Choose Wisely, Dale ... We're All Listening

Summary

The Dale Jr. Download

Episode: Choose Wisely, Dale ... We're All Listening
Host: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dirty Mo Media
Date: April 10, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Dale Jr. Download features Dale Earnhardt Jr. and a panel of NASCAR personalities as they discuss the evolving NASCAR schedule, the ongoing debate between tradition and innovation, the challenges and quirks of race team business models, and the personal effects of career-altering injuries. The show blends serious commentary on the state of racing with trademark humor and candid storytelling, offering insights for longtime fans and casual listeners alike.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Rockingham Debate and NASCAR’s Scheduling Dilemma

• Rockingham’s Place in the Schedule:
  The hosts discuss the recent success of Rockingham races and whether the Cup Series should return.
• Tradition vs. Opportunity:
  • Dale laments the loss of historic venues and the challenges of balancing tradition with NASCAR's drive toward new markets and venues (e.g., Chicago street course, San Diego).
• The Problem of Dates:
  • There are more desirable racetracks and markets than available calendar dates, leading to tough choices and some locations getting left behind.
• Possible Solutions:
  • Reducing double races at specific tracks to open opportunities for traditional venues.
  • The possibility of using All-Star or exhibition races as a path back, similar to North Wilkesboro’s recent revival.

Notable Quote:
"You can go some places and the atmosphere just feels right. ... You feel like you’re supposed to be there."
— Jeff Burton [03:43]

Notable Quote:
"We got this core fan base that loves Rockingham, loves full-season points, loves all these things that are very traditional and connected to the history of the sport. But we also have doors opening to us that weren’t open before."
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. [04:13]

• Geographical Considerations:
  NASCAR analyzes where races are geographically and weighs the value of new expansion versus reinforcing its historical heartland.

2. The Broken Business Model in Lower NASCAR Series

• Driver Eligibility and Points Rules:
  • Should Corey Heim, who is leading Truck Series points despite missing two races, be eligible for the playoffs? Panelists express frustration with current eligibility rules, even as they acknowledge the business realities behind them.
• The Economics of Driving:
  • The panel critiques how sponsorship and pay-to-drive situations overshadow talent, pointing out how drivers like Nick Sanchez lose seats to better-funded, but less competitive, alternatives.
• Owner vs. Driver Points:
  • How teams balance fielding competitive cars while chasing both owner and driver bonuses.
• The Impossible Finances of Team Ownership:
  • The cost structures in the O'Reilly (Xfinity) Series are unsustainable, with engine programs and baseline expenses pricing out many quality teams and drivers.
  • Comparison to earlier eras, when teams could run full schedules with modest equipment and “hire a great driver,” is tinged with nostalgia.

Quote:
"It’s just, it’s hard, man. The business model is hard. ... We have to be able to self-sustain what we have without finding... sponsorship should be an added bonus to us."
— Mark McFarland [17:02]

3. Lighthearted Banter: If You Were a Flower...

• The crew discusses a meme about country artist Ella Langley and pivots into a humorous segment: if each panelist was a flower, what would they be?
• Amy Henderson likens Dale Jr. to a “fiddle fig tree”: popular, attractive but “fickle” and prone to fits if his routine is disturbed.
• Dale and Amy laugh about who’s the “orchid” (delicate, beautiful but requires special care) and “cactus” (resilient, maybe grumpy at times).

Memorable Interaction:
Amy Henderson: "So you’re like a fiddle fig."
Dale Jr.: "Okay."
Amy Henderson: "Yeah. What am I?"
Dale Jr.: "I mean, you’re just pink rose."
[20:39]

• The segment adds humanity and warmth, illustrating Dale’s chemistry with his crew and family.

