Don't Fix What Ain't Broken ... Except Dale's Phone

Summary

The Dale Jr. Download

Episode: Don't Fix What Ain't Broken ... Except Dale's Phone
Date: April 24, 2026
Host: Dale Earnhardt Jr. | Dirty Mo Media, SiriusXM

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Episode Overview

This engaging installment of The Dale Jr. Download brings together candid storytelling, insider NASCAR talk, and a side-splitting vacation mishap. Dale Earnhardt Jr. chats with legendary crew chief Jimmy Fennig about loyalty, career-defining decisions, and the business of team-building in NASCAR. The episode also spotlights current industry concerns—like the future of the O’Reilly series, manufacturer disparities, and perseverance in racing—while ending on a hilarious note as Dale and Amy recount the saga of Dale’s demolished cell phone during a family trip.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Loyalty and Career Moves in NASCAR

[01:23-06:02]

• Dale Jr. and Jimmy Fennig revisit the critical moment in 1984 when Bobby Allison advised Fennig to exit Dygard as the team was in turmoil.
  • Fennig recounts trusting Allison implicitly, even turning down a five-year contract to return home, then later being called back by Allison for a crew chief position at Stavola Brothers.
  • Fennig emphasizes the importance of loyalty:

    "If this man sits there, wants to be out here to do that for me, I'll do anything for him." (Jimmy Fennig, 05:58)

• The narrative underscores NASCAR’s off-track relationships and the weight of trust over ambition.
• Mark Martin and Jerry were supportive of Fennig’s move, illustrating the tight-knit nature of the sport.

2. NASCAR’s Future: Electric Vehicles and Series Identity

[06:07-11:11]

• Dale Jr. delves into speculation about the O’Reilly series moving toward electric or CUV (Crossover Utility Vehicle) body styles.
  • Dale is adamant that drastic changes would threaten the success and identity of the series:

    “I think making a switch to anything unlike what we have would be a massive, massive mistake, and it would probably be... the end of the rise." (Dale Earnhardt Jr., 08:22)

  • He stresses that the series is healthy, with strong viewership and fan engagement, so “leave well enough alone”—don’t over-engineer or tinker needlessly.
  • On parts supply: He advocates modernizing only those components currently in short supply, not overhauling the entire car.

    "Take the parts that are in short supply and let’s figure out how to make a newer modern take on that specific part…this series is working the way it is." (Dale Earnhardt Jr., 10:09)

3. Team Building, Manufacturer Disparity, and What Constitutes a Win

[14:15-19:46]

• Roundtable on Chevy Teams:
  • Crew chiefs and drivers talk about building competitive teams with limited resources.
  • Small teams (with around 28 employees) pride themselves on “building their own notebook,” compensating for limited manufacturer information or funding.
  • The conversation addresses realistic expectations:

    "I go in with the mindset…hey, we’re gonna win this weekend, mindset wise…you shift your goals." (Crew Chief/Driver, 17:03)

  • For smaller teams, victories may mean running in the top-20 or finishing strong at super speedways, not always chasing outright wins.
  • Stage point strategy: Sometimes it’s smarter to avoid risky situations than to chase stage points, especially for mid-pack teams.
• Ricky Carmichael on Mentality:
  • “I want to compete in everything. So I think when I go to Kansas, the only way I don’t win is if something out of the ordinary [happens]. That’s just my mindset.” (Host, 16:41)
  • Drivers discuss shifting focus each weekend to achievable, motivating goals.

4. Grassroots Racing Stories: The Battle at the Beach

[19:46-23:07]

• A guest recounts his debut at the Daytona Battle at the Beach—a quirky and slightly humiliating episode where he was, humorously, "sold out" for another driver with better resources, underlining the cutthroat but memorable nature of grassroots racing.
  • Quote:

    "I got sold out quicker than…anything. And again, it’s probably for the best because, you know, I watched that guy struggle in my terrible car." (Sponsor Announcer, 22:00)

  • Brandon McReynolds’ joke:

    “…he always jokes that he saw me walking down the super stretch into the darkness and was like, ‘they sold Sam’s soul and he’s gone forever.’” (Sponsor Announcer, 22:45)

5. Ricky Carmichael’s Early Career Burnout and Family Support

[23:23-27:07]

• Ricky Carmichael talks candidly about the emotional toll of racing as a young amateur, experiencing burnout, and almost quitting.
  • Emphasizes the power of stubbornness, family support, and realizing his parents' sacrifices.
  • Quote:

    “I had more bad days at the practice track than I had good days. Rarely did I have good days… My equipment always sucked… But I knew that was the only thing I had… I still felt that I owed it to [my parents].” (Ricky Carmichael, 25:10 - 26:29)

  • His parents called his bluff, supporting his choice to quit—but he stayed out of respect.

