Fuel Saving Drama, Daytona Memories, and Jeff Gordon on Dale Sr.

Summary

The Dale Jr. Download – "Fuel Saving Drama, Daytona Memories, and Jeff Gordon on Dale Sr."

Date: February 13, 2026
Host: Dale Earnhardt Jr., with T.J. Majors and guest Jeff Gordon
Podcast: The Dale Jr. Download (Dirty Mo Media, SiriusXM)

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Episode Overview

This episode delves into the evolving drama of fuel-saving strategies at superspeedways like Daytona and Talladega, recounts memorable Daytona moments from both the garage and the driver's seat, and features NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon reminiscing about his relationship with Dale Earnhardt Sr. The tone is candid and nostalgic, blending technical insight with classic stories from racing history and a look at how racing culture is changing.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Fuel Saving at Superspeedways: Is It Hurting the Racing?

[02:31] – [14:32]

• Elton Sawyer’s Comments:
  Dale Jr. brings up NASCAR official Elton Sawyer’s remarks about discussions on fuel-saving at Daytona and Talladega, including whether stage length changes are needed to combat half-throttle laps.

  • Sawyer questioned if fuel-saving is a real issue needing change or "just the teams finding a strategy" ([03:50]).
  • Debate over what (if anything) needs fixing:
    • “What do we want to fix?... Is it maybe not such a big problem that we don't have to really try to make a change just for the sake of making a change?” – Dale Jr. paraphrasing Sawyer ([04:30]).

• Driver’s Perspective:

  • Smaller fuel cells “were a pain in the ass… you just pitted more.” – Dale Jr. ([05:03])
  • Dale expresses dislike for the current trend of cars running half-throttle and two seconds off the pace:
    “I do not like that they go out there and run half throttle in two seconds off the pace. I don't like it… Making the fuel cells smaller on a car ain't exciting. All right? It's not sexy.” – Dale Jr. ([05:06], [05:36])

• Impact of Car Design:

  • The reason fuel is now the limiting factor is the single lug system speeds tire changes, so fueling is the slowest element on pit road.
  • “What is the one thing that keeps you on pit road? Putting fuel in the car… The single lug shortened up the tire side of the pit stop. And now fueling is the outlier…” – Dale Jr. ([07:38])

• Fixing Drag and Spoiler Talk:

  • Dale and T.J. debate the easiest way to reduce drag and discuss removing or shrinking spoilers, referencing old eras where cars ran with "crap ton less spoiler" at Daytona ([11:02]–[12:08]).

  • Memorable note on driver skill and differing fan perspectives:
    “Some people look at things differently… some fans… see that three wide and go, that's badass… Some people… see cars strung out and a guy out handling everybody and working his way through the field and go, that's badass.” – Dale Jr. ([13:23])

  • Dale’s bottom line: Daytona should be about “hauling ass… running your ass off, hair on fire.” ([14:14])

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2. Memorable Daytona and Racing Stories

[16:48] – [26:17]

• Richard Petty’s Daytona Flip:
  Story about building the chassis for Petty’s famous Daytona wreck; the car held up well safety-wise, with Petty’s worst issue being blood vessels in his eyes from spinning, and later racing through pain with fluid drained from his knees ([17:19]–[18:51]).

• Short-Lived Cup Career & Building for Earnhardt Sr.:

  • Guest recounts his own brief Cup career (including a bad 1994 Pocono wreck and a Diamond Rio music sponsorship story) ([18:51]–[23:13]).
  • Built special lightweight chassis for Dale Earnhardt Sr., including the notable car for Bristol ("rattled Terry's cage"):
  • “That’s the car he ran at Bristol when he rattled Terry’s cage.” ([26:04])
  • The importance of creative chassis building and how secrecy and team politics played roles in those days.

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3. Jeff Gordon on His Relationship with Dale Earnhardt Sr.