4. Concussions and the Lingering Effects of Racing Injuries

• Firsthand Experiences:
  • Panelists discuss the realities of head injuries, including Dale Jr’s well-documented battle with concussion symptoms and another staffer’s harrowing ICU stay after a crash.
• Symptoms and Aging:
  • Dale shares how he tried to track memory lapses and symptoms, later realizing that some decline comes with age—not just injury.
• Coming to Terms with a 'New Normal':
  • Dale articulates the sense of having a "2.0 version" of himself post-injury, acknowledging the hard reality that some abilities will never fully recover.
• Racing Reflexes vs. Daily Forgetfulness:
  • Panelists note that concentration for racing remains, but everyday memory can be patchy, intertwined with both injury and natural aging.

Notable Quote:
"I am not the same version. ... I kind of call myself, this is 2.0. There was that one version before the wreck and now there’s this version."
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. [28:13]

Relatable Moment:
"I walk across the shop ... get over there and go, what did I need? Sometimes it comes back in five minutes. Sometimes it’s two days."
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. [32:30]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Topic | |-----------|-------| | 02:36 | Discussion kicks off: Should the Cup Series return to Rockingham? | | 03:43 | Jeff Burton on the “atmosphere” and nostalgia of historic tracks | | 04:13 | Dale Jr. on NASCAR’s dilemma: Tradition vs. new opportunities | | 06:29 | NASCAR schedule flexibility and how dates get allocated | | 09:00 | Which tracks could lose a race for Rockingham to return? | | 11:41 | Truck Series points debate: Should Corey Heim be eligible? | | 14:08 | Sponsorship and the broken financial model for teams & drivers | | 18:33 | Light moment: If you were a flower, what would you be? Panel banter | | 24:20 | In-depth: The impact of racing injuries and concussions | | 28:13 | Dale on self-acceptance post-injury (“2.0 version” of himself) | | 32:30 | Relatable forgetfulness: racing, memory, and aging |

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Memorable Quotes

• “You can go some places and the atmosphere just feels right. ... You feel like you’re supposed to be there.”
  — Jeff Burton [03:43]

• "We got this core fan base that loves Rockingham, loves full-season points... But we also have doors opening to us that weren't open before."
  — Dale Earnhardt Jr. [04:13]

• "It’s just, it’s hard, man. The business model is hard. ... Sponsorship should be an added bonus to us."
  — Mark McFarland [17:02]

• “I am not the same version. ... I kind of call myself, this is 2.0. There was that one version before the wreck and now there’s this version.”
  — Dale Earnhardt Jr. [28:13]

• “Sometimes it comes back in five minutes. Sometimes it’s two days.”
  — Dale Earnhardt Jr. [32:30]

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Episode Highlights & Takeaways

• NASCAR’s future lies in balancing “shiny new things” with the hallowed traditions fans hold dear.
• Financial pressures are sidelining talented drivers in favor of better-funded competitors.
• Racing injuries change lives, and coping is an ongoing process—even for legends.
• The show’s blend of hard truths and homey banter—like the “what flower are you” bit—makes complex topics accessible and human.
• The crew’s candid conversations pull back the curtain on what matters most: the people at the heart of racing.

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This summary captures the essential discussions, exchanges, and personality that make The Dale Jr. Download a must-listen for NASCAR fans—whether you’re a diehard or just tuning in for the first time.

Transcript

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Hey everybody, I'm Dylan Hart Jr. And this is the Dirty 30. The best highlights from all of our podcasts this week.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

30 minutes every single Friday. The Dirty 30 coming at you. Let's get right to it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

This episode of the Dirty 30 is presented by Arby's new Meet in 3 box. Get more meal for your money at Arby's. We have the meats.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

So going back to going back to Rockingham. There's a, you know, after a great, successful weekend, a lot of questions around should the cup Series go to that racetrack. You know, I don't know. I think it would be a good race. I'd love to see the Cup Series back at Rockingham.

[Jeff Burton]

Yeah.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

I don't think any of us knew in 2004 that we were running our last cup race there.

