Home Cars NASCAR Drivers Share One-Of-A-Kind Stories About Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Cars

NASCAR Drivers Share One-Of-A-Kind Stories About Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Cameron Eittreim March 31, 2021

The Earnhardt name is synonymous with NASCAR as any other name in sports. Dale Earnhardt Jr. took after his dad the legendary Earnhardt Sr. in every sense of the word. With numerous championships and a two-decade career, Earnhardt Jr. is a force to be reckoned with in the NASCAR world. Earnhardt comes from a racing dynasty, his father being one of the most well-recognized drivers in the business.

Few drivers have managed to stack up the wins the way either Earnhardt has. Before Earnhardt Jr. retired, there were a lot of stories that he made over the years. We took a look at what NASCAR drivers had to say about Earnhardt throughout his legendary career.

20: Destroyed His First Car

Michael Waltrip is a respected NASCAR driver and TV personality who had the pleasure of racing alongside Earnhardt Sr. He shared a story about Earnhardt Jr. destroying his car in his first major race in USA Today. “Finally the last wreck, I had no fenders on my car, hood’s gone and we had a restart. And we just had a restart, and I’m back there [like], I’m gonna ride this out. I’m OK. And I come down in the corner, and I was underneath I think it was [Ryan] Blaney’s dad, [Dave], and he came down, and I hopped his tire with my car because I didn’t have any fenders. And I jumped him, and when it landed, I was at the fence. And it bent the steering wheel — I still have that steering wheel — it bent the steering wheel into the dash and just killed this car.

Every driver is going to have their ups and downs, and for a rookie, it can be hard. For Dale Earnhardt Jr, he had some huge shoes to fill already. Interestingly enough, it would appear Waltrip was a part of his life since day one. Waltrip and Earnhardt Sr. had their differences, but it would appear that they become close pals.

NEXT >>

19: Race To The Porta Potty

Brad Keselowski is a good friend and fellow racer who started as a brand new driver with Earnhardt Jr. as his senior. He told Courier Sports a hilarious story about racing Dale Jr. to the porta-potty after a fiery crash. “I thought I got this guy beat. But he had me beat. I had to give him the shoulder. We got to the port-a-john, and I had to push him, but the bumper to him, and push him by where he overran the port-a-john. At this point, my heart is pounding out of my chest and I’m almost embarrassed about how out of breath I am. So I go into the port-a-john and stood there for five minutes before I ever took a leak just to catch my breath. Like, holy moly, I can’t let anybody see how terrible I feel.”

In NASCAR, a crash can be a deadly incident, so it’s nice that two friends can shake it off and learn from the experience. NASCAR as a sport is something that still captivates millions of people to this day. It will be interesting to see how the sport evolves without Earnhardt Jr. in the mix anymore.

<< Previous

NEXT >>

18: Winning The Daytona 500

Corey LaJoie, who is still a relatively new driver, recounted sitting at home and watching Dale Jr. win the Daytona 500 in an interview with NASCAR. He said that you are sitting along with the rest of the world and watching something amazing. The Daytona 500 is one of the most grueling races in the business, and Dale was able to carry on his father’s legacy. LaJoie was influenced heavily by watching Earnhardt when he was growing up. This influenced his decision to try to become a professional NASCAR racer.

Getting into the sport can be difficult, but Dale Jr. is always welcoming to new drivers. Generally, the older racers would be a bit standoffish of the young buck so to speak, but Dale Jr. always does a great job of influencing the next generation of drivers. This has helped to bolster the sport to a whole new generation of fans and drivers.

<< Previous

NEXT >>

17: Overjoyed From A Team Win

William Byron is a new driver to the NASCAR circuit and one of the youngest in the sport. He’s only 23 but he’s already racking up quite the resume for himself. In a recent interview with NASCAR, he talked about how Earnhardt was genuinely excited when he won his first championship for the team. “This was a special moment seeing how genuinely excited he was to see the next crop of drivers succeed.”

Naturally, when other drivers succeed for Earnhardt Jr.’s team, that’s mutually beneficial for the business. Earnhardt has done a great job of keeping his dad’s legacy alive while at the same time bolstering the success of the business. NASCAR will continue to prosper because of the dedication from Earnhardt Jr. and his fellow drivers.

<< Previous

NEXT >>

16: A Cracked Skull Creates Friendship

Jimmie Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. have been friends for a long time. The two legendary drivers were teammates for Hendrick motorsports. On an episode of Dale Jr.’s podcast, Johnson recounted a story where he hit his head in the hot tub. “I’m telling you, it looked like a cartoon when you see the cartoon character dive in the shallow end and their feet are still sticking up. I swear, I stopped and his feet were still there, and I was like, this isn’t going to end well. And he stands up and [says], “Man, I think I hit my head.” And there’s blood just flowing, and I’m like, “Yeah, I’m pretty sure you hit your head.”.