6. The Great Phone Fiasco: Dale Destroys His Cell on Vacation

[27:07-34:57]

• Dale and Amy recount a hilarious vacation mishap in St. Martin, where Dale’s phone got catastrophically run over while bouncing around in a door-less rental Moke (glorified golf cart).
  • The phone—alerting his emergency contacts as though Dale had been in a crash—sparked concern from friends and even their pilot, Joey.
  • Quote:

    “It was completely annihilated and it was sending out code red alerts to all of his emergency contacts… Like he’s been in a crash.” (Amy, 28:33)

  • The couple describes frenzied phone-tracking, their various technological missteps (including dead iPads and trying to navigate off a screenshot), and the comedy of errors with their friend Tim.
  • The entire incident is laced with self-deprecating humor about Dale’s usual intolerance for losing things:

    “No, he does not like losing things. He had Tim with him. I stayed at the house with no technology…” (Amy, 32:56)

  • The story becomes an absurd adventure as Dale and Tim bicker over directions, with Amy providing witty commentary.

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

| Timestamp | Speaker | Quote | |-----------|---------------------|--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------| | 03:37 | Jimmy Fennig | "Nah, because I had the respect for Bobby Ellison." | | 05:57 | Jimmy Fennig | "If this man sits there, wants to be out here to do that for me, I'll do anything for him." | | 08:22 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | "I think making a switch to anything unlike what we have would be a massive, massive mistake..." | | 10:09 | Dale Earnhardt Jr. | "Let’s figure out how to make a newer modern take on that specific part… this series is working the way it is." | | 17:03 | Crew Chief/Driver | "I go in with the mindset…hey, we’re gonna win this weekend, mindset wise… you shift your goals." | | 22:00 | Sponsor Announcer | "I got sold out quicker than…anything. And again, it’s probably for the best because... I watched that guy struggle in my terrible car." | | 25:10-26:29| Ricky Carmichael | "I had more bad days at the practice track than I had good days... I still felt that I owed it to [my parents]." | | 28:33 | Amy | “It was completely annihilated and it was sending out code red alerts to all of his emergency contacts...” |

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• 01:23 - 06:02: Jimmy Fennig on trust, Bobby Allison, and pivotal career moves
• 06:07 - 11:11: Dale Jr.'s thoughts on electric car bodies and NASCAR’s future direction
• 14:15 - 19:46: Small team pride, manufacturer disparities, and redefining success
• 19:46 - 23:07: The Battle at the Beach—grassroots racing humor and heartbreak
• 23:23 - 27:07: Ricky Carmichael on burnout and the importance of perseverance
• 27:07 - 34:57: The St. Martin phone fiasco: vacation comedy at Dale Jr.’s expense

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Episode Tone & Closing Thoughts

True to The Dale Jr. Download’s style, the episode is warm, candid, and unafraid to poke fun at itself while tackling serious themes of loyalty, resilience, and the importance of not over-complicating what already works—whether that’s a racing series or the quest to keep one’s technology intact on vacation.

For fans who missed it, this episode offers a lively blend of racing wisdom, behind-the-scenes stories, and the relatable chaos of real life, all in the inimitable voices of Dale Jr. and his friends.

Transcript

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The day begins at the Chase Sapphire Lounge by the club at Boston Logan Airport. You get the clam chowder in San Diego. It's Tostadas New York Espresso Martin. It's 10am why not? It's the quiet before your next flight. The shower that resets your day, the menu that lets you know where you are. This is access to over 1300 airport lounges and every Sapphire lounge by the club. And one card that gets you in Chase Sapphire Reserve now even more rewarding.