[Jeff Burton]

One thing I like about Rockingham, that is the entry of the corners is really tight. Like, when you're side by side with somebody, it makes racing. You're going into a funnel kind of, and I mean, there's going to be contact at times, especially when guys. And like, that's what. It's close racing. You got guys that are going to be really good on the bottom, and you're going to have. You're going to have guys that are good up top. And I don't see how a Cup car doesn't move around there with the right. You know, Goodyear has been doing a great job bringing tires, so I don't see. I think the race would be pretty good. Yeah, I think it would be pretty fun. You know, you can go some places and the atmosphere just feels right. It tracks like you just. That it's. Yeah, it feels like that there.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Okay.

[Jeff Burton]

Like, it just. You feel like you're supposed to be there.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Supposed to be there.

[Jeff Burton]

Well, I know that's weird, but.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

No, it isn't. It isn't. You know, I just feel like there's

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

still part of me that's kind of

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

annoyed that we left in the first place, you know, But I'm trying to, you know, get over that saying, you know, just like it's kind of like this falls into the bucket with, like full season points and all that. And I'm just so exhausted with.

[Jeff Burton]

Yeah, why would we ever leave there to begin with?

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

I know. And so I don't want to kind of beat this dead horse or rehash all of the hurt feelings over all that, you know? But, yeah, I mean, I would. I would love for us to go back there and that, but there seems to be. There seems to be a battle. I think NASCAR is kind of having within itself, as you know, at the top, the executive level of man. You know, we got this core fan base that loves Rockingham, loves full season points, loves all these things that are very traditional and connected to the history of the sport. But we also have doors opening to us that weren't open before. Like, racing in San Diego is a great example. The Chicago street course, like, those were not doors that were open 15 years ago. Oh, my gosh. But now there's all types of there's all types of opportunities and cities that are like, hey, come on over here. Come do this. What, what, what can we. How can we have a NASCAR race? Where should we. You know, and so nobody's building any new racetracks, you know, and so they're like, well, let's figure this out. Let's race in a stadium. Let's race on the streets. Let's race here, let's race there. And so NASCAR has all these shiny new things and all these people that want to. Want to have conversations, and they look over here and go, yeah, Rockingham, that's cool. But, you know, we did that. So they're in a tough spot, you know, of deciding because there's not enough dates, there's not enough days in the year. There's not enough. There ain't enough calendar for all of it. And so something has to. Something has to go.

[Jeff Burton]

Yeah, you know, it's kind of a. I mean, that's kind of a good problem to have. At some point. You got a lot of places to go, right?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, it's good problem unless you're one

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

of the places that gets left out. Yeah.

[Sponsor Voice]

And you got these contracts where these tracks already have. Probably have agreements for. So it's like, how do you remove.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah, well, I think that the agreements have shortened up to where they're. They're. They're one to three years. I don't know that they're. They're that adhered to like they were in the past. The schedule is much more malleable and changeable than it has ever been. And so. And NASCAR wants that. They want the opportunity to act fast. You know, if something. If an opportunity pops up, they want to be able to make that change and fit it in and shoehorn that in. You know, I think it's a simple solution that actually might take some time, though, is to dial back some of the double dates. You know, that's what. That's what's kind of happened in the sport already is a lot of tracks that had two races has been dialed back to one. We've seen that be a success for a lot of racetracks. And so, you know, maybe there is another venue or two on the schedule that goes from two to one races a year to be able to add on, you know, tack on this new opportunity or this old Rockingham. NASCAR looks at the geographical footprint a lot, I'm sure, and says, where are we racing? Do we need to race another event in the state of North Carolina instead of going over here where we are Nowhere, you know, where we have no race. Right. Not no races within a state or two. They're going to go for that new opportunity every time. But, you know, it. There's some racetracks that, you know, the O'Reilly series goes to that. I'm like, why? You know, I don't want to single anybody out, but there's a couple of racetracks that we go to. I'm like, what are we doing here? Why are we at this? You know, Cup's never going to come here. Why are we here? But that it's way out of the way.

