NASCAR makes amends for 2004 Dale Earnhardt Jr. swearing fine

In 2004, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was celebrating yet another Talladega win. In Victory Lane after the EA Sports 500, Earnhardt used a profanity when he hilariously said about his fifth Talladega win: "It don't mean sh*t right now, daddy's done won here ten times so I gotta do a little more winning."

The broadcast apologized for his 'enthusiastic language,' but NASCAR took a bizarrely harsh stance on the moment. The Sanctioning Body later fined Earnhardt $10,000 and docked him 25 championship driver and owner points.

Well, fast forward to 2026 and NASCAR is in a very different place. There is currently a swear jar where NASCAR happily adds $5 for every time someone swears on the radio during a NASCAR Cup Chase race, and the official series account has a running list of the most popular swear words.

Following Talladega, drivers and team members were caught swearing 1,584 times during the first eight races of the Chase, bringing the total to $7,920. But what does this have to do with Dale Jr.'s swearing fine from over two decades ago? Well, the total is now $17,920 as NASCAR has donated another $10,000 to the jar as an apology of sorts for the 2004 fine issued to Dale Jr., but no, he's still not getting his points back.

NASCAR also donated an additional $10,000 to the Dale Jr. Foundation, further making amends for the questionable penalty.

"Sh*t, I guess they gave me my money back. Donated to the foundation. That's pretty cool ... where's the points?" said Dale Jr. in reaction to the donation.

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- The Motorsport.com Team