The Dale Jr. Download - 358 - Danny Earnhardt Sr.: All in the Family

358 - Danny Earnhardt Sr.: All in the Family

09/22/21 • 159 min

3 Listeners

Racing has always been a family affair for the Earnhardts. Dale Earnhardt Jr. decides to sit down with his uncle, Danny Earnhardt Sr., about life as one of the most low-key parts of the Earnhardt racing legacy. Danny gives us a peek at what life was like growing up on Sedan Avenue in Kannapolis, NC as the son of a dirt track legend, Ralph Earnhardt. What were the Earnhardt children like growing up? He tells us about a path from playing in the streets and flunking fifth grade to working in the famed garage preparing Ralph's stock cars. Dale gets Danny to open up about when the family lost their patriarch to a heart attack in 1973.

This family isn't a simple one. Danny and Dale Jr. outline how three racing families, the Earnhardts, the Eurys, and the Gees became one.

It wasn't always racing for Danny, life at the Mill in Kannapolis was hard work, but a choice for the quiet gentleman. All the while, he kept weekends for racing, Danny was always there for Dale Sr. in his racing career from working in the shop, pitting the cars, to being his biggest fan in the stands. He tells a never-told story of Dale Earnhardt's first laps on pavement at North Carolina's Hickory Motor Speedway. When some third-generation driver named Dale Earnhardt Jr. came along, it was Danny who bent his brother's ear about the young driver's talent and promise.

The story could've been over in February of 2001 after the death of Dale Earnhardt Sr. But, Dale Jr, Danny, and the rest of the family carried on with the strength and grit that is known from this family. Nephew and Uncle talk for the first time about that day and how they spent the moments after the crash in Daytona.

Before Danny arrives, Dale Jr. and co-host Mike Davis share their thoughts about the NASCAR weekend at Bristol that included a spectacular finish in the Xfinity Series and a post-race dust-up between Chase Elliott and Kevin Harvick. What's their take on the fireworks between the two angry drivers? Also, Dale Jr. phones Xfinity driver Kyle Weatherman after wrecking his bumper in the recent Richmond race.

In AskJr presented by Xfinity, Dale is asked if he's ever impeded the finish of a race. He also gives his hot-take on the 2021 NASCAR schedule and what he thinks about Bristol's return to dirt racing. Plus, what Lost Speedway in Wilkes County, NC should think about a dirt surface of its own. Dale and the DJD gang of Matthew Dillner and Leah Vaughn talk about their favorite racing destinations if Dale Jr. brought a Motorsports time machine to the Bojangles Studio.

That and much more!

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This family isn't a simple one. Danny and Dale Jr. outline how three racing families, the Earnhardts, the Eurys, and the Gees became one.

That and much more!

To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit https://podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Previous Episode

357 - Dale Jr: If You Hit Me, Then I Hit You

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s one race of the 2021 season didn't come and go quietly. Jr. and co-host Mike Davis decided to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly from his race and bring in some of the characters in play.

Dale's 14th place finish in the NASCAR Xfinity Series race at Virginia's Richmond Raceway ruffled a few feathers. The 2-time Daytona 500 Champion discusses the on-track incident that wrinkled his racecar and led to the sub-par result. Plus, the post-race discussion between him and a not-so-happy Kyle Weatherman. It was a conversation that still has Dale chippy.

During the race, Dale Jr. also traded some paint with Xfinity Series regular Josh Williams. So why not call Josh? We didn't just call him, we learned his side of the story. Williams also shares about his fight to the top of the NASCAR ranks, something that Dale admits he respects even more after racing against drivers like him in the series. Jr. Nation was a little rough on Williams. How has he weathered the storm?

JR Motorsports driver Josh Berry was also in the race, in another team's car, and went wheel to wheel with his friend Dale Jr. for the very first time. Dale brings Josh on to talk about that first. The most special moment for Dale though, was having his family there with him for the race. What did it mean to him to have Amy, Isla, and Nicole by his side before the race?