[Jeff Burton]

There's definitely a couple of them.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yes. And, you know, I think it's. I think having the Xfinity Series, or, I'm sorry, the O'Reilly series and the Truck Series at Rockingham is a really great compromise. If we can't be there with cup, maybe we can get there one day, you know, and maybe it's an all star event, just like North Wilkesboro. Maybe it's the. Maybe our way back is through that kind of an avenue of having an exhibition there of some sort.

[Freddie Kraft]

Of.

[Jeff Burton]

Where would you. If you could pull a second race from somewhere and put it around.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

I'd have to look at the schedule.

[Jeff Burton]

I mean, you got Phoenix, Vegas, Talladega, Bristol.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

I would pull a Phoenix Charlotte. Yeah, I'd put. I'd pull a Phoenix. Do we need to go to Phoenix twice? Oh, I mean, yeah, but NASCAR is going to go, whoa. We can't. We can't take one out of the market of the West Coast. What? We already lost Auto Club.

[Jeff Burton]

And, and then we do that swing. You kind of do the west coast swing together when you go to Vegas, but.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah, but I don't know. I mean, I'm not.

[Jeff Burton]

I think Phoenix is evolving, but I'm

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

not A big Phoenix was really great. Then they, Then they changed the configuration. I'm not a big fan of, you know, how they drive across the apron. There's a really, really awesome, badass racetrack that didn't need to be changed. But we've seen that not only at Phoenix. I've seen it at other places as well. Yeah. I don't know. I, I don't want to do the what ifs or where, you know, I don't want to on any old racetracks.

[Jeff Burton]

I know. I, I got. I like a lot all of them.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Mike Bagley]

But.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Well, I don't know how they're going to get it into the schedule, but maybe it's the same route that Wilkesboro took. And I think fans would be perfectly fine with that.

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[Mike Bagley]

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[Freddie Kraft]

all right, I'm actually really excited to hear Yalls opinions on this one. If Corey Heim finishes the season in the top 10 in points, he should be eligible to race for the Truck Series Chase. Spot on. Spot off. Freddie.

[Mark Garrow]

I'm gonna say spot off because rules are rules and people would approach things differently I think. But it's, it's still, I mean it's, it's, it's not going to happen because I don't think he's going to run enough races to be in the top 10 at the end of the year. He's kind of front loaded this port, you know, schedule and I don't know that he's going to, I don't know. He may be adding more for the rest of the year maybe, but it's still, it's incredible man. It's ridiculous that he's got two less races, two less races mark and is leading the Truck series points right now. I mean how impressive is that? I mean just on itself we talked about how great this kid is but how impressive is that to just have two less races and be the series point leader?

[Tommy Joe Martins]

Yeah, it's unbelievable and I'm kind Of like you, the rules are the rules. I don't understand the rule. I say if you score enough points to be in the top 10, you ought to be able to run. But the rules are the rules. So they made those rules I think for a different reason. And all that, all the way goes back to the winner's circle back in the 70s, which was payout money when they had to get people to sign a contract that said that the Wood brothers would show up at every race, for example, instead of cherry pick. I think it's outdated.

[Mark Garrow]

Yeah, for sure. I mean and they had it for the like the Chase because they were worried about guys coming in and winning one off races which we all thought was impossible till SVG did it. But you know, but you know, that's why they had that rule. And now I think you can kind of get rid of it.

[Freddie Kraft]

The only thing I would say is like from a series perspective, I guess, like when it comes to like Mark's point, the payout and things like that, like you want to reward those that consistently are, you know, they're supporting and racing every week. But then at the same time that team technically is all the time. You know what I mean? Like so I kind of could go either way on it, to be honest.

[Mark McFarland]

It's driven for two different teams, right? I mean same one truck.

[Freddie Kraft]

Yeah, yeah, that's what I'm saying. But Tricon is there every week competing even though Corey isn't.

[Mark McFarland]

But what he is doing is he's helping the owner's points for those trucks which pay out money at the end of the year as well. So I think it's 55, 50 in the trucks they pay 50% of the owner's points fund and 50% goes to the drivers. So he is helping one side of it.