[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. 30 minute every single Friday, the Dirty 30 coming at you. Let's get right to it. This episode of the Dirty 30 is presented by Arby's. New meat in three box. Get more meal for your money at Arby's. We have the meats. You were convinced by Bobby Allison to take a job at Dygard in 1984. You came down here, Bobby's relationship with the team was deteriorating, and he advised you to go back home. And I have to imagine that this relationship with Bobby Allison was one on trust and respect for him to come to you and go, he wanted you down here. And then when the situation wasn't what he thought it should be and it wasn't going to be good for all of y', all, he sort of, he kind of tipped you off, right to, hey, man, might want to get out of here. Go back. And y' all would eventually, you know, reunite. So talk about that. Talk about the relationship with Bobby, the trust for him to come to you and say, hey man, this isn't working out and this is about to implode. I'd get out of the way. I'd go, take care of yourself and go get where you need to be.

[Jimmy Fennig]

Yeah, that worked out. You know what happened there. But like you said, Bobby and the gardeners were falling out at the time. A little bit of falling out. And at that time, Robert Yates and Gary Nelson were running a place and they came up to me with a five year contract and I says to Bobby, I says, well, they want a five year contract, Bobby, what do you want me to do, you know? And Bobby says, go home. He says, go back to Wisconsin. He says, and I'll call you when I'm ready again, you know. I says, okay, Bobby, you know, I appreciate what you've done. And I went back. No questions, no question. No. I mean, I respected that, man.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You're a guy that's gotten down here with a five year roadmap in front of you. How do you not take that? A lot of people would have.

[Jimmy Fennig]

Nah, because I had the respect for Bobby Ellison.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fennig]

And now if Bobby Ellison was getting along with these owners for some reason,

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

you know, you didn't need to be there.

[Jimmy Fennig]

Why did I need to be there? Because Bobby brought me down there, you know, so if Bobby left and I'm sitting there and while this was Bobby's guy, maybe ship him out of here too. So I didn't. Sure I didn't. We all left in good terms, you know, and I, you know, got a trailer, put all my furniture and me and wife went back up to Milwaukee

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

and you went up there and you. That would be the opportunity you'd have to work. Jerry takes you right back. There's like, come on, we got this deal. We're going to go some race. Race with Mark.

[Jimmy Fennig]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So that went really well. You ended up finishing 11th at Dover in one of those cup races with Mark. But you would, you would return to, to full time cup racing with Bobby as the crew chief in 87. So two years with Mark racing as he racing. Right.

[Jimmy Fennig]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep. Two years back home. And then Bobby calls you.

[Jimmy Fennig]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And says, hey, I'm. I told you I'd call you here. Here we are. I got a deal for you. You're going to go crew chief.

[Jimmy Fennig]

He found a home at Stavola brothers. And Billy and Mickey were super nice people. And Bobby called me up and he says, jimmy, come on back down. You know, I want you as my crew Chief. And I think this was the fall of 86. And I says, okay, no problem. So I.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What'd you tell Mark?

[Jimmy Fennig]

Huh?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What'd you tell Mark?

[Jimmy Fennig]

Well, at that point, I think Mark was looking, too. Yeah. You know, and then Mark, when I talked to Mark about it and Jerry, they says, do not turn that offer down. Sure. You got to go. Okay. You know, so I got blessings from Mark and Jerry, so. And then, fortunately enough, Jack picked Mark up right after that, and everything kind of worked out the same.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Or.

[Jimmy Fennig]

Or maybe he was Xfinity Racing before there. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Mark would go run that 31.

[Jimmy Fennig]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Red and white 31 Ford.

[Jimmy Fennig]

Yeah. For a couple years, but that's how. That's how it did. I had so much trust in Bobby, you know, So I went down there for the true story. I went down there for an interview for Stabola Brothers, and I got off the airplane because they flew me down there. I said, wow, this is big. You know, get flag commercial. So I walked down the Runway. This is before all the strict rules at the airport. I walked down the Runway, and who's standing there waiting for me at the gate? Bobby Allison.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Jimmy Fennig]

I said, if this man sits there, wants to be out here to do that for me, I'll do anything for him.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So.

