The entirety of the United States is brimming with pride currently. The historic Artemis II mission is one for the history books after all. Not only is it the first manned mission to the moon after nearly half a century, but it is also the first of many missions that will lead to the construction of a moon base. Thus, it is no wonder that when Dale Jr. tuned in to the broadcast of the Artemis II launch, he was unable to control his emotions from spilling out.

“Unreal. Proud moment. It was bada** watching that rocket book it toward the stars. How in the hell did I not know this was happening today?”

Dale Jr. then reveals that he did not have any information about the mission and was about to miss it. “I had no idea we were sending humans around the moon. Turned on my TV for some sports, and there it was, 4 minutes from liftoff.” What followed his post was a series of amazing reveals.

The commander of Artemis II is a motorsports enthusiast. He has posts on social media where he lists out the racetracks he spots from space. Back in 2014, he found the Indianapolis Motor Speedway from space, which was busy organizing the Brickyard 400 race. But coming back to Junior, why didn’t he know about the mission?

In the comments section, he makes some surprising admissions about his own unawareness. As his fellow NASCAR driver Rick Mast says, “Man, when all we do is try to figure out how to make the turn in the center, we don’t have time for anything else.” Dale Jr. could not find himself disagreeing with the statement.

NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, plus Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, are the astronauts who are going to undertake this historic mission. They will fly around the moon and back for a 10-day expedition. By 2028, NASA is targeting a landing on the South Pole of the moon with its astronauts.

They are engaged in a space battle with China’s space program, which is targeting a similar landing window for its own crew to the Moon’s south pole.

But while Dale Jr. might not be aware of the Artemis II mission, it’s not like NASCAR does not have any ties to NASA.

When NASCAR built rovers for NASA

Back in 2023, NASCAR made a surprising announcement for the promotion of the sport. They were partnering with Leidos, which was going to work on the design of the Lunar Terrain Vehicle for its Dynetics team.

“NASCAR partnering with Leidos couldn’t make more sense when it comes to this vehicle,” said Pete Jung, NASCAR senior vice president and chief marketing officer. “With both companies being known for exciting innovations in distinctive fields, this collaboration brings together ideas that normally don’t meet in other developments. We are eager to watch this uniquely designed rover traverse different areas of the lunar surface.”

The Leidos x NASCAR rover is also a key part of the current Artemis program that is trying to push the boundaries of human spaceflight and NASA’s lunar presence. Earlier, NASA and NASCAR had made another collaboration for the promotion of the sport.

The NASA shuttle flight on December 6th, 2007, was carrying the green starter flags for the Daytona 500 race. It was a special celebration by NASCAR for their and the Daytona 500’s 50th anniversary running. It seems like rocket science is only a slight distance away from cars that drive like ‘rocketships.’