[29:43] – [37:34]

• Business Mentoring from Dale Sr.:

  • Gordon details how Earnhardt Sr. taught him to control the rights to his likeness and licensing:
    “I remember he's the first one told me you gotta own your rights to your likeness. He's like, if you don't have that, you gotta go get that… you need to control the licensing.” – Jeff Gordon ([30:10])
  • Reminisces about the close quarters of the ‘90s NASCAR scene—drivers flying together, spending more time interacting off-track.

• Dale Sr.'s Blunt Deal-Making Style:

  • “His way of coming to together and throwing an idea: Hey, here's what you're going to do… Contract's going to come to you. If you want to have a lawyer look at it, that's fine, but you're still going to sign it one way or another. That'll happen on Tuesday.” – Jeff Gordon ([31:00])

• On-Track Lessons from Earnhardt Sr.:

  • Gordon recounts two “life lesson” wrecks delivered by Dale Sr.:

    • Rookie year at Phoenix ‘93, spun by Earnhardt while fighting for 7th:
      “We raced side by side for about two laps, and that was one and a half too many… boom, round I go, powing the wall… It was just his way of saying, hey, kid. Yeah, that's not going to get done. Especially with me.” ([32:49])
    • Michigan practice incident where Earnhardt “sucked me right around, I backed that thing… in the wall,” while Ray Evernham scolded Gordon, not Dale ([34:19]–[35:33]).

  • “It was situational awareness was what the lesson was… He had more on the line than I did that day, and I didn't need to race him that hard.” ([33:21])

  • Dale Jr. and Gordon agree: It’s part of the culture for veterans to “teach lessons” to rookies on the track ([35:47], [36:17]).

• Dale Jr.’s Tribute and Gordon’s Status:

  • “You’re not a pioneer yet… you’re gold.” – Dale Jr. ([37:19])
  • "Carl Edwards called me a pioneer one time… but I'm honored that my hood is at the studio.” – Jeff Gordon ([37:24])

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4. Podcast Announcement & Meta Reflection

[37:45] – [39:18]

• Jeff Gluck’s New Podcast:
  Jeff Gluck unveils "The Gluck Cast," a new Thursday podcast on the Teardown feed, blending reactions and previews ([38:14]–[39:18]).
  • Dale Jr.: “I'm pretty excited about it. I love listening to y'alls content… I learn so much about things that are being discussed in the sport from y’all.” ([38:38])

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Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments with Timestamps

• On NASCAR’s approach to fuel-saving:

  • “I'm trying to make a change, T.J., that's going to make me want to tune in change. Making the fuel cells smaller… ain't exciting. All right? It's not sexy.” – Dale Jr. ([05:36])

• On handling and “badass” racing:

  • “Some people… see that three wide and go, that's badass… some people… see cars strung out and a guy out handling everybody… and go, that's badass.” – Dale Jr. ([13:23])

• On Dale Sr.'s mentorship:

  • “He’s the first one told me you gotta own your rights to your likeness.” – Jeff Gordon ([30:10])

• On getting “taught a lesson” by Dale Sr.:

  • “[Dale Sr.] drove in deeper. Right on my door and sucked me right around. I backed that thing in the wall… Ray was pissed at me. He wasn’t mad at Dale. He’s like, ‘What did I tell you?’” – Jeff Gordon ([35:24])

• On the changing culture among drivers:

  • “Back then, we used to fly on planes together to tracks… spent more time together as drivers than I feel like they do today.” – Jeff Gordon ([29:55])
  • “Every rookie that came in, you had to teach them that lesson… it was your duty… If they thought they were too good… here comes that Dale senior moment.” – Jeff Gordon ([35:47])

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Additional Context

• Technical Discussion Highlights:

  • The segment on reducing drag, spoilers, and the effect on the Next Gen car’s racing spectacle is spirited. T.J. Majors and Dale Jr. bounce ideas off each other with nods to history and technical limitations.

