BRISTOL, TENNESSEE - SEPTEMBER 15: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #88 Hellmann's Chevrolet, looks on during practice for the NASCAR Xfinity Series Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway on September 15, 2023 in Bristol, Tennessee.
(Photo by Jared C. Tilton/Getty Images)

Dale Jr. Reveals His Current Bad Boys of NASCAR List

NASCAR has had its fair share of characters throughout its history. Heroes and villains, if you will.

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Dale Earnhardt Sr. was nicknamed "The Intimidator," but he wasn't always a villain, though some of his competitors might think differently.

He would race you hard no matter who you were, and most of the time he would beat you.

These days there are plenty of drivers who like to stir the pot in the garage, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. took some time during an episode of the "Dale Jr. Download" to address what he calls "the sh*t stirrers" of the sport.

Ross Chastain has ruffled feathers with a lot of the top drivers in the Cup Series, Denny Hamlin and Kyle Larson come to mind, and his issues with them have been well documented.

That is part of the reason why Earnhardt referred to Chastain as the captain of his "the sh*t stirrers group.

"Chastain is kind of the captain of sh*t stirrers. He's the captain of the team," Earnhardt said. "On the team with Ross is (John Hunter) Nemechek. (Ty) Gibbs when he runs really good. (Noah) Gragson if he can also have some good runs."

Chastain has proven himself at the Cup level with four career wins, while the others were very successful in the NASCAR Xfinity Series but who have gotten on the bad side of other drivers trying to prove themselves at the Cup level.

Earnhardt had one more name on his list and this driver has very similar traits to the other drivers he listed. That driver is Carson Hocevar, who is making the big move from the Craftsman Truck Series to Cup full-time this season.

"Probably the all-star of the sh*t stirrer team is maybe Hocevar," Earnhardt said.

His list isn't bad at all and they all seem to like to make the headlines, but not always for a good reason.

It will be interesting to see if any of Earnhardt's "team" get into each other on the track because that would get people talking.

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