[Mark Garrow]

Yeah. And, and Mark, I wanted to ask you this. Is Corey not the best example of our business model is broken when it comes to the drivers and like the fact that this guy doesn't have a full time ride somewhere.

[Tommy Joe Martins]

It is. But golly, you know, I also say it's okay to have to wait. I mean, Yeah, I agree 100%. He should have a full time cup ride, but he will have. It's in the, you know it's going to happen and he's gracefully waiting his turn. So I think that's good. Another thing that we didn't mention is, you know, you don't ever talk about making money anymore. But when I came along it was important if I finished tying a good paying race that meant Something. Well, Corey has just cashed in.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Tommy Joe Martins]

You know, let's not, you know, overlook the fact that they, you know, won what, 150 grand.

[Mike Bagley]

Yeah.

[Tommy Joe Martins]

In bonuses the last two, two races.

[Mark Garrow]

Yeah, for sure. And you were talking about the, the business. We saw it this week. Nick Sanchez sits home because, you know, that team kind of is going through some tough times. Well, that was. Nick Sanchez doesn't have a ride this year strictly because of money. Somebody came in, took his ride because that guy had more money. And you look at, you match up what Nick Sanchez did at this point last year and what that guy Patrick star poly is doing up to this point in the same car. Nick had four top tens at this point last year. Patrick's averaging like a 22nd place finish, you know, so Tommy or Mark, I, I, I can't. You got to help me understand. At what point does the business model flip to where it can't, it won't. But I'm just saying it's like you're, you're taking more money, but you're not getting return on your investment. You know, like there's no money coming in. I don't know how. It's the big. Is the window that big that you're never going to make it back by putting a good driver in your car versus taking an extra $2 million?

[Mark McFarland]

No. If every time and every time you gamble on that same man, we're going to do better and we're going to run good. The money happened.

[Mike Bagley]

Yeah.

[Mark McFarland]

Yeah. And happens. And plus the 90% of the time, the money doesn't come and you're out of business.

[Tommy Joe Martins]

Right. That's the real problem.

[Mike Bagley]

Yeah.

[Tommy Joe Martins]

Is the money doesn't come Right. That, you know, you win all that stuff, but you still don't get the money and there's not enough purse money to make up for.

[Mark McFarland]

Exactly. I mean, I've said it numerous Times. I mean, O'Reilly series is the worst business model out of all three series. Most of it's because, unfortunately, it's because of the engine program. And it's, I mean, it's a $900 million investment every year, maybe a little bit more on some other manufacturers. Just to put the key in the door. That's the engine bill. Right. That's so, you know, I think they run enough races. I don't think the truck runs enough races, but you know what I'm saying, it's just, it's hard, man. The business model is hard. And again, that's what Michael Jordan was fighting for in the cup side of it, you know, during, during all the fights last year, it's just like we have to be able to self sustain what we have without finding, having a spot. The sponsorship should be a added bonus to us, right? It should be. What? So we can invest and, and build better race teams and build better tools and doing this stuff. A lot of the teams are just getting enough, getting by every week. Right. And you're seeing the 30 team shut down.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Right.

[Mark McFarland]

The O'Reilly thing, the 25 shut down. The five car is going to take a couple weeks off. Right. It's just, it's hard. It's you. You're putting your key in the door with a dream. Right.

[Tommy Joe Martins]

So. So to your point, Freddie, I get 100%, I'm 100% with you. Unfortunately, it's never going back. Just like, I mean, it's never going back. And you know, I, I think back to 1987. I ran the full schedule with an open trailer cube van and two race cars. You could do it then.

[Mark McFarland]

Yeah.

[Tommy Joe Martins]

You know, and you could afford to hire a great driver like Sam Art or Tommy Ellis or something.

[Amy Henderson]

You.

[Tommy Joe Martins]

But you.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

It's.

[Tommy Joe Martins]

It's a different world we live in now. And unfortunately, you can't put that back in the bottle. You can't put this expensive racing vehicles and operation back in a bottle.