[Jimmy Fennig]

And that's how that turned out.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

This is an Adam Stern tweet, and he says, long term, you see it as. We do have the CUV body that we developed in our electric vehicle. I'm not sitting here saying today that we're breaking news. It's going to cuv, but there are the things that are on the roadmap to consider. So you have a truck, a cuv, and a cup. That's three very different bodies that are relevant to our OEMs today to create that brand identity for each series. It's my belief. I'm probably. It's my belief that absolutely the electric car and that body style and all that is. Is something that NASCAR is looking at as a possibility for the future of the O'Reilly series. I would say that the O'Reilly series has got a lot of good things going right now. Viewership is continuously on the rise, and our. Our cars, we can all kind of relate to those cars when we look at them, when we see them on the racetrack. I think. I think making a switch to anything unlike what we have would be a massive, massive mistake, and it would probably be that. That'd probably be the end of the. The rise. We're going up, right? Things are going well. We got A great TV partner. We, we have great numbers. We got great fan engagement and I think any kind of a change like that, so dramat. Dramatic as that would be, would, would destroy the series as we know it. I would not be interested in that. I don't think Junior Motorsports would be interested in that. I'm certainly not interested in, in that car or that body or any of that. I think they need to leave well enough alone. Quit fiddling with everything and having to feel like everything needs to be improved, fixed, changed. Just the series is doing really good. There is an issue in terms of parts and pieces. Our, our. The parts and pieces that we use aren't in, aren't being manufactured in manufacturer. They're not being developed or made at. At a rate that could. The series can sustain itself. What I would love for them to do, and this is a big conversation to have, but what I would love for them to do with the O'Reilly car is take that 9 inch Ford rear end out of the car that we're running and make me a modern version of that. Take all the front suspension off of our car and make me a more modern version of that. Not an over, not an over engineered hub or rear end like I like we got in the, the current cup car. I don't want any of that that's in the current cup car. I don't want no influence at all that the current cup car has. I don't want any of the parts, I don't want the bolt on front and rear clip. I don't want none of that. I want. If, if you want to do anything to the O'Reilly series, take that, take the parts that are in short supply and let's figure out how to make a more a newer modern take on that specific part. Whether it's ball joints, different things like that that are, that are, you know, when our cup teams moved away from this technology, the people that made it don't have. There's not a demand this series and so forth. There's not enough demand I suppose to be able to continue to make a lot of the parts and things are just getting tougher and tougher to get. And so I would just think about how we take what's working. This is working, this series is working. This series is working the way it is. So if we need, if we need anything, we need to try to figure out how to, you know, Keep this thing going the way it's going. And, and I don't know. I think I, I don't, I don't love the idea or the thought of the the city, the series, changing vehicles and wouldn't want to be. I don't know how to say it. I just wouldn't be interested in that.

[Sponsor Announcer]

I agree with you. Yeah, I think, I wonder if this is his trial balloon. I don't think they've been thinking about it, but it's like, let's put this out there.

And

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I mean, there's some conversations that the series has to have with, with itself, the owners, the nascar, all the executives and so forth. And I honestly feel like that those conversations are long overdue and we need to be having them today because I don't think the series owners are as excited about that idea as he may be.

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[Amy]

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[Host/Interviewer]

question for you. How does it feel to be like the second best Chevy team?

[Crew Chief/Driver]

I mean, last couple weeks we've been pretty solid. Yeah, we, we took our off week and you know, nobody took off and, and the guys worked hard and we've got more speed now these last two weeks.

[Host/Interviewer]

So it seems like y' all been, we're getting better given what you have for resources. Not I'm not talking about money. I'm talking about, you know, the information that you get and stuff.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

Like we got about 28 employees. I think that's crazy. Yeah, we got 28 employees that actually work on the car, you know, in the shop. I think we got like 35, including the front office. And yeah, we get, you know, obviously limited information.

[Host/Interviewer]

Right.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

But yeah, my guys, you know, we just trying to build our own notebook and, and see what, what comes. We obviously, I feel like our Saturdays are way better this year than they were last year, but we're struggling transition in that to Sundays. You know, you mentioned something about, you know, the 50%, like showing up. I feel like we're showing up good. Yeah, it's trying to make sure we make those right adjustments for, for Sunday is where we struggled up until the break. And I think we're getting a little bit better the last two weeks.

