MOORESVILLE, N.C. (Oct. 17, 2018) – Dale Earnhardt Jr. can now add best-selling author to his career tally of 26 NASCAR Cup Series victories, two NASCAR Xfinity Series championships as a driver and 15 NASCAR Most Popular Driver awards.
As of this morning, not 24 hours after the launch of Racing to the Finish: My Story, Earnhardt Jr.’s autobiographical book written with ace ESPN scribe Ryan McGee was No. 15 with a bullet on Amazon’s current best-seller list. Click here to purchase the soon-to-be bestseller.
That’s just the results part of the book launch. Earnhardt Jr. and his team were in New York on Tuesday and Wednesday for the full-court press, which included Tuesday hits with NPR, the Jim Rome Show on the CBS Sports Network and others, including Rachael Ray’s eponymous TV talk show, live-interview series BUILD and a session at investment banking firm Goldman Sachs.
Today, his schedule is packed as well, starting early with Good Morning America and racing through a full slate of Sirius/XM shows (Andy Cohen, Jenny McCarthy, NASCAR’s Dave Moody and Adam Schein). The day will end with taped segments on CBS Sports/Reiter’s Block, SI Now and The Will Leitch Show.
This week’s edition of the Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt Jr.’s Dirty Mo Radio podcast, features author Ryan McGee, and is well worth the listen.
Earnhardt Jr. hit it out of the park with a trip into his decision to step away from the profession that made him one of the biggest racing icons in the world. He wrote the book, he said, because he wanted everyone to know why it all happened the way it did.
It’s the story he wanted to tell, the way he wanted it told, and goes directly to its effect on his life so far.
“Obviously we cover my history with concussions and the rehabilitation from that, and how that played a role in my decision to retire,” Earnhardt Jr. told Rome on Tuesday. “I’m looking forward to people reading that.”
Rome, one of the more cogent interviewers in sports, pressed him on why he wrote the book.
“If you’re going to try to help people with head injuries make good choices, or give them the information on where to go to get help, you’ve got to tell the truth and be transparent,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “If they can connect to the story through that truth, they’ll be more apt to take your advice. I believe that going all in was the only way to educate people who haven’t or don’t understand or have knowledge of head injuries and how that may affect someone that they know or someone they love.
“A lot of people wondered why I retired so soon, and I did retire early. I would still be racing today I believe if I hadn’t had the head injuries. This tells the whole story, and I felt like the fans deserved it for all those years of support and loyalty through the good and the bad. They deserved a full answer on what was going on with me in those last few years of my career that led to that decision.”
Earlier in the day, with Rachael Ray (who donated funds as part of the great Banana Sandwich fundraiser in 2016 through Earnhardt Jr.’s longtime partner, Hellmann’s), he talked about the decision in another way.
“I think I accomplished way more than I ever imagined (as a driver),” he said. “When I was young and trying to get into racing, I just wanted to be able to make a living doing it. Whatever success I had was going to be a bonus. I won races I never thought I’d win...my life was incredibly fortunate throughout my driving career.
“My career was cut short by my injuries and concussions. At 43 years old, with a wife and starting a family, the danger to me was just too much of a risk.”
That’s another key part of that decision: being there for Isla Rose and his wife, Amy. The baby has been a delight to Earnhardt Jr.
“Isla is awesome….I could talk about her all day,” he gushed. “The greatest thing about it is, in the morning, when you go in there, she is so happy to see you. I thought babies woke up crying every morning, but she wakes up talking to herself, and you walk in there and she just starts smiling, so thrilled that you’re there. She’s going to trick us into trying for another one, I’m sure.”
On Ray’s show, Earnhardt Jr. got to play a role he’s played many times before: racing hero. Bridget Katen, an Alabamian whose husband Justin is a late-model stock car driver, is a huge Dale Jr. fan, and she arranged for the two of them to be there when Earnhardt Jr. made his appearance in studio. He got to meet Earnhardt Jr. in front of his wife and the rest of the world, and Earnhardt Jr. was pleased to be part of it.
He also had a surprise for the Katens. After hearing the couple’s story, Earnhardt Jr. noticed that a trip to Darlington was on the couple’s bucket list. “You’ve been to a lot of races but you’ve never been to a couple of them, right? You’ve got one that’s on your bucket list...and that’s Darlington. Next year, you guys are going to come to Darlington. We got tickets for you and you’ll be our guests.”
Afterward, talking to Ray, Earnhardt Jr. said that the Katens were the epitome of the enthusiasm that NASCAR fans have. “Justin is a great example of NASCAR fans,” he said. “They’re loyal and passionate.”