Dale Earnhardt Jr is a sucker for great racing stories and not always do they have to be an on-track happening that captures his attention. Recently, a similar incident unfolded when the veteran came across the story of an 80-year-old sim racer who didn’t let his old age take over his passion for racing. Just like the kind man Dale Jr is, he didn’t forget to shower his appreciation on the aged individual for his commitment. 

Dale Earnhardt Jr is a big fan of iRacing

Junior himself is a big fan of sim racing, which he has openly expressed in the past. The 49-year-old frequently races in official iRacing events. So, it might not be a stretch to say that the driver might have battled it out with the 80-year-old racer at some point.

The man in question is named Lou, as per Dale Jr. In a recent tweet, the 2-time Xfinity Series champion revealed that Lou ran official iRacing dirt track events regularly despite his age, which is just a testament to his race craft and experience. Junior gave him the ultimate seal of approval by calling him a “bada**.”

“Just learned of an 80 yr old sim racer named Lou that runs regularly in officials on the dirt side. Pretty badass. @iRacing @chadwheeler88,” Junior tweeted.

Fans were also left quite surprised that someone his age was able to regularly take part in virtual races. Even Mr. Lou’s daughter commented on Dale Jr’s tweet to let him know that the old man was honored by the racer’s encouraging words. 

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80-year-old’s daughter thanks Dale Jr

One of the first people who commented on Dale Earnhardt Jr’s tweet was Mr. Lou’s daughter, Lianna Frantz. She expressed pride in her father’s resolve as she thanked Chad Wheeler of WR1 Sims for helping out the old man.

“Lou is my 80 y/o badass Dad 🥰  He just told me all about this… he’s so honored to be mentioned by Dale Jr! Thanks @chadwheeler88!!” she tweeted.

Chad Wheeler was also kind enough to reply back as he expressed his appreciation of Mr. Lou’s craft and how he had become close to everyone at WR1. “He has become a good friend of ours at WR1. He puts in the work. Cool dad,” he said.

Other fans were also quite surprised by the revelation, as one fan poked fun over what their significant others would think of them racing at an old age. “I often wonder what my wife will think when I’m 65 still running league races with the boys every Wednesday,” they wrote.

Other fans shared anecdotes of other sim racers that continued racing on a virtual platform despite their old age.

“I wonder how many of us older sim racers remember hckynut from the old Sierra/Papyrus forums. Dude was pushing 80 back in the late 90s. I’m sure the odds of him still being around are low, but that dude was by far the elder statesman of sim racing,” one fan commented.

Furthering the discussion, another fan wrote: “I know of an 82 yr old on @iRacing that is currently leading the points in their league and these guys are very good.”

Do you know of any such interesting iRacing anecdotes? Let us know in the comments.

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