• Garage & Chassis Stories:

  • The behind-the-scenes look at building for legends like Petty and Earnhardt, including how politics and secret deals affected innovation, adds color for hardcore fans.

• Jeff Gordon’s Appearance:

  • Brings both humor and history, painting Dale Sr. as a tough, teacherly presence both on and off the track.

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Useful Timestamps

• Fuel Saving, Strategy & Technical Fixes: [02:31]–[14:32]
• Daytona Chassis and Driver Stories: [16:48]–[26:17]
• Jeff Gordon on Dale Sr. & Business Lessons: [29:43]–[37:34]
• Podcast Industry Announcement (Gluck Cast): [37:45]–[39:18]

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Summary

This episode offers a visceral, often humorous ride through both contemporary and historical issues in NASCAR. From the controversy over fuel-saving at Daytona to candid tales from the pits, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his guests break down what makes the sport thrilling, complicated, and occasionally, maddening. Jeff Gordon’s guest appearance provides not just insight into what made Dale Sr. legendary but also into the business and power dynamics that shaped a generation of drivers. Motorsport fans and newcomers alike will come away with a richer understanding of what’s at stake every time the green flag drops at Daytona—and why, even years later, those stories matter.

Transcript

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Hey everybody, I'm D. Hart Jr. And this is the Dirty 30. The best highlights from all of our podcasts this week. 30 minutes 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 3 box. Get more meal for your money. At Arby's we have the meats. Which brings me to some comments made by Elton Sawyer. Oh yeah. Do you see that? So Elton says, take chase this down for me. Elton Sawyer says, you know, I guess he was, he was talking on SiriusXM or something and he, and they asked him about the state of restricted plate racing or racing at Daytona and Talladega. You don't see this at Atlanta for some reason, but at Daytona and Talladega, he says they've had discussions about stage links at those two races regarding the fuel saving. So they're, they're trying to figure out, all right, a, do we have a problem? Is fuel saving truly an issue? Is the fact that the cars ride around half throttle the entire race problematic or is that racing still right? Because he says it's conflicting, that they can hear the chatter about running half throttle. But if he turns off the radio and just watches the race, he sees cars running 4 wide and fans standing and cheering. And so that lowered that, you know, that lowers the discussion around fuel saving and modifying the racing at Daytona and Talladega in any way that lowers it down the priority list when considering things like bringing back the Chase and some other items on their, on their to do list. And he says in quote, what do we want to fix? I know Elton is just trying to like say to people like really what do we, or is it a really that serious of a problem? Is it maybe not such a big problem that we don't have to really try to make a change just for the sake of making a change? Because I don't know that they know what to change. Right. Yeah, same they've talked about, you know, could they change the stage lengths? Would that make the teams run harder fuel cell size?

[T.J. Majors]

I mean.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, you know, I, I don't, we, we went to smaller cells before. That was a pain in the ass. You just pitted more, you know, you just pitted more.

[T.J. Majors]

You didn't, you're still going to try to eliminate a Stop if you can.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I know, but it was just annoying to have to hit more. Drivers want to race. Drivers want to be on the track, not coming down pit road because your fuel cell is 13 gallons. We did that. We didn't like it. I wouldn't want to go back to that. That wouldn't get me. I'm trying to make a change, T.J. that's going to make me want to tune in change. Making the fuel cells smaller on a car ain't exciting. All right? It's not sexy. So what? We could. What? You know, I don't have an answer, but I just. I do believe I do know one thing. I do not like that they go out there and run half throttle in two seconds off the pace. I don't like it. Yeah, I don't like it. So, Elton, we don't like it, like. And to. To say, well, if we don't talk about it, is it really a problem if it's not, you know, if the casual fan doesn't realize what's going on, then we shouldn't. We shouldn't consider it an issue. I don't know if I like that. I don't love that he said that.

