MOORESVILLE, N.C. (March 14, 2018) – Now that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is finished with trotting around the globe for NBC Sports, it’s time to get back to the normal swing of things at home. That includes his eponymous Dirty Mo Media podcast, the Dale Jr. Download.

With co-host Mike Davis and former crew chief Steve Letarte (soon to be his NBC Sports colleague in the booth) as guest, Earnhardt Jr. spent nearly an hour breaking things down as the NASCAR season hits full stride. Among the topics were his new gig at NBC, accommodations at the studio, dress codes...and flying squirrels, believe it or not.

The trio spent a lot of time contemplating the most recent race at Phoenix, which was won by Kevin Harvick. The controversy from Las Vegas weighed heavily in the discussion, and the fact that Harvick did not shy away from mentioning the penalty (which cost him seven playoff points, 20 owner points and his car chief, plus a $50,000 fine for crew chief Rodney Childers), even going so far as to initiate the contact.

“I was impressed by his approach to handling the media,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “He wasn’t ushered away by PR reps or anything. I don’t know that many drivers would have handled it that well at all. You almost try to avoid doing media so you don’t misstep or misspeak.”

Letarte, an astute student of the game as a NASCAR lifer, was happy that he protected his crew chief, too.

“He took a straightforward approach, buckled down and just took chin-high fastballs,” Letarte said. “I watched the whole race, and when he got out of the car at the end, he said he’d been mad all week. He made the statement that ‘I was very frustrated my team was reprimanded and I came out here to prove a point. It’s always a good story when you back it up in Victory Lane.”

Both men agreed that Harvick is on top of his game, and that Stewart-Haas Racing was the dominant team in the garage.

Other topics included a new reality show being developed by CMT featuring the drivers, wives and girlfriends of various NASCAR stars, a Twitter post that purported the price that Morgan Shepherd paid for his first car (at the age of 12, no less, and yes, livestock of sorts were involved). Letarte’s dental woes were a major topic, as was whether or not normal people have their dentist’s personal cell number in their phones.

To hear all of this and more, including the ever-popular Ask Jr. segment, click here.