MOORESVILLE, N.C. (April 26, 2017) – There was a time when Dale Earnhardt Jr. thought his future was to be the best oil-change mechanic in Newton, N.C.
Seriously.
His Late Model funds had dwindled to nothing, and he was working at his father’s dealership, Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet, making sure the family minivan was up on its fluids and the air pressure was set correctly. He didn’t know if he’d get to drive race cars any more.
You all know the answer to that, even if he didn’t at the time, and the son of Dale Earnhardt made mention of it during the announcement of his retirement at the end of the current season.
During his initial statement, he thanked several people for helping him get to the point where he is today, and as you would expect, his father was close to the top.
“I would not have been a race car driver if it were not for him,” he said with visible emotion. “He believed in me. It might have taken a little encouragement from Tony Eury Sr., but eventually Dad came around. I appreciate my father, everything he put into my career, and all the guys on the old AC Delco team who gave me a shot.”
It’s a fascinating story, how he went from grease monkey to NASCAR champion in a few short months.
Eury Sr., affectionately known as Pops, talked Dale Sr. into giving Earnhardt Jr. a shot at a NASCAR Busch Series ride. In the summer of 1996, Eury Sr. took Dale Jr. to Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway to drive a Mom n’ Pops-sponsored Chevrolet. It was a track Dale Jr. knew well from Late Models, and he started seventh in the race, finishing a lap down in 14th to eventual winner David Green.
That was a one-off deal, just to see what the kid could do. A year later, Dale Sr. came to Dale Jr. with the news that there was no more money for racing.
“I didn't think I was going to get a job,” Dale Jr. remembered. “In '97, dad came up to me and Kelley and said, ‘your Late Model funds have dried up.’
“And I ran about seven Late Model races that year and didn't have anything else going on. I was struggling to figure out what my next step was. I called up James Finch and begged him to let me drive his car and he turned me down. I still give him crap about that today. But believe it or not, I know you guys, a lot of you weren't around or some of you were, but there was a point around '96, '97 where it just about didn't happen.”
Eventually, after much lobbying from Pops, Dale Sr. put together the Busch program that would make Dale Jr. a bona-fide NASCAR star. That remains one of Dale Jr.’s most enduring memories.
“...Going in there and winning those two championships and winning those a little more than a dozen races in a couple years was incredible,” he said. “I was just shocked at everything we did every week. And to be doing it with Tony Jr., Tony Sr., my family, Uncle Danny, to be doing it with my dad's family team was just so fun.”
That’s not to say there weren’t difficulties along the way. There were, and some of them were serious, as happens occasionally when family works closely together. But it was necessary for Dale Jr.’s growth as a person, as a driver and as a man.
“I've only driven for two teams in my career, from DEI to Hendrick Motorsports, and I was blessed to work with the best body men, chassis builders and engine builders and so on,” he said. “As I matured personally, the bonds I formulated with my team became so very important to me. They weren't just co-workers, they were friends. We cared for each other. We could fight like brothers, which me and Tony Jr. so often did. But I needed them, and I so badly wanted them to need me. I miss that camaraderie, and I'll miss it for the rest of my life.”
Much of that came from Dale Jr. himself, and he freely took the blame.
“When I was young, I was really good at running everybody out of the shop with my mouth,” he quipped. “Now I think I'm getting everybody together and rallying everybody and getting everybody excited about each thing we're doing. So certainly learned a lot and matured. It's been through those relationships and working with my team, my crew chiefs that I've grown. The wins were really important, and still are in a selfish way. But the friendships and the relationships that you make are things that will last forever.”
Being Dale Earnhardt’s son, in the world of NASCAR, had to be an interesting time. When your father is the straw that stirs the drink in the most popular and fastest-growing sport in the country, your life gets real big, real fast. If you want to follow along after your father, your performance is often viewed through the prism of the elder.
“When my dad was doing so well, and there were a couple guys coming into the sport that were sons, it was difficult for them to replicate their dad's success,” he said. “I just saw even at an early age before I was a driver, that growing up in that man's shadow was going to be a really hard challenge, but I wanted to race, but I knew racing would put me in that shadow.
“I knew the odds of me really having any talent at all and being able to do it were thin,” he went on. “They are for anyone. So at a very young age all I wanted to do was be able to make a living driving cars. I didn't set goals. I didn't dream of winning championships or Daytona 500s or working with one of the best owners in the business driving for one of the best organizations. I just wanted to do it. I just wanted to be able to do it. I was afraid of not being able to do it. So I guess what I'm saying is have I accomplished way more than I've ever dreamed. Way more than I ever thought I'd accomplish.”
For now, Earnhardt Jr. is leaving the door open to compete for his own team at JRM, both for business reasons and because he loves to drive. He might even return to his roots in Late Models, since his Late Model team of Josh Berry and Anthony Alfredo is a threat to win every time out.
“I told (wife) Amy I might slip off and run a 40-lapper at Hickory one night,” Earnhardt Jr. quipped. “So if I'm missing on a Saturday night, she might know where I'm at. But other than that, I don't have any plans.”
It might be hard to believe, but all Earnhardt Jr. wanted was to leave a mark, to let people know he was there.
“When we won the Daytona 500 (in 2014), that made me feel good about my impression on the company,” he said. “It's always fun to win with Rick, because like I said, that's what he loves the most.”
Most popular driver for the past 14 years, two-time Daytona 500 winner, a leading voice in concussion awareness, foundation of the NASCAR apparel market...all those are true about Dale Earnhardt Jr., and he was worried about leaving a mark.
Only one question remains for Dale Earnhardt Jr. to answer, and that is what he thinks his father would say about what he’s done. As usual, he left it up to others to answer.
“I'll always let other people tell me what they think Dad would think in a certain situation,” he said. “I never would have assumed that he was proud of me when he was alive. Certainly wouldn't make that mistake after he passed. I just never felt like I was worthy of assuming that of him.
“I always was open to hearing from people that know him really well what they think he would think. And I've talked to some people in the past 24 hours that know him pretty well, and they're pretty confident that he would be very proud. I think there are a lot of things I've done over the last several years that he'd be super surprised.
“He wouldn't tell me to my face, but he would probably tell Rick or anyone else that would listen here today that he was very proud of me, and then I'd have to go hear it from Rick.”
Hendrick answered that one right away.
“I knew your daddy pretty well, I knew him real well,” Hendrick said. “He would be proud of the man that you are and what you've done for so many, and all the charities and all the good will that you've done. He would be very, very, and is, is very proud of you.”
In the end, that’s what Dale Earnhardt Jr. can take away from 18 years in the sport his father built in the 1980s and 1990s. It’s what every son craves and needs, approval from the most important man in your life.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. has that, has always had it if the truth were known, and there’s still so much more for him to do.