[Host/Interviewer]

So it's been, been pretty cool to see. I mean, it, it's certainly, it's wild that there's such a disparity in like in, in the manufacturers. Like, you know, when I look at Hendrick and obviously they are the flagship Chevy team, but then like the other teams that get the same information from Chevrolet the same.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

Yeah.

[Host/Interviewer]

Is like way off, like last. So it's. It's crazy. And so it's.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

We take pride in that.

[Host/Interviewer]

It almost seems like you guys are, like, better off not getting the same information.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

I would take our chances of getting the information. I would take our chances. I think we got great people and like you said, I mean, we take pride in, you know, going out and trying to beat teams. We know we're not going to go contend, you know, for a win at Kansas. But what is.

[Host/Interviewer]

All right, I'm a tough. I'm a, you know, I'm a competitor through and through.

[Ricky Carmichael]

Right.

[Host/Interviewer]

I want to compete and everything. So I think when I go to Kansas, I think the only way I don't win is if something out of the ordinary. You know, that's just my mindset. I go there, I know that. That's what I've got. Like, what do you go into every weekend? You have to find what is your victories.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

Yeah.

[Host/Interviewer]

So what's your victories? Because you have to.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

I'm a competitor just like you. Right.

[Host/Interviewer]

But you have to be realistic.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

So. But I go in with the mindset, honestly, that, hey, we're going to win this weekend, mindset wise.

[Host/Interviewer]

Yep.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

We prepare that way. We go on the racetrack after practice, we're like, all right, let's change our mindset. Right.

[Host/Interviewer]

You shift your goals.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

Yeah, you shift it. And so for us, this weekend at Kansas, Saturday, pretty good. Qualified 16th. I was like, man, if we could run in the top 20 all day, I'd be pumped. We ran in the top 22 all day, so we were close to our goal. Not quite there. The last run, I felt like we made our car way better. But, you know, Bristol, after Saturday's practice, I felt like, man, we got a top 10 car. So I felt like we fell short at Bristol a little bit because we ended up 17th.

[Host/Interviewer]

But that's still your favorite track.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

It's still my favorite track. Yeah. And. And I think we got some good races coming up. Bristol, Kansas, Talladega, Texas. I, I like all those racetracks and we run well at all those. But, you know, we got six races that we can go for sure. Try and win, and that's Daytona, Talladega, and both Atlantis. So, you know, we, we make sure we try and go in those. And if you notice at the 500, I didn't try and get stage points, you know, because for us it's like, are those five, 10 points going to matter maybe? Probably not. A win for us would be huge.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Yep.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

So we kind of ride around, put ourselves in position, finish second and that's the way we look at those. It's not that fun.

[Host/Interviewer]

I did, I did that for many years. Most of the most successful years I had on super speedway was that I cared nothing about stage points. I'm not going to get in that until it's later. And then the world of next gen changed things a little bit because I was like, gosh, I get log jammed,

[Crew Chief/Driver]

I can't, it's harder to get to move. Yeah.

[Host/Interviewer]

And so it became a little bit harder. But gosh, I don't know, I've shifted my mentality this year to on speedways. If I wreck a wreck, I don't care. I'm going to just try to stay up front as far as I can.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

Yeah.

[Host/Interviewer]

And I do and I wreck anyway. And it's like I've just been on,

[Crew Chief/Driver]

we've had that mindset, we've gone back and forth and I've been, every time I've gotten in a wreck at a super speedway I'm in the top eight.

[Host/Interviewer]

Well now, top ten now statistically the wreck starts at like position 2.5.

[Crew Chief/Driver]

Yeah, like it's, that's, we're on Talladega, we were leading and got hit in the door, you know, in that big 36 car pile up or whatever it was. Yeah, I was leading, got hit in the door.

[Sponsor Announcer]

I did get a live DVC question like very randomly. Mike Ford just text me and he wants me to tell you to tell

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

your Battle at the beach story.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Oh man, yeah, Battle the Beach.