Friends are there for each other but can also share a laugh. Johnson and Earnhardt Jr. have been through it all together. The combination of fierce comradery and racing succes made the two a force to be reckoned with in the business.

<< Previous

NEXT >>

15: Annoyed By Dale Jr.

As with most forms of professional sports, when a major star retires they often go to the announcing booth. Martin Truex Jr recently revealed to Essentially Sports that he grew annoyed by Earnhardt’s commentary on the track. “I have friends like Martin Truex Jr. that race today that is annoyed by me,” Earnhardt Jr. said recently. He explained how their conversations at times take a funny turn as Truex Jr. reminds him of those moments. “It’s so funny. I’ll call Martin and be like, ‘We got a hunting trip planned’ or something. And we’ll get in a conversation and he’ll tell something that I did that annoyed him. I’m like, ‘Martin, it ain’t nothing personal, buddy!”

It’s interesting to see that even former rivals can have a pleasant relationship. Let’s just hope for future sake that Earnhardt Jr. stays off of the announcement desk. Play-by-play might not be his true calling as the racing great transitions into retired life.

<< Previous

NEXT >>

14: Jeff Gordon’s Traffic Ticket

NASCAR drivers are formidable rivals on the track, but in real life, they form some close bonds. Earnhardt Jr. was working overtime to win over one of the biggest names in the business. Jeff Gordon detailed in the Dale Jr. Download how Earnhardt got him out of a traffic ticket one night “I was driving to dinner, and I said,’ I’ma call him,” Gordon explained on the Dale Jr. Download, according to USA Today. “And I didn’t have the hands-free setup in the car, so I just call him. So I’m driving along, on the phone, we’re talking, I’m congratulating you and welcoming you to the team, and it’s cool. You picked up, and we’re having a nice conversation. And all of a sudden, I’ve got blue lights in my rear window, and I’m like, ‘Uh oh, I’m getting pulled over.”

“The police officer explained that not only was Gordon using a cell phone while driving, but he was also speeding. At that moment, though, the driver pulled an ace out of his sleeve. “I said, ‘I know, I’m sorry. You don’t happen to be a Dale Earnhardt Jr. fan, are you?’ And he’s like, ‘Well yeah, why? What does that have to do with anything?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’ve got him on the phone. I was congratulating him on something,” Gordon continued. “And he goes, ‘What?’ And I just handed the phone off, and you spoke to him for two seconds and got me out of it!” Dale Jr. then quipped that he was trying to make a good impression on his new teammate. And according to Gordon, it worked.

<< Previous

NEXT >>

13: Earnhardt Sr.’s Advice

Part of the reason that the friendship of the two drivers blossomed so well is because of the advice that Earnhardt Sr. would give to younger drivers. Gordon explained in the Bleacher Report what this meant to him “Another NASCAR legend, Jeff Gordon, also shared how he, too, remembered the morsels of advice that Dale Earnhardt, Sr. parceled out to him over time. He admitted that when he was younger, this advice did indeed go in one ear and out the other. But Gordon said that now that he is older and more mature, he realized that so much of what Earnhardt had said to him was important.

Gordon found some of Earnhardt’s advice, particularly related to managing his brand, trademarking, and other licensing arrangements have been especially helpful to him throughout his racing career. Earnhardt, Sr. also counseled Gordon on life issues, especially exploring other interests outside the race track. He shared with Gordon how important it was to balance family and other passions, like fishing and hunting, with a racing career.”

<< Previous

NEXT >>

12: Kevin Harvick Gets Very Critical

Unfortunately, not everything is sunshine and rainbows in the world of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Kevin Harvick is one of the few drivers that was vocal about his disdain for the driver. Harvick told an XM Radio interview that Earnhardt was stunting the growth of the sport. “Harvick claimed Tuesday that night that Earnhardt “stunted NASCAR’s growth” because he did not win enough. Furthermore, Harvick said he believed attendance and television numbers would be stronger if Earnhardt was a perpetual contender.

The radio host asked Earnhardt Friday afternoon at Michigan International Speedway if Harvick owed him an apology. “No,” Earnhardt replied. “I would appreciate a conversation. If we can have a conversation about it. I know Kevin, and I’ve known him for a long time. I feel like it would be great to sit down and discuss what he said, what he meant.”

<< Previous

NEXT >>

11: Physical Prep

In a recent interview with Men’s Health Earnhardt Jr. talked about how he prepped for a race “I do lift some weights from time to time but that’s just for fun more than anything, just to feel good. A lot of guys, I think it would be important to run on the treadmill and have some endurance. Biking or anything like that would be a big help. Swimming, even. But hydrating is most important. The car gets hot, 120 to 130°, so you lose about eight pounds of water weight each race. I drink a lot of water, or mix it with orange Gatorade.”

