Talking Turkey, Feeling Family and Bagging a Bird

Ron Lemasters | JR Motorsports | 5/11/2017

Dale Jr. News

On this week’s The Dale Jr. Download podcast, Dale Jr. talked about being in the Ohio woods with his brother-in-law, JRM Director of Motorsports L.W. Miller, longtime friend Shawn Brawley and Robert Gee Jr., his uncle.

MOORESVILLE, N.C. (May 11, 2017) – Dale Earnhardt Jr. might not have bagged a Talladega Superspeedway victory last weekend, but he did manage to bag a bird during an early-week turkey hunt with a few of his closest friends and family.

On this week’s edition of Dirty Mo Radio’s The Dale Jr. Download podcast, Dale Jr. talked about being in the Ohio woods with his brother-in-law, JRM Director of Motorsports L.W. Miller, longtime friend Shawn Brawley and Robert Gee Jr., his uncle.

“Got my first turkey (this morning),” an excited Earnhardt Jr. said of the hunt, immediately giving thanks to his hunting partner, Miller. “Glad you weren’t greedy and let me shoot one,” he said after Miller called the unlucky bird into range.

The exercise in patience, one of those experiences a driver needs during a long season, was something that the third-generation driver seemed to really appreciate...if you don’t count getting out of bed before the sun does.

“Getting up early is not a big plus for me,” he said with a laugh. “Got up at 4:30 a.m., out of the cabin at 5:30. Me and Shawn are really new to turkey hunting, but I’ve hunted deer a lot.”

On the way out, Earnhardt Jr. saw the turkeys coming out of their roost in the trees, remarking on the amount of noise generated by the process. Miller, an experienced turkey hunter, likened it to “taking a 55-gallon trash bag and flopping it around in the wind.”

Calling the bird, he said, is the real skill in turkey hunting. Miller, a dedicated hunter and outdoorsman, did the honors, in part as a way to prove to “Uncle” Robert that he could.

“I practiced all winter,” Miller said of his turkey call. “First time I hunted with Robert, he told me I did it all wrong. Kelley (Earnhardt Miller) and the kids got mad at me because I would practice in the house.”

For Earnhardt Jr., the opportunity to spend time with friends and family was the real payoff from the hunt.

“It’s a great opportunity to spend time together [with Miller],” he said. “One of us is always at the track or handling our family. This was a lot of fun, and we had turkeys gobbling since it got light out.”

That led to speculation about why frequent hunting buddy Martin Truex Jr. wasn’t on the hunt as well.

“If I can be here, I don’t know why Martin isn’t here,” Earnhardt Jr. grumped. “Uncle Robert told me he needs to fix his schedule.”

In his final season in the NASCAR Cup Series, moments like these will likely become more frequent for the 14-time NASCAR Most Popular Driver and his family.

Hear the whole story by tuning in to The Dale Jr. Download on Dirty Mo Radio, or downloading it on iTunes, Stitcher or SoundCloud.