Dale Earnhardt Jr Unravels the Mystique of The Uncanny NASCAR History Bug…
Dale Earnhardt Jr. wears a lot of hats these days. He’s a part-time driver, a full-time team owner at JR Motorsports, and a series owner with the CARS Tour. He’s also a podcast host, a NASCAR commentator, and—if you ask any Junior fan—a historian. Specifically, a NASCAR historian.
You know exactly what we mean if you’ve seen his show ‘Lost Speedways’. Dale Jr. is passionate about NASCAR history. On the show, he explores old, abandoned racetracks, digs into their rich past, and meets the people who were part of them. In fact, his deep dive into NASCAR’s past helped lead to the revival of the North Wilkesboro Speedway. Recently, Junior opened up about how his “history bug” all started. And trust us, it’s a good story.
Let’s not forget that Dale Jr.’s interest in NASCAR history goes way beyond Lost Speedways. He’s also partnered with the NASCAR Hall of Fame on Glory Road Champions, which features 18 championship-winning cars from NASCAR’s most iconic seasons. Fans can spot cars like Dale Sr.’s 1980 Monte Carlo or Richard Petty’s 1964 Plymouth Belvedere—a true walk down memory lane.
Recently a fan posted an old photo of Dale Earnhardt Jr. as a kid, standing next to his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr. In the photograph, Junior holds a fat binder, and the fan asks, “Hey Dale Jr., what’s that you’re carrying?” The question took Junior down memory lane, and he shared a cool story.
He wrote, “The media center had media packets for all the teams. I would grab one of each team every trip to the track to get postcards and other cool items. Fun times being a kid with the access I had.”
The media center had media packets of all the teams. I would grab one of each team every trip to the track to get postcards and other cool items. Fun time being a kid with the access I had. https://t.co/WmogxozTef
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) January 5, 2025
That little moment seemed to stir something inside him. He then revealed where his passion for NASCAR history really began: “I was at Joe Whitlock’s house in the late 1980s. Joe was a well-known NASCAR media member, and his house was full of racing history. He gave me two VHS tapes of Bud Lindemann’s Car and Track. Each tape had 20 short highlight reels of NASCAR events from the past.”
