Dale Earnhardt Jr. (3:09)
Dad's admission that it was more difficult watching David Pearson win in Dad's number two Oscilland racing car than dealing with the excruciating pain of two broken collarbones is, frankly the tough sob I remember the most. I'm Dalen Hart Jr. And on this episode of Becoming Earnhardt, dad has just eight races left to prove that he's the top rookie in 1979. The problem is he's no longer the leader in the Rookie of the Year point standings. That's Joe Milliken, and he's close to claiming what dad has worked all year to get. This episode of Becoming Earnhardt is presented by Chevrolet. To keep up with all of Team Chevy's winning programs in NASCAR, IndyCar, NHRA, and IMSA, visit Chevrolet.com Motorsports or follow team Chevy on all social media platforms. Coming up later, I'll share with you my family's deep history with Chevrolet. But for now, let's get on with volume seven of Becoming Earnhardt. At the end of the last episode, dad has returned to the driver's seat of his Austerlin Chevrolet, and he's going to sit on the pole for the race in Richmond. Now, while he didn't drive the entire race needing relief from Lenny Pond, they did finish in the top five, and they gained on Joe Millike in the Rookie of the Year standings. He now just sits six points behind Joe. And around this time, Dad's gonna write another BI Monthly article. Okay, so this is the fifth and final BI Monthly article that Dad's gonna write during the 1979 season, and I haven't read this one. So we're gonna. We're gonna learn everything that's in this one together. Starts off by saying that Dad's writing this from Lake Norman. And here we go. It wasn't any special miracle drug that helped me get over my injuries from the Pocono wreck. I wanted back in that race car so bad, I must have just psyched myself back to being healthy. The doctors couldn't believe it. My regular appointment wasn't until Thursday after the Southern 500, but I called him, and we moved it up to Tuesday. The day after the race in Darlington, he checked the X Rays and just shook his head. He told me nobody was supposed to heal that fast. He said everything looked fine, but I might have a stamina problem. In the first few races. He said he didn't know what I'd been doing, but I must have been doing something right. Then he released me and wished me luck at Richmond. All the way to Richmond, I kept thinking how nice it would be if I could sit on the pole, really, Because I knew there were some people who had already figured I was flat out of the picture. Jake Elder, my crew chief, and the guys had that car set up perfect for qualifying and zap right on the pole position. Boy, did that answer a lot of questions in a hurry. Cole Earnhardt was back in action. I led some of the race, too, and the car was competitive all day. Right early, I kind of suspected it was going to be Bobby Allison's race. I could tell when he got by me early that his car was just working super good. I could pull anybody but him. I felt pretty good, but the muscles in my neck started pulling about halfway through the race. I tightened my straps trying to get comfortable, but it was still hurting. I told Jake on the radio that my neck was starting to hurt, so he had Lenny Pond standing by in the pits to relieve me. I kept remembering that Bobby Allison had told me at Darlington, if you start hurting to get out. So we got the next caution, and Lenny took over. It's still going to take me a few more races before I feel like I've got myself sorted out physically. I've been doing a good bit of exercises, especially riding my bike, and just being back in the race car helps, too. All thoughts of ever being hurt went out the window when our crew unloaded that race car at Richmond. We were back together again. It's really amazing to be part of a team like that. You can't describe the feeling. I was back, and those guys were just as excited as I was. They went crazy when we sat on the pole. I'll say one thing about coming back from an injury. The other drivers are anxious to help you. Bobby Allison, Kell Yarborough, Richard Petty, they all spent a good bit of time talking to me, telling me what to expect. The advice that they gave me helped a lot. If there's ever been anybody hurt who had to come back, it's those guys. They told me what to do to feel more comfortable in the seat, what physical signs to look for, and they all told me to have enough sense to get out of the car if I'm hurting. I'M feeling pretty good now, though, and I'll be 100% in another week. I know it takes time, but I must be a fast healer or something. What's really amazing is that it's almost time for Charlotte again. The NAPA 500 is the first weekend in October. I knew it must be getting close because all of my buddies around home started asking for tickets. If I gave everybody a ticket who asked for one, they'd have to build another grandstand. Please, guys, I just drive the race car. I don't have any tickets. I was out at Charlotte the other day looking over the new paved turns in turns three and four. Man, are those drivers going to be in for a few surprises when they show up for practice. It's going to be like going to a new speedway. They're not going to believe the speeds either. We'll be faster at Charlotte this time. And think of all that money, all the lap money and all the qualifying money. Somebody, though, has got to put a stop to the Wood Brothers. They have been winning poll money at Charlotte for as long as I can remember. We were talking about the Charlotte poll at the shop the other day. The folks around Kannapolis think it would be kind of nice to see an old Earnhardt win that poll. While they might have to close down Cannon Mills if I did, it was last October at Charlotte when things started looking pretty good for me. I'll have to write about it next time. And that's it. That's the final article that Dad's gonna write. This one felt personal for sure, but you could see or sense some of the PR work in the behind the scenes. He obviously, you know, had a hand in writing all of these articles throughout the year. And it's a shame that we don't get another one of these at the very end of the season. But that's the last one. These were a lot of fun for me to read, and I think they really added a lot to the series. More becoming Earnhardt coming right up. But first, a message from our sponsors. Hey, everybody, Dale Jr. Here. Let's take a minute to talk about Chevrolet. You know, as you know, the Earnhardt family is a Chevrolet family, and we've always raced Chevys. And my dad's relationship with Chevrolet is well documented. Dad's connection to Chevrolet is as much a contributor to his legacy as anything else. Consider this. Dad's career spanned across several race teams, car numbers, paint schemes, and even nicknames. But not a single one of his seven championships came without the Chevy bow tie on the hood. So do me a favor. Before you buy your next new or pre owned vehicle, check out Chevrolet's lineup of durable, innovative, award winning performance focused models. You'll be glad you did and we'd be honored to have you in the Team Chevy family. One great option is Chevrolet's factory lifted trucks so you can tackle the trails. The first ever Silverado ZR2 Bison offers the extreme performance and capability you need to make easy work out of the most Difficult terrain. Featuring a 13 touchscreen display, the versatile multiflex tailgate 33 mud terrain tires and multimatic DSSV dampers, this truck allows you to stay connected while taking adventure to a whole new level. 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