[Amy Henderson]

The other thing I saw this week that was really funny, that kind of had me laughing was. Do you watch anything with Theo Vaughn?

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Henderson]

So he interviewed Ella Langley, who were all like, what? Who's Ella Langley?

[Mike Bagley]

What?

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Who is that? Who is it?

[Amy Henderson]

The little brunette that sings country music. Excuse me. You look like you love me. You look like you love me.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

I'm sorry, you're not an Ella fella.

[Amy Henderson]

You're not an Ella fella. We listened to Ella Langley at least 14,000 times when we were in Texas.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Is that the song? She's from Texas.

[Amy Henderson]

She's from Texas. I can tell. Yeah.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Then I know who that is.

[Amy Henderson]

So he interviews Ella Langley and she brought her guitar. And he's like, hey, you know, I want you to sing one of your songs if you'll sing a song. And she's like, okay, sure, you pick one out. And so he picks Dandelion. And before she ever got to playing it, he's like, I sometimes feel like a dandelion. And she looks at him like, wait, what you do? That doesn't align with you? I feel like you're more like a rose. And he's like, no, I'm more like a vine, you know, vines. That grows on your house that you can't get rid of. So they surmised he was like a kudzu. Just hilarious. I can't get enough of, like, watching where his brain goes. But it got me thinking. If I had to declare you a flower, what would it be? And I feel like you're more like a fiddle fig tree.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

The hill's a fiddle fig tree.

[Amy Henderson]

Well, hear me out. So, like, everyone likes a fiddle fig tree. You know, the tree that I have in the sunroom, the big giant one.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Mm. Sunroom. Which room is that?

[Amy Henderson]

Oh, my God.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Look at the tv.

[Amy Henderson]

Hi, I'm Amy. Have we met before?

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

I don't know. We had a sun room.

[Amy Henderson]

Okay. It used to be a porch. That is now, like, the Butler's pantry Center.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah, the butler's pantry.

[Amy Henderson]

Yeah. So it's kind of like the plant room too.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Okay.

[Amy Henderson]

That big giant tree, that's a fiddle fig. They are really nice to look at. Everyone seems to like them. They're very hard to take care of. Oh, they're kind of fickle. Like, you can't move them. They like to stay in their place. If you over water them, they're mad. If you underwater them, the leaves fall off.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

It's perfect.

[Mike Bagley]

Yeah.

[Amy Henderson]

So you're like a fiddle fig.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Okay.

[Amy Henderson]

Yeah. What am I?

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Oh, man.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, you're just pink rose.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

I don't know.

[Amy Henderson]

A pink rose, the basic flower. Well, a pink rose.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

I don't know.

[Amy Henderson]

I mean, Travis, what are you? Are you an azalea? Since you love the masters of this?

[Sponsor Voice]

I'm an azalea this week, maybe. Like a cactus?

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah, cactus.

[Amy Henderson]

No, you're not giving cactus vibes. You like pink drinks. You're not a cactus.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Let's see. You're an orchid.

[Amy Henderson]

I'm an orchid.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Henderson]

Did you look at my notes? That's my favorite flower. Does that mean I'm an orchid?

[Sponsor Voice]

Yeah.

[Amy Henderson]

Do you know anything about orchids?

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Oh, yeah.

[Amy Henderson]

What do you know about an orchid?

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Orchids. When you get one from the store, you gotta be real careful with it. Cause it could get damaged. And you could. You could. You could ruin it real easy on the way home. And they need to be in the sun.

[Amy Henderson]

No.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

By the window. And they. They. They bloom. And. And they're beautiful. And then they go sort of dormant, but then they kind of come back when this. When the season. You know, when the season's right, they kind of bloom again, like most flowers, I suppose. But when they're dormant, they're pretty. Pretty normal. There's just one Little. It's just one little stick.

[Amy Henderson]

One little stick.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy Henderson]

When they're dormant, you're supposed to leave them alone.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah. Don't touch it.