[Indeed/Wix/BetterHelp Announcer]

That's my problem, is you're now basically telling your hardcore fans, we're not thinking about you. All he had to say is, we're thinking about it, but we have to worry about the unintended consequences if we make.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Listen, this is the. Let me say this, too. And this is my. This is a compliment to nascar. This is the only. Only thing that rubbed me wrong when in all of the last couple of weeks, this is the only thing that was like, what the heck, man? That. This is the only thing. All right, so we're on a frickin. We're on a good path. Things are going good. We've got great marketing, seeing all the commercials, see all the little clips, social media clips and everything that they're doing. The. Hell yeah. All that.

[T.J. Majors]

A lot of momentum.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's great. It's good. They did a great job. You know, when they came out with that. You know, when we saw. When we saw some, like, when we saw, like, behind the curtain about that hell, yes stuff, everybody was clowning it. What the hell are we doing? Blah, blah, blah. I. We even talked about it here. It's. It's great. It turned out great, you know, and how do you keep everything a secret? I'm. You know, they can't, you know, they can't be expected to, like, keep everything under wraps, but it turned out great. ODonnell's been doing great. Everybody's doing good. A lot of communication. There's been more communication behind the scenes than I've seen in a long time with nascar. NASCAR eagerly wants this to work. They badly want this to work. And they're not us. That was the only thing that I was like, man, come on, what the. You know, now we're all smarter than that. So the fuel saving era is not an. And it's not NASCAR's fault. It's just the teams have found a way to like, a strategy to like, you know, give them an advantage late in the race. And they've got to minimize, you know, when we went to this car and it's, it feels slower, like it, you know, the tires go on faster and the fuel takes longer to go in. That's what created this. Right. What is the one thing that keeps you on pit road? Putting fuel in the car. So can you minimize that and spend less time on pit road and give yourself an advantage? Yes, that's what, that's how this happened. The single lug shortened up the tire side of the pit stop. And now fueling is the outlier that, that you need to eliminate the most, as much as you can. So they go out there and they save as much as they can and they have to put less in the car, spend less time on pit road, and they gate. You know, they're trying to put themselves in position late in the race with the track position to, to go out there and maybe have a shot at winning. And it's frustrating to watch them ride around. Um, you know, but I feel like if they don't change anything, people will have to set themselves apart. Everybody can't go out there and safe. The guy running 20th saving with is, you know, like the guy running up front is not at an advantage anymore because he doesn't. He, you know, the guy up front saving fuel too. You, I mean, the advantage is lost. So you might see some teams say, screw that, we're going to run hard. We're going to hope that the cautions fall in our favor and that's the risk we're going to take.

[Indeed/Wix/BetterHelp Announcer]

Didn't we see the Toyotas and one of the super speedways last year try to push the pace on everyone else?

[T.J. Majors]

It's a couple years ago, like, that's.

[Indeed/Wix/BetterHelp Announcer]

What you need is like a group to get together and like, let's try something.

[T.J. Majors]

Yeah, yeah. My, my fear is what's worse, this or running hard? Like at Talladega, when everybody Ran hard. It was two by two. Nobody moved.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[T.J. Majors]

You know that. What would you rather have?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, that's, I mean, T.J. you mentioned it earlier, this car, if you do, if you don't want to save and you go out there and hold a car full throttle, right. And you go out and try to take the lead, you can't drive away. You can't. The car has so much drag that if you run wide open, you're just sitting in front of the field running wide open, helping. Helping the guys that are saving. So the car has a ton of drag on it. That's. That's a car problem. I think that I don't know that there's many drivers, mechanics and crew chiefs that would disagree that, you know, the car, the drag on the car and how lag. You know, how the whole package, the power versus the drag. If I'm out there running half throttle a full second slower than my car's capable of going, I want you to be able to go full throttle and literally drive away from me. You know, drive away. Put seconds between you and me and you can't do it with this car.