Opinions are varied about whether NASCAR is a sport or not, but there is no doubt that drivers put themselves through a lot. NASCAR is probably the riskiest sport around because the drivers can and have died on the track before.

<< Previous

NEXT >>

10: Maintaining Mental Focus

Earnhardt also learned a lot from fellow driver Bubba Wallace, who he told Men’s Health taught him how to hone his mental energies before a race. “It becomes instinct. The car demands it. We’re going so fast, it’s dangerous, and you don’t know what moves a guy’s going to make next. You hit the track and the risk of spinning out and damaging the car puts a lot of responsibility on you, so you have to be plugged in from the minute you mash the gas.”

When you’re driving 200+ mph, the support of your fellow drivers is crucial. The new crop of drivers and the old crop all respect Earnhardt Jr. for the most part. His reputation in the racing community is second to none and with good reason. He has never spoken out of pocket and he always sticks to the racing.

<< Previous

NEXT >>

9: How To Be A Great Driver

Jeff Gordon took the young Earnhardt Jr. under his wing after his father had passed away and the two formed a friendship ever since. They had a sort of sibling rivalry on the track but would meet for dinner later that night. He explained to Men’s Health what makes a great driver “The best drivers think about it all day and stay in constant communication with their team about how to get better. Out on the track, you can spot a guy who’s smart about decisions and one who makes the same mistakes over and over.”

“Look at three to four years of races and you’ll see the same guys getting themselves—or someone else—into trouble. I think it’s about how you’re raised—your values and morals help you make split decisions. Everybody who comes into NASCAR is going to be rough around the edges at the start. They’re going to tear up some cars. But if they don’t grow out of that quickly, they’ll lose a lot of respect in the industry.”

<< Previous

NEXT >>

8: Tony Stewart’s Psyche Out

Perhaps one of the best parts of watching NASCAR during the early 2000s was the rivalry between Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart. He told Men’s Health that the two would psyche each other out before a race. “Do I dislike Stewart? Not really. There’s never a mano-a-mano moment when one guy tries to con another. You run to the physical grip of the tire in the car all the time. That’s how you run the quickest lap you can run. You just try to get around him as fast as possible, while he does everything he can to keep from wrecking the car underneath him”.

Rivalries make the sport a lot better, and then as the drivers get older, a healthy friendship forms. Both of these drivers were some of the biggest marquees for NASCAR during this era. With a fair amount of crossover appeal, they were able to bring new fans into the sport.

<< Previous

NEXT >>

7: Getting Into Acting

We all remember Stewart’s love for the camera, and he got Earnhardt Jr. in on the action too. The two starred in a Three Doors Down music video and various advertisements, as he explained to Men’s Health “There’s a cool story about that ad. I’ve always loved dogs. When I was little I had an Irish setter. I had a boxer, Killer, for about 11 years. Now I have another Irish setter, Gus, and we’ve got four buffalo out in the pasture. I’ve been with Nationwide Insurance ever since I got my driver’s license.

“And pet insurance is a no-brainer. In the commercial script, I was supposed to get my dogs to speak on cue—but they’re not trained, so it wouldn’t work. We rewrote it on the spot so they could do whatever they wanted—which is what they always do! Our fans love seeing the dogs and the buffalo, especially when they take tours around the shop. I think at one point, Killer was selling more T-shirts than I was.”

<< Previous

NEXT >>

6: Stewart The First To Congratulate

In a NASCAR race, there are so many cars on the track at once that you know someone is feeling left out after a loss. Earnhardt explained to Men’s Health that Stewart was always one of the first drivers to congratulate him “Winning the Daytona 500 in ’04 and ’14. That was just a crazy, crazy feeling. Stewart was the first person to come over and congratulate me. When you win that race and you go to Victory Lane and everybody’s there. Your team, your family, everybody’s calling on the phone. The whole world is watching. Winning the All-Star race as a rookie was incredible.

“We were a rookie team in this All-Star race. I don’t think we, even in our wildest dreams, imagined that we were going to win the event. And the Xfinity Series in ’98 and ’99. That was an incredible feeling of accomplishment for me. I was just starting as a racer. The sky was the limit for me at that moment. My father [who died at Daytona in ’01] was still alive, so enjoying that with him was amazing.”

<< Previous

NEXT >>

5: Earnhardt Sr. Taught Many Drivers

Perhaps the greatest thing about Earnhardt Jr. is the fact that he’s been able to pick up on where his dad left off. He told Men’s Health about the impact that his father has on younger drivers including Jeff Gordon. “He didn’t give you a lot of time and didn’t sit down with you all that much. There were nights when we would sit in the living room and he would be in the La-Z-Boy watching TV, and you couldn’t get him to answer a question. He wasn’t a talker. When he did talk to you, you listened. But once, he sat me down and talked to me about drugs and school. I guess all fathers probably have this conversation.