[Amy Henderson]

Don't touch it. Don't think about touching it.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

That's exactly you like when, when you're. When you're in a mood. When you're in a mood like an orchid, you gotta leave it alone. Don't touch it.

[Amy Henderson]

Don't even come over here.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

No. And try to sneak in a hug and some cuddling. Nope.

[Amy Henderson]

Nope, nope, nope.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

But Amy loves orchids and so I think that that's not a basic bee flower at all.

[Amy Henderson]

No.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

It's not a pink roses though orchids are very. Well, I just said that out of first thing popped in my brain. Women love roses, but we do.

[Amy Henderson]

There's nothing wrong with roses.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Orchids are very peculiar in particular. They're beautiful. They're unique and special and rarish and

[Amy Henderson]

so they're kind of hard to mess. They're hard to grow. They're hard to take care of too.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

It takes some effort.

[Amy Henderson]

Yeah, it does. It takes some effort. Yeah.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

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[Dylan Hart Jr.]

The big concussion you had in 09, I suppose, was it? Is that the only time I'm sure you've been banged around and rung your bell multiple times? We all go go through those.

[Mike Bagley]

Yep. It was by Far the worst. I shouldn't have lived through that for one, really there. I can't remember the guy's name that I think it was with GM and he was one of the safety guys and he passed away. Not long, I can't. Probably about eight, nine years ago. Whatever. Maybe not been that long ago. Anyways, I did have a computer in a car and I just like the AIM system for the gauges, stuff like that. And NASCAR came and looked at the car after this wreck and they took the computer and he had said that he's never seen a spike straight up. Well, the computer only went to 100 GS but it was straight up. He goes, it's always on an angle. He says this thing was straight up. He goes, I can't guess, I can't even guess what that would have been after they, they came and looked at the car and everything. I mean it was, it was tore up. It was, it was pretty bad. But. But I had broke a lot of stuff. I mean I was, I was in ICU for four days. I meant there. I don't think it was one of those touch and go things. But I mean it was my lung, my kidneys and, and all that were in pretty bad shape. Same with the, I guess knocking my hat. I was bleeding out of my ear and all that fun stuff. There's. But I have my moments.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Mike Bagley]

Where I can't remember what happened yesterday.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Mike Bagley]

And then, you know, I got to figure out. I don't know if there's a way around that.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

No, I mean, I'll say this. I'm not a doctor and so I'm not, you know, for everybody listening like I don't fancy myself as an expert of any kind but you know, I started, you know, going through the process of the symptoms and went to see my, my doctor in Pittsburgh. And from the moment that I realized that I wasn't alright, I started analyzing myself daily. And I recognized or, or you know, when I would forget where I put something or forget why I walked across the room to the refrigerator. I would, I recognize that and I would highlight that in my mind as a moment. And, and I went to him, you know, I'm going to him through this process and telling him everything. I'm trying to be as transparent as possible and I'm man, you know, the other day I did this, the other day this happened the other day I turned my head and I felt this and I forgot this and forgot that. And he's like, he's like, you can't put every single thing that happens in the concussion bin. Just because you forgot where your keys were doesn't mean that's a concussion related thing. Some things are just going to happen. People forget names and birthdays and things they said they were going to do all the time.

[Mike Bagley]

Yeah.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

And I needed to stop analyzing every day and sort of tracking every day. Is this sort of, you know, trying to understand the, you know, the metrics of wherever if I'm, am I improving? And so I kind of, I, you know, I am forgetful. Is that related to my concussions? Maybe not entirely. If you said, man, remember what you said yesterday? And I don't, I don't get all that bent out of shape about it because I didn't in the moment when I did it, I didn't file it away as something very important because we get, we've tuned ourselves to only file away the things that are critical. And you know, I don't, I don't know, I think that now there are

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

some things that are real.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

You know, there are some symptoms and issues that are real. And I'll tell you this. I am, I am not the same version. I'm not, you know, I kind of call myself, this is 2.0. There was the first, there was that one version before the wreck and now there's this version, I think 100% right. And that, that, that I had to, that I just had to come to terms with. Right. That not everything was going to. I wasn't going to be as sharp or as elite or as I wanted to be. And another thing I'll tell you too, and I think you can appreciate this, it's like when we're racing a car every single week, all of those senses are so perfectly finely tuned.