Dale and the DJD gang talk about Dale's broken toe during AskJr presented by Xfinity, and the foot photo that revealed it. We also talk of potentially getting behind the wheel of a Gen-6 NASCAR Cup Series racecar to learn the car for his broadcasting duties. Speaking of fresh rides, Dale Jr. explains why his garage Corvette has been replaced by an indoor-bouncy house.

That and much more on a special edition of The Dale Jr. Download.

Next Episode

359 - Robert Pressley: The Real Racers

Two racecar drivers from two hard-nosed racing families converge at the big wooden table as Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down with "The Bent Creek Bandit" Robert Pressley.

Where has the former NASCAR driver been? He's still proudly from Asheville but now he serves the people of the popular North Carolina city in a different way, as a County Commissioner. How the hell does a NASCAR driver turn into a politician? And does he even like it? We find out the truth right away.

Robert's father Bob Pressley was a legend of the Carolina Short Track scene and his son followed right in his footsteps. And let's just say, the apple didn't fall far from the tree. They were both cut from the cloth of self-made grizzled short trackers that didn't back down from anyone... including each other. Bob Pressley's rivals turned into Roberts and then with the one bump to the back bumper, father and son became the rivalry. Just how intense did it get? Robert gives us the details inside a family feud that helped define their relationship and ultimately bring them closer together.

Where the Earnhardt and Pressley family connection is one of the more interesting conversations. Apparently, there was a generational bullying that started with Dale Jr.'s grandfather, short track great Ralph Earnhardt, and continued on through Dale Sr. and Robert. It's a story you have to hear.

Robert's start in racing came at the now-defunct New Asheville Motor Speedway, racing against greats like Bosco Lowe and Jack Ingram. It's a place that was very close to Pressley's heart and the reason why Dale Jr. decided to have him on his Peacock TV television show "Lost Speedways." Pressley gives us the inside scoop on the concerns the city of Asheville had before shooting on location at the track, now called Carrier Park, and the community reaction afterward. How did the show also get the truth out there about its closing while closing the book on its biggest controversy, a famed incident between the Pressley's and "The Iron Man" Jack Ingram?

Another North Carolina great, Basketball star turned broadcaster Brad Daugherty, got his fingernails dirty as a crew member on Robert Pressley's race team. They traveled around winning races and getting shot at in the process. They even showed up to the racetrack one night with a truck, a couch, a loveseat, and a racecar, and whooped their butts.

From Late Models, the second generation driver launched a NASCAR career and soon found success on a myriad of raceways across America. This led to opportunities that he couldn't turn down, but some that left him with regret. From replacing the great Harry Gant, to getting fired at Alliance, to his up and down tenure at Jasper Racing, Pressley tells all. He also explains how one rivalry spelled the end for his first Cup Series ride.

Pressley, Dale Jr., and co-host Mike Davis enjoy some laughs talking about racing, fighting, and cheating. Boy, the stories go deep. But none deeper than a surprise moment at the end of the show when Dale and Robert let the cat out of the bag about an incident between them. The story reveals a truth never known until now.

Before Pressley arrived, Dale Jr. talks about his work weekend in Las Vegas with his wife Amy. While the trip was nice, they came home to a more hostile Monday. Two dogs fighting and two children not getting along produced a not-so-perfect day in the Earnhardt household.

Recent "Behind the Scenes" social media content sparks conversation in the studio about what it was really like filming Lost Speedways. We learn that Leah Vaughn is grossed out by Dale and Matthew kicking the "poop pipe" and if Dillner really did fart on the backstretch during the explore?

In AskJr, fan questions spur some incredible insight from Dale Jr, including a fantastic story about his father hopping on the radio to give him live-time insight into how to get around Bristol Motor Speedway. A rare father-son moment of instruction that Dale Jr shares with us all.