Earnhardt enjoying post-racing adventures

Sunday, 18 February 2018


By Kelly Crandall / Image by Getty Images for NASCAR


The weight of the world has been lifted from Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s shoulders.

Saturday afternoon, Earnhardt found himself enjoying the Xfinity Series race at Daytona International Speedway. Not only because his JR Motorsports team finished 1-2 with Tyler Reddick and Elliott Sadler, but he was genuinely enjoying the race.

"It's actually been really nice to not have to worry about performance or living up to expectations or your own or someone else's," Earnhardt said. "It's been great to get all that off my shoulders. This is the first race we've won on a Saturday [and] I have not had to worry about Sunday.

"I walked around every day of my life with a thousand pounds on my shoulders that was Sunday. What was going to happen, how was I going to run, and I think every driver does that. Now that that's off my shoulders and I don't have to worry about that anymore, everything in my life is so much more enjoyable."
Earnhardt retired from full-time Monster Energy NASAR Cup Series competition at the end of 2017, after 18 full seasons. The son of seven-time champion and NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt amassed 26 wins, including two in the Daytona 500, in 631 starts.
Popularity? Never was a problem; Earnhardt took home 15 consecutive most popular driver awards. And while he grabbed two Xfinity Series titles (1998-99), Earnhardt never took home the big prize in the Cup Series.
Don't misunderstand Earnhardt exulting in his newfound freedom though, as Earnhardt loved driving racecars. During the winner's news conference inside the media center, he made sure to mention as much.

But racing made everything else take a backseat, and that's where Earnhardt acknowledges life wasn't as fun. Now, well, now Earnhardt is really starting to live.
Wife Amy is expecting the couple's first child this coming May. The two also spent a lot of time during the offseason filming a show for the DIY network centered on renovating a house in Key West, Florida. And with his new day job at NBC Sports, Earnhardt has already participated in the Super Bowl and is headed to the Olympics on Monday.

After he serves as the Daytona 500 grand marshal.
"I'm living. I'm loving. I'm having a good time," Earnhardt continued. "I haven't had any nerves about the broadcasting stuff. I'm really excited about getting into talking NASCAR, sending me to the Super Bowl, and sending me to Korea has anxiety through the roof.
"They haven't told me what I'm doing when I get there. Like really. Like they haven't told me what I'm doing. So, I'm a little nervous. But I know they won't set me up to fail."
That would be hard to do, anyway. Because just like Saturday afternoon in Daytona, Earnhardt knows he's going to have fun.
"I'm going to have a chance to see some of the best athletes in the world do what they do best, and that'll be an experience that I'll never forget," he said. "So, I'm looking forward to that. [I'm] very blessed."

 

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Earnhardt Jr, Stefanik, Farmer in NASCAR HoF 2021 class

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emailBy Kelly Crandall | June 16, 2020 3:13 PM

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a first-ballot NASCAR Hall of Fame member after being selected to the 2021 class announced Tuesday evening.

Earnhardt led the way with 76 percent of the votes on the Modern Era ballot. Joining him are the late Mike Stefanik, who won nine NASCAR championships; and Red Farmer, a three-time NASCAR Late Model Sportsman champion and the modified champion.

Voting took place virtually last week due to COVID-19 restrictions. The results were announced on NASCAR America on NBCSN.

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NASCAR and the Hall of Fame tweaked its selection guidelines this year. Three names instead of five were called for Hall of Fame induction, decided off separate Modern Era and Pioneer ballots. Earnhardt and Stefanik (who received 49 percent of the vote) came from the Modern Era ballot. Farmer came off the Pioneer ballot where he received 71 percent of the votes.

Ricky Rudd finished third in the voting, followed by Neil Bonnett. The NASCAR.com fan votes went to Bonnett, Earnhardt, and Farmer.

On the track, Earnhardt won two Xfinity Series championships and 24 races. He is also a two-time Daytona 500 winner in the NASCAR Cup Series, where he scored 26 career wins. Earnhardt has also been an ambassador of the sport, selected Most Popular Driver 15 times, and being a car owner in the Xfinity Series, where his drivers have won three championships, as well as briefly in the Truck Series.

Stefanik is one of two drivers who are the all-time NASCAR championships leaders, and now both are Hall of Fame members. Stefanik and Richie Evans both won nine NASCAR championships, with Stefanik’s coming in the Whelen Modified Tour and NASCAR East Series.

Considering Stefanik holds the all-time Whelen Modified Tour record in championships, wins, poles, top five and top 10s, it was well deserved when he was named one of its 10 Great Drivers in 2003. Stefanik also made starts in the Gander RV & Outdoors Truck Series, where he won Rookie of the Year during his full season in 1999.

Stefanik lost his life in a plane crash last September.

A member of the original Alabama Gang, what can be said for sure about Red Farmer is that he’s a NASCAR champion with an immense passion for racing. What isn’t known is just how many races he has won, but it is said to be north of 700. Farmer, who is approaching 90 years old, can still be found competing at short tracks in Alabama.

Included as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998, Farmer made just 36 starts in the Cup Series but won three consecutive championships in the Late Model Sportsman division — which today is known as the Xfinity Series — from 1969-71. Those titles followed his modified championship from 1956.

Ralph Seagraves was named the recipient of the Landmark Award for his contributions to the sport. Seagraves, and executive with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, was an essential figure in connecting Winston and NASCAR for the premier series to become the Winston Cup Series.