[Mike Bagley]

They are.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

And when you get out of that rotation and you no longer do it day in and day out, you never, you can't, you know, when you do go back and get behind the car, you see that 5 or 3 or 4% that's not there.

[Mike Bagley]

Yeah.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

That the other guys have. That they're, that they're the guys that are doing it every single week. You don't have it. You don't and you're not going to.

[Mike Bagley]

And the, the one thing I don't have problem is, is actually being in a car.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Mike Bagley]

And I think it's, I think you got to concentrate so hard.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Mike Bagley]

That forces you, it forces you to just stay on track.

[Sponsor Voice]

Right.

[Mike Bagley]

I meant sometimes under caution you find yourself like, okay, get back. I'd rather go back Green now.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Mike Bagley]

And. And so I did have that problem in a car, and I. And I don't have the. The problem if I. If I trip. I remember reflexes are still very good.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Mike Bagley]

And so I don't. I don't know what area that. That it is, but I. But I'll get horrendous headache and that I never used to have before, ever. I mean, it's probably just started in the last three, four years. You would get that, but only. Only for a short minute. But it got. It feels like your head's getting cut off, you know, and then it kind of goes away. And. And it. I've had no time to walk across shop to get something and not know

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

what you went over there for.

[Mike Bagley]

Yeah. And then you get back, and then you go, oh, crap. What the hell? You know, what was I even looking for? Then I have to think of what I was doing because I may have two or three different things going on. And, you know, from building cars and all the machining, your head's always, always rotating. And because I. I still always have this great ideas for some of the race car to do, but I don't want to put the energy into it now.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

You know, when in. In terms of the, you know, the memory and hit. You know, I feel like that my dog, you know, I. I had this really great vision most of my career, and, like, 2010 always had really good vision. And then I had the concussions and stuff. And when he sent me to an eye doctor, I'm like, my eyes are great. You know, I don't. Why do I got to see this eye doctor during this whole process? But the guy started putting glasses on me, and I picked my mom's glasses up one day, and I was like, wow. I didn't even know my vision was steering off in the wrong direction, but it is. And so now I wear glasses all the time. And he's like, you know, you were probably. I was like, I was so disappointed in that, man. This wreck and this injury has messed up my vision. I really was going to have great vision. All my life, I loved being able to read and see everything, and now I got to wear glasses. And without glasses, I'm literally useless. Right. If I sit on the couch with Amy and I don't have my glasses on, she's like, check us out on my phone. I'm like, I can't see. And so I hate that. But my doctor's like, you were gonna get this way. He's like, this accelerated it a little. Bit. But you were going to do this. And so it's kind of similar with the memory. And like, is my memory as sharp as I think it should be? No, but it was probably, you know, this is likely a, you know, an aging process anyways, maybe it's a little more profound, but I do that too. I'll, I'll, I walk across the shop when I'm working at the shop and walking across there for a particular bid or something like that and a tool or whatever and get over there and go, what the hell was I, what did, what did I need?

[Mike Bagley]

Sometimes it comes back in five minutes. Sometimes it's two days. Yeah, that's.

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

Yeah.

[Mike Bagley]

And you know, that's probably the best way to look at it. It's usually nothing bothers me. I don't really dwell on it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Hey, this is Dalehardt Jr. And for all the latest Dale Jr. Download gear, including the I'm will drink some beer

[Dylan Hart Jr.]

T shirt we've been talking about here

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

around the office, head over to shop.dirtymomedia.com for all the latest merch. All right, that was another episode of the Dirty 30 presented by Arby's new Meet in 3 box. Get more meal for your money At Arby's, we had the meat.

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