As Of Today, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Is Now The Same Age His Father Was When He Was Killed & My Mind Is Blown

Mind = blown.

It feels like yesterday that the legendary Dale Earnhardt tragically lost his life in the final turn of the 2001 Daytona 500.

The seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup Series champion, who was born on April 29, 1951, passed away on February 18, 2001 as a result of a basilar skull fracture suffered in the last lap crash. At the time of his death, Earnhardt was 49 years, 9 months and 20 days old.

And as of today, his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. is exactly the same age.

Earnhardt Jr. was born on October 19, 1974 – making him 49 years, 9 months and 20 days, the same age as his father was when he was killed.

(However, Earnhardt’s life was 18,193 days due to leap years, while Junior is sitting at 18,191 days – so he’s still technically got two days left to match his dad).

The mind-blowing realization just puts into perspective how young Earnhardt really was when he was killed, and how much he was able to accomplish in his short life. While 49 may be old for NASCAR drivers today, Earnhardt won his 76th and final Cup Series race just months before his death, in October of 2000 at the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway.

Of course his son went on to have his own Hall of Fame NASCAR career, winning 26 races before retiring in 2018 to join the broadcast booth.

But the fact that Junior, who still seems young and is one of the most important voices in NASCAR, is now the same age as his father, who at the time seemed like a larger-than-life legend and elder statesman for the sport, is pretty crazy.

Really makes you feel old – but also makes you appreciate the fact that we’ve still got Junior to carry on his father’s legacy that ended far too early.