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“I Can’t Even Picture It” – Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Sister Left Rolling on the Floor by Dad’s Tennis Story

Published 07/28/2023, 8:50 AM EDT

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It is always an interesting spectacle to look back at the times when Neil Bonnett and Darrell Waltrip were ruling the tracks of NASCAR. Trying to picture the days back then, what racing was like for them, or how they spent their pastimes—all of these sound quite engrossing. If one came to know that there are several roads named after NASCAR icons, or maybe some speedsters rode bikes during their free time, would it not be fascinating? Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his sister Kelley Earnhardt sit down at the Bojangles studio as the former read clippers of articles penned by “the Intimidator” himself.

The brother-sister duo shares a hilarious take on their father, Dale Earnhardt, the NASCAR icon. Unknown facts about the senior Earnhardt are unraveled as both of them start laughing uncontrollably.

A racer, a biker, a tennis player: A master of all trades

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The latest video on Dirty Mo Media began with Dale Earnhardt Jr. sailing on a quest with sister Kelley to the 1980s. It was the time when Dale Sr. wrote bi-monthly articles that talked about unheard stories, behind-the-scenes dramas, and unique episodes of Dale Sr’s life.

Junior took out a minutely maintained scrapbook that held the cuttings of those articles, and as he started reading them, it surprised his sister to know that there were facts she did not know about her own father. After his iconic first Cup Series win at Bristol, the “iron head” wrote an anecdote of the following day.

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“You’re gonna love this,” said Junior as he read: “The other morning I jumped out of bed, ran two miles. Rode my bike another mile.”

A visibly surprised Kelley exclaimed, “What!?!? I didn’t even know he owned a bike!”

“Wait till you hear the next one.” continued Junior.

 

“And then spent almost an hour on the tennis court practising my serve, all before it was time for breakfast!”

This seemed too much for Kelley Earhardt as she slammed the desk with her palms and started laughing hysterically.

“I gotta recover… I can’t even picture it! Are we in Jorts at the tennis court, like, where are we?” Kelly said. Surely, picturing the great Dale Earnhardt Sr. in tennis shorts holding a racket was difficult and funny at the same time for Kelley.

Dale Earnhardt stayed near his fans and especially near the press

Dale Earnhardt was one of the most successful drivers that NASCAR has seen. But it did not come easy. There were certain approaches that even the brightest of the stars took to inscribe their names into the annals of NASCAR history. And staying close to the media was one of those approaches.

The former #8 Chevrolet driver reiterated his father’s words: “You’ve really got to spend time with the fans… and potential sponsors and the press guys. If you don’t, they’ll soon forget who you are.”

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For Kelley, a NASCAR driver picking up the phone and giving publishable information to the media, and then the media company getting that information to the printer and the information coming out on the newspaper, seemed like a lengthy process. She felt like the hardest part about all of this was envisioning what it would have looked like in the 1970s for NASCAR speedsters to go through the process of getting their names in the newspapers.

She recalled, “I can remember to going to dinner with Tom Higgins. People would join us to get that kind of information.” Dale agreed to that.

Junior admitted having imagined this entire process happening between his father and Joe Whitlock, as the former went over to the latter’s place, sat down, talked about all kinds of information, and Joe wrote everything down.

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Read more: “When I Lost The Man..”: Dale Earnhardt Jr, Who Lost His Father In a Tragedy, Confessed to Losing His Way in the Aftermath in a Heartfelt Interview Once

 

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Written by:

Soumyadeep Saha

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Soumyadeep is a NASCAR writer at EssentiallySports. He has done his Master's in English Literature and is a semi-professional bodybuilder. He has, in recent years, channelized his love and commitment for motorsports into a building career path.
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Edited by:

Shivali Nathta