If you don't know what that was, that was the race on the back

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

stretch of Daytona with K N cars I assume.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Yeah, yeah. So I guess this kind of maybe my entry to team ownership unintentionally. So the Battle of the beach was a short track race that they did on the back stretch, what 12 years ago. Scary.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's been that long.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Yeah. Anyways, it was live tv. I never raced on live tv. I was in Virginia, I had my, my Canaan car with some family and friends that helped build it and I was like, man, I really want to go run at Daytona. Like to me at that point in my life that was still a pretty, pretty big deal. So we put this car together, went down there to try and make that race and I was just terrible. You know, I think the, the one of the springs wasn't sitting in the bucket so the thing just never turned, just full rear brake. But it was literally a, it's just two hairpins. Yeah, So I ended up qualifying for the race and making it, which was cool. And this was a little, you know, this time was kind of before you had your phone everywhere. So I went to driver intros, and as me, Brandon McReynolds, Corey Lajoie, you know, we're all kind of talking, going to the stage, and I went out and they introduced me as the wrong driver. And I figured they messed up the rundown or whatever, but I didn't think anything of it. So then I walked back to the impound, and there was another driver standing at my car. There were seat molds on my roof, and I had no idea what was going on. And I don't know if it was my dad or my friend. Someone found me and they were like, hey, Sam, like, you're. You're not racing anymore. And I was like, what do you mean? And they're like, yeah, someone showed up with, you know, a briefcase and, yeah, we sold you out immediately. And, you know, you can go to college or something now, but, you know, you're.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You're too done.

[Sponsor Announcer]

You're too sick to race. So, yeah, so I just kind of had to leave. They were like, yeah, we're going to say you're sick. On the broadcast, it was a, you know, another driver that was in a good car and didn't qualify for the race. And, you know, I don't know if they were obligated to run every week, but, yeah, I got sold out quicker than man anything. And again, it's probably for the best because, you know, I watched that guy struggle in my terrible car. But, yeah, it was like the. The first time, you know, someone else kind of got in the car. And, you know, McReynolds always jokes that he, you know, they only lit up the part of the speedway that the track was on. And he always jokes that he saw me walking out of the. Down the super stretch into the. Into the darkness and was like, they sold Sam's soul and he's gone forever. And, yeah, you know, so we obviously that those resources were valuable in my life and. Yeah, crazy. A lot of crazy stories along the way.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Hey, this is Dalenhart Jr. And for all the latest Dale Jr. Download gear, including the I'm old, drink some beer T shirt we've been talking about here around the office. Head over to shop dirtymomedia.com for all the latest merch.

[Host/Interviewer]

All right, everybody. Welcome to Sons and Daughters. Really excited about today's guest because as you guys know, I've covered a lot of sports in My career. But supercross and motocross is a world that's a little foreign to me. I never had the opportunity to work any events. My girlfriend, Jamie Little did. And this is probably like, she'll be dying when she sees this interview, but never had a chance to cover it. But that does not mean that I don't know who this person is. The goat, Ricky Carmichael. Of course, everybody knows who he is. Everybody's seen his highlights. I did see an. I saw an interview one time with you, though, that you said that you hated it at one point, that you were like. You were, like, crying to your parents. You told them that you were quitting. You told them you were burned out. And, like, I think about my own kids, where they're like, we don't want to do this anymore. And I'm like, okay, well, you know, it's your decision. Like, so when was, like, at what point did you hate it?

[Crew Chief/Driver]

Yeah, well.

[Ricky Carmichael]

Well, I would say because it was just so. It was so monotonous and so repetitive. And when you're an amateur, obviously, you're not making money. And then you're so young. Like, you. You don't know that there's light at the end of the tunnel. And majority of the time, and I tell young kids and I tell people that I've helped along the way, you know, they get so wrapped up in practice days and, you know, you know, even days at the races where, you know, they don't have great days. And I always told them, I'm like, dude, I had more bad days at the practice track than I had good days. Rarely did I have good days now. Were they all just horrible? No, were they Were majority of them just mediocre. Like, hey, that was a good day. Yeah, it was all right. It was more of those type days rather than, man, that was a hell

[Crew Chief/Driver]

of a day today.