“Maybe mothers, too. He quit school in eighth grade. He had already failed a couple of grades. He was 16 years old and quit racing cars or working on cars, and his father was so disappointed. That’s why my father would always remind us of how important it was for us—and him—that we finish school. And I’m so grateful now for that. He was always really concerned that we might fall into the wrong crowd and get mixed up in drugs and things like that. We had short conversations, but they were weighted. I could tell it was really important to him.”

<< Previous

NEXT >>

4: The Week Of Wrecks

Earnhardt Jr. was having a series of bad weeks in February 2009. He explained to the Bleacher Report what was going on “After a long week of constant criticism, Dale Jr. sat down with Darrell Waltrip, and got to the bottom of the “Big One,” once and for all, after DW said, “I don’t care what your name is, you don’t hit someone like that,” following the crash at Daytona.

The interview started with Waltrip asking Jr., “So uh, how has your week been?” Jr. responds with, “There have been a lot of wrecks at Daytona and Talladega, and none have been scrutinized as much as this one. It was not a good day, but I have had worse.” Waltrip then goes into mentioning the pit road incident, when Jr. passed and claimed he couldn’t recognize his bit board. He responded with, “Yeah, I was just coming up with an excuse to cover my butt.” Guess even the best drivers have the worst days, but it’s interesting to see how everyone rallied around him.

<< Previous

NEXT >>

3: Practicing Pit Stops

After his horrible string of crashes in 2009, Tony Eury Jr. told Earnhardt Jr. he was going to do pitstop runs until he got it together. Earnhardt told the Bleacher Report how it went down “Jr. then goes into mention how he used to practice pit stops with his team all the time, but hasn’t in about three years. This winter, Eury Jr. (Jr.’s crew chief), called him up and told him to come practice pit stops with the team. Jr. then said that was the end of that, ’cause you can “obviously” see why. DW talks about Jr.’s penalty of being over the pit line. He then says that after that he could see the “raging bull” in Jr.”

Pit stops are more important than you might realize, and in the sport of driving it can make the difference between a win and a loss. Likewise, you want to make sure that you are scoring the right way and getting those pit stops in on time.

<< Previous

NEXT >>

2: Feud With Brian Vickers

Part of his awful 2009 season was due to the ongoing feud that he had with driver Brian Vickers. In an interview with the Bleacher Report, he explained how it went down Jr. asked Waltrip, “First off, what’s wrong with that?” Waltrip says nothing and that he likes that, but it was out of character for Jr. Jr. agrees and goes into how he felt he had the car to win and just needed to dig them out of the hole.

He mentions how they need to go, I mean, after all, this is the Daytona 500. Then we get to Vickers and the “Big One.” Jr. says that he had a good run on Vickers, so he slowly went underneath to let Vickers know he is coming. Vickers came down and hit the right front fender of Jr., and pushed him below the yellow line. Jr. continues, “I saw grass and turned up back onto the race track. The first half of the wreck was his doing, the second half was my doing.” Almost feels like something you’d see at a professional wrestling show.

<< Previous

NEXT >>

1: Worst Wreck Of 2009

Naturally, Earnhardt takes a lot of responsibility for the type of season that they had as well. Things weren’t going smoothly for him as he explained to Bleacher Report. He said that he felt bad for about 80 percent of the cars in the wreck, and the other 20 percent he couldn’t care less about. Jr. also goes into how he feels that most of the new guys don’t understand his driving style. A lot of the new guys don’t understand when the popularity and the results don’t match up.

Waltrip asked what would Jr. do if car owner Rick Hendrick, told him to forget about Whiskey River, his buddies, and his ranch and just focus on racing for the year. Jr. says, “You should take a week off, hang out with me every day of that week and you would be surprised where my mind is on a Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. It’s pretty close to that.” From that point on, Earnhardt turned things around and continued to maintain his dominance.

<< Previous

NASCAR Drivers Share One-Of-A-Kind Stories About Dale Earnhardt Jr.

20: Destroyed His First Car

19: Race To The Porta Potty

18: Winning The Daytona 500

17: Overjoyed From A Team Win

16: A Cracked Skull Creates Friendship

15: Annoyed By Dale Jr.

14: Jeff Gordon’s Traffic Ticket

13: Earnhardt Sr.’s Advice

12: Kevin Harvick Gets Very Critical

11: Physical Prep

10: Maintaining Mental Focus

9: How To Be A Great Driver

8: Tony Stewart’s Psyche Out

7: Getting Into Acting

6: Stewart The First To Congratulate

5: Earnhardt Sr. Taught Many Drivers

4: The Week Of Wrecks

3: Practicing Pit Stops

2: Feud With Brian Vickers

1: Worst Wreck Of 2009

POPULAR