' I still hold Teresa in high regards, and think the world of her... She's really kept everything mostly low key and not went out and tried to do anything under Earnhardt name." Dale went on to praise his stepmother for her handling of the legal fight over pictures from his father's autopsy, which were sought by the media in the wake of Earnhardt's death. Teresa and the Earnhardt family opposed the release of the photos, and eventually blocked them from becoming public. Junior wrapped up his comments on Teresa by saying that he thought it was important for Dale's friend to be able to give his opinion:
"The conversation around Teresa is complex, but there were a lot of moments and a lot of times in my life where there were some great memories and great moments that involved her." Throughout the whole conversation you can tell that Dale is choosing his words carefully to not say anything negative about his stepmother in a public setting. But it also seems like there's quite a bit that Dale would like to say about the situation too. It's an interesting conversation, because it's one of the rare times that he actually DOES discuss his father's wife - and their relationship - in public. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-YLs7SetJYw
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