[Ricky Carmichael]

We made it happen, you know, and then once in a while, there were, you know, man, that today just really sucked. I was really off the mark. So when you're a young kid and you see all your friends doing a whole bunch of fun things, whether it's in the summer, swimming in the swimming pool from. Yeah. I go from the age of 8 to 13 where you really don't see much happening and you don't know that you're going to be a professional, it just gets tiring. It's physically hard. My equipment always sucked because we didn't have the, you know, we didn't have the proper funding. So you're always riding this. This motorcycle for practice all the time. It's wore out and it's a pile, you know? So, yeah, I mean, I hated it. But at the same time, Shannon, I knew that that was the only thing. That's the only thing I had. And so I was just basically. Basically stubborn enough to stick it out. And another thing, too, is I was able to really realize and see what my parents, the sacrifices they were making, and I didn't want to let them down. Even though it was my choice, I still felt that I owed it to them. Because as much as they would say, hey, it's your choice. You don't want to do it, they

[Host/Interviewer]

did say that they did give you the choice.

[Ricky Carmichael]

100. They did, absolutely. And they're like, hey, you don't have to do this. You hate it. Fine, we'll sell everything today. Like, they called my bluff every single time. So I'm like, no, I'm just kidding. But I. So as far as the talent that I had on a motorcycle and. And everything, I feel that one of the greatest gifts that I ever had, as far as it was being able to see what my parents sacrificed at a very young age and just going through with it to basically make them happy and it worked out.

[Amy]

Speaking of drinking responsibly, Dale lost his phone.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Why are we. Dale did it, too.

[Amy]

Dale lost his phone. Dale lost his phone, and it was smashed. I've been waiting days to say that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, my gosh.

[Amy]

He smashed the. Out of me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I did.

[Amy]

All right, so we're in St. Martin. We are having a day. We had so much fun.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know how you are. First day, you're excited to be wherever you are. Yes, we're going. We're going.

[Amy]

Hammer down.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep. Having a great time.

[Amy]

And we have rented what they call a moke or a moki. It's basically like a glorified golf cart. And so we're taking this thing back and forth on these rough roads down to the little town center. And it was a rough ride. There's no doors on this thing, and the sides of it scoop super low. So, you know, hang on, buckle up the whole thing, back and forth, go down to this little bar, come back home. Dale can't find his phone. And meanwhile, we're getting text messages from both our pilot Joey, from Kelly to my phone, to Tara and Tim, because I wasn't answering my phone. I was trying to be responsible for once, and I kept it in my purse. Anyway, Dale had run over his phone. He had to have.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We don't know that for sure.

[Amy]

Listen, the thing was completely annihilated and it was sending out code red alerts to all of his emergency contacts. Like he has been in a crash. So this phone flew out of his pocket because he just had a swim trunks on. Fell out of his pocket when we hit a bump and like flew in the road. So he could have very well ran over the mope.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Doesn't have doors.

[Amy]

No doors.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So the phone just flew. You know, we're bouncing it on these little rough old roads.

[Amy]

Yeah, it's.

[Sponsor Announcer]

We.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Our house is like half a mile mo. Less than that. Less than that from this, this bar that we'd been hanging out. We had dinner and all that. So we're bouncing on the way home and the thing just kind of hopped out of my pocket. Right.

[Amy]

Well, it, it said adios.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's so smart because either when it hit the ground or when a car ran over sends an alert to, to, to my two emergency contacts, Amy and Kelly. Well, Amy's phone is in her purse and Kelly's texting us going, are y' all okay? Texting the Duggars.

[Amy]

It says that he has been into a crash.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Dale's been in a crash. An accident. And here's the location of the accident. And so Kelly texts Joey, the pilot. Joey's trying to leave his hotel room to drive to wherever this pen is to find whatever the hell's happened there.

[Amy]

She had been trying to get out of the house.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He thinks we're in a real accident

[Amy]

and we weren't looking at our phones. And we had at that point didn't even know he had lost his phone.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Amy didn't even pull her phone out to know. She even got this text message. She has no clue. So I could have been an accident and it wouldn't have. Amy would have been none the wiser.

[Amy]

Here's the phone.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

She's getting smashed.

[Amy]

I'll do my best, Vanna. It is.

[Sponsor Announcer]

It doesn't look terrible.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, look, so.

[Amy]

And this was in a case.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, it was in a case.

[Amy]

So it's still smashed. But the whole back and the whole front are just shattered. So we're, we're getting this alert doesn't even turn on.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I had, I drove to the bar, I ran back to the bar in the car. I'm walking around. I'm. There's. It's a. It's kind of a courtyard with a lot of restaurants and I've got my Garmin watch on and anytime I get near my phone with the Garmin watch, I'm Going to get the text messages and all the alerts, right. I'm walking around waiting on this Garmin watch to start buzzing so I can know that I'm within 20ft or whatever of this phone. It's not happening.