[T.J. Majors]

Yeah, definitely can't do it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No. And that's not, that's not a rack. That ain't. All right.

[T.J. Majors]

What's the easiest fix to reduce drag?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Spoiler can get shorter. Everything about, you know, what if they.

[T.J. Majors]

Just took the spoiler off the back?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I don't know if you could knock the spoiler off at Daytona. I think you could. I mean, they would have to drive it. They'd have to test to be able to get in cars comfortable again. And I.

[T.J. Majors]

What if they're not? Why do they have to be super comfortable, though? Making.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No, no, no. I mean, crash. I think if you took a spoiler off a car right now, you would have to spend a little bit of time putting some grip back in the back. But. And that's. Realistically, listen, could the teams find that? Yes. No question. Got it. And. And I, I will. You can't change my mind until. You wouldn't be able to change my mind until you. You sent a car out on the racetrack. And I saw with my own eyes that it wouldn't work. The. If you look at some of the driver photos from Daytona of the guys when they kneel by the car qualifying.

[T.J. Majors]

At the start finish line. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

In the, I'd say the late 80s, they were laying their spoilers back before there was a spoiler rule to 15, 10, 20 degrees.

[T.J. Majors]

So not. There's not much there.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Nothing. So I think there was a, there was a rule on the length of the spoiler. They might actually just take the spoiler off. So we have ran a crap ton less spoiler at Daytona, in NASCAR in a couple different eras.

[T.J. Majors]

I feel like those cars would be a man handful with no spoiler.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, man, I remember, and I know it was different asphalt, bumpy Daytona, but I remember like lifting in the duels. You know, we'd be racing in the duels on Thursday and plowing tight, going in the corner, up to the top of the racetrack and all the way, all the way out of the gas to the center of the corner and then back full throttle. Well, that would create running fourth.

[T.J. Majors]

That would create some racing.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, like, oh, dude. And we're sitting there running our ass off and I'm like, man, I can't go anywhere. You know, I'm a couple car lengths in front of me is a car. Jeff Burton was behind me and he's running fifth. And we're, we're all tight. Lifting out of the gas, up to the wall, back in the gas, here comes Jamie Murray rolling right around the bottom, just past us all because he's handling and.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Well, I'd take that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, man, that, that. So that's what I was asking you at the start when you said good racing. What do you think is some different people look at things differently. Like Elton Sawyer said, there are some fans and they use it in commercials and everything. That'll see that three wide and go, that's badass.

[T.J. Majors]

It is badass.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And then there's some people that'll see cars strung out and a guy out handling everybody and working his way through the field and go, that's badass. You know, so it's a little bit different for everybody. But I don't. When we go to Daytona, this is where I land on all of it. We go to Daytona and Talladega, but more so for the 500. It's a two and a half mile track. Daytona's synonymous with running wide open, holding the throttle down, running your ass off, hair on fire.

[T.J. Majors]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Cale Yarborough, 200, one mile an hour. Busting his ass in turn four and flying up into the guardrail. You know, Buddy Baker and the Gray Ghost destroying the freaking field. Hauling an ass is what Daytona and the Daytona 500 is about.

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You ended up built. You talked about building cars for Richard Petty. You were the one that built the chassis for the car that flipped down the front straightaway at Daytona. Not the way you want to see that go. But you talk about building safe race cars. That was a hell of a wreck. And Richard's, you know, toward the back end of his career at that point, you know, those wrecks are harder to, you know, harder to walk out of, in his case. And. And you had to be pretty happy with how that thing held up, considering all the things that went through during that crash.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Yeah. Cause I was standing on pit road, you know, and then. And when it happened right in front of us, I'm like, oh, no, this is bad.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