[Amy]

And he finally takes my phone so that he can track his phone.

[Sponsor Announcer]

Yeah. Why don't you do it from the beginning?

[Amy]

Well, I don't know.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

This is what happened. So we. I'm not sharing my location with Amy, which I didn't realize that we always have. And so I'm going on her phone, trying to find mine. And it's. It's like giving me a general area. Not necessarily. It's. It's like you're in this state. You're in the city, right. It's not like it's not giving me a direct. And then it dawned on me. Get my iPad out. So I get my iPad out. My iPad's like, there it is. There's your phone. And I'm like. And so we take. My iPad's got 1%. It's dead, right? I can't take my iPad with me to locate the phone. So I get Tim Duggar, our buddy, to take a picture of the iPad screen, and me and him drove down the street, and right where it said it was is the phone land in the street going, bing, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding, ding. Raising hell. It is crushed.

[Amy]

It is completely.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The screen doesn't work. Can't. It doesn't work. You can't use it. You can't call it. But it's going berserk. How. And how cool is that technology that it sent out to my emergency contacts that there was an issue and that it was destroyed by how many? Maybe I ran over it multiple times going back to look for it. Certainly other cars hit it. And it was still good enough, right, To. To be screaming, here I am.

[Amy]

The whole thing is just so ironic because he went postal when I lost mine, and he went postal even more when he lost his. And I thought, there's just nothing that's going to send this man more than somebody losing their phone.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I have an opinion about that. So I lost mine because it bounced out of my pocket.

[Amy]

I didn't lose mine. It was in my hotel room.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know in my mind, that's the thing.

[Amy]

Like, I wasn't even that irresponsible.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know in my mind, in both cases, my case and yours, I thought you left yours at a bar on a table. And I left mine at the bar somewhere somehow, right? Or In a chair. And so, yeah, I don't like losing.

[Amy]

No, he does not like losing things. He had Tim with him. I stayed at the house with no technology, like in.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So my phone.

[Amy]

He's like, tim, his lip is curled. He's like, get in this car. We're gonna go down there, we're gonna find this phone. And he's. All he's got is Tim, who had had a few beers and this picture of where the phone might be, right? So Tim's trying to tell him where to go, holding this picture that with the map pins not moving, right? Like he's just looking at a photo. And Dale's driving down the road in this little bumpy mug, trying to find it with his bouncing eyeballs. And Tim's trying to tell him to stop. And lo and behold, it was like another half a mile up the road. So they're arguing with each other like two dogs.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So this is, this is like, like siblings.

[Amy]

Just.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

This is so, so annoying. So I got a picture of the phone. It's in this right hand turn. Right before the right hand turn is a left hand turn. This is a. I'm telling you, this road that we're on is literally a quarter of a mile. It's not a lot of road, but

[Amy]

it's jungle on either sides of it. And it's. The road's wide enough to feel like a sidewalk.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

There is not one. There is one area where this phone is going to be and there's only one little S left to right turn. That it. That's it. That's where the phone is. And Tim, I'm like, tim, look at this, look at the picture. Let's find those two turns. There's the phone. And he's like, he's not looking at it. He's like, well, let's just get out. It's got to be here somewhere, man. Let's just get out. Let's pull over, man. It's going to be right here.

[Amy]

He's trying to calm Dale down.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And I'm like, no, Tim, look at the picture. We're gonna. It's in a right hand turn. Let's get to a right hand turn. That's where it's going to be. Not right here because this is not where it says the phone's. And so if I would have stopped and listened to him, we would have had to walk another, you know, two, three football fields before we actually got to the phone. And I'm like, God dang, just look at the picture.

[Amy]

So then they're arguing about that over and over.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The picture says it's in a right hand turn. Here we come up on a right hand turn. How about we pull over here and look, you know, it was a show. All right. That was another episode of the Dirty 30 presented by RB's new Meet in 3 box. Get more meal for your money at Arby's. We have the meat.

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Learn [e-mail] Sapphire Reserve cards issued by

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