You know, and he. When he finally stopped, you know, the flipping part wasn't so bad, but when he got hit in the left front and spun him so fast.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yes.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Where Dale Inman's on the radio going, you know, dale, Richard, you all right? You all right? You all right? Never said a word. Never said a word. Richard, you all right? You all. Finally, he finally come on radio, and he said, yeah, I'm all right. I'm all right, but I can't see nothing. He said, my eyes aren't working. And when he. The doctor said when he spun it so fast that the blood vessels and all the blood went out of his eyes.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Jesus.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

And he couldn't see. And then, you know, he was. He was. The biggest problem he had was his knees and stuff were banged up so bad.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Sure.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

And so I was going cruise relief drive for him at Richmond. Really the next race, they had me up there standby, and we was in the trailer the morning of the race, and he said, you gonna be all right? I said, yeah, I'll be all right. He said, well, just get your suit on when it's race starts. He said, if I feel bad, we'll just make stop whatever we do, Lose lap, whatever do. And the doctor come in there, started taking fluid out of his knees. And I'm like, there's no way he's gonna run this race and shoot about first caution come out. We run good. And he said, I'm gonna be fine. He said, yeah, I ain't gonna. I ain't gonna get out. Yeah. So I just went and took the driving suit off and watched, you know.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But you ran. You know, you talk about being a. A standby for him. You had raced in the Cup Series a handful of times, but not many. You raced. Your. Your debut was at North Wilkesboro in 93. You'd run a two starts in 94 at Wilkesboro, Martinsville, all short tracks. You had a bad crash at Pocono, had an engine from Ernie Elliott running good in practice, made an adjustment and got. Got yourself turned around backwards, broke your ankle.

[Indeed/Wix/BetterHelp Announcer]

Yeah, that.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

We went to Pocono and tested, and we rented a racetrack back when you could rent the racetrack. We were by herself up there that day, and time wise, I was slow. But we had a motor in there that Ernie had given me to test with. And he said, it's just. It'll get you around the racetrack. And so we kept working on it, working on it, and really didn't run fast. And I called Terry Labonte. I said, where do I need to lift? Going into one. And he said, well, you need to live about, you know, number five or something on the board, you know, there. He said, where are you lifting? I said, one. He said, you don't have no motor, you know. He said, if it drives good, you'll be fine. So we come back and Ernie sent us a new motor and we got the racetrack. Ernie said, this thing is better than the bills, I'm telling you. He said, it's going to be better than bills. So we were top 10 fastest first practice. And I had a guy, Dean Johnson, that was crew chief men, he come over and this one spoiler had a spoiler height through, but you could put it whatever you want to angle with. And he said, you can you run faster than that on another Mach run? I said, yeah, I guess so. He said, I'm going to take some spoiler out of it. Wrong thing to do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

I get into one down there, and just before I go to third gear, it turns around backwards and I hit the wall to driver's door.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Golly.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

And it ricochets off the wall and comes back down. And I remember coming back down into four cars on a Mach run. And he comes by my nose at 175 mile an hour. Miss me as I'm sliding backwards. And the spotters on the radio yelling, are you all right?

[Indeed/Wix/BetterHelp Announcer]

Are you all right?

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

And I'm still sliding. And finally, Ernie Yellich, he's. He's over in the garage here. I heard him. Yeah, with the boy, with them talking to me. When he said he still. He said, not through wrecking. Leave him alone.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So you broke your ankle there?

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Yeah, yeah, I got. The adrenaline's going. You don't realize you hurt, you know.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Get out and step. And your leg folds up. And then. Then my knee was dislocated for it. Steering column. And so this one in deals, you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Know, you kind of wonder what year that was. What year was that?

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

That was 94, I think.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You ran the All Star Open in 95 in a ride sponsored by Diamond Rio.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Right.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How did that come about?

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Well, the, the Mr. Wilson owned the cars. He was Vice President R.J. reynolds.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

And he had.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Who took care of the cars?

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

We kept them at our shop. And then we, we been messing with some people. The, the Blue Rhino people, the propane people.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

They were just starting and they wanted to be on the car and they knew some people in the music industry and so they come by the shop one night, Mr. Wilson did, and he said, I think we got us a sponsor. He said, you know about Diamond Rio. And I said, the trucks? And he said, no, he said country music. So he said, go get some CDs and listen to them.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

And so they're going to sponsor us. And so it was, it was a good, it was a good deal. They were nice. Really nice. Yeah, we went to several shows with them and. But it was. I got in the middle of a divorce and the racing was, you know, racing and with two young children, you know, it's kind of. They had people come in to buy into the team and they wanted to change, you know, because we went to, went to Richmond and I missed a race about 2,000 of a second, you know, and then. And so they just kind of like went the other direction. Yeah, I was upset, but you can't blame them. You know, it's money and it's a sport.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That was the end of your, your career on the, you know, in terms of cup racing and bush starts. You know, eventually you would build cup cars for dad. The car that dad wrecked Terry with at Bristol was your race car, your chassis. At the time. Kevin Hamlin was the crew chief on the car. They had their own chassis shop. But they came over to you looking for something different.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Well, they, they were buying cars from Hopkins in.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

You know, and so then Kevin, them come into the shop and wanted, they decided they wanted to try something different.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What were you going to do that's different?

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

I don't know. It was just my cars were a little bit. Going to be a little bit lighter.

[Indeed/Wix/BetterHelp Announcer]

Yeah.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Like at the time I had bought a die that the Plymouth tube company that makes roll bar pipe and they made us a, a die that I bought and they would run a meal run of my roll bar tube and it was 90,000 plus or minus a half where everybody else was, 95,000 period. And, and I got to choose my, the carbon rating I wanted, the type of tensile strength I wanted and it made a difference.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

And so we built. They come over one or two they said build us two cars but don't tell nobody. Yeah, don't tell nobody who they're for. And I got them done. They come, picked them up and that one evening after work and took them to RCR and the next morning I don't think they lucky they still had the job.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Really.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Yeah. It would. Didn't go over.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It didn't. Why? Who was mad?

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Yeah, I mean there was people kind of over.

[Indeed/Wix/BetterHelp Announcer]

Over.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

The crew chiefs were not happy.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

That they just went out on their own and did it and they tested them, you know, started testing and they. They were always good. Real good. And then finally they Pocono Dale wrecked last practice after qualifying and they carried mine as a backup every week and they pulled mine off and he started in the rear and I think he run third or something and he should have needed just a little bit more. He could have won the race.

[Jeff Gordon]

Sure.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

That was. There was one car he loved, was serial number 44 and he wanted to run that thing everywhere. We didn't run those speedways. Was all short track in Charlotte and stuff because we were. They raced at Richmond one night and he got in a wreck down there and knocked right front corner off and smashed some dock bottom two door bars up. And they called me and said look, we got Charlotte Wednesday we'll have a signature shop in the morning, Sunday morning at 8 o' clock and we need it back by that night. We had to call my guys, said look it's shop. We got fixed the car, we put half front clip on it, two door bars. They picked it up and they was at Charlotte with the thing Wednesday.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Bang.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

And then that's. That's the car he ran it Bristol when he rattled Terry's cage. Yeah, yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

That was your. Your only cup career win as a chassis builder.

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Right.

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Mo Media SiriusXM Right now teaming up here from the stage and the fans on the Daytona. Hey, crap. Good to see everybody. Got Jeff Cluck here, Freddy. And Jeff Gordon has joined us today. Jeff Gordon, hey there, Dale.

[Jeff Gordon]

Had your dad had a lovehate relationship.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

With every competitor by the way.

[Jeff Gordon]

You know, like, like he would put his arm around him, hey buddy, let's go hunting and fishing and let's do this. And then the next week spinning them out, wrecking them on the track. So you know, you just kind of, you, you became aware and familiar with that. That was the kind of, kind of relationship that you could potentially have if, if you got into that inner circle. And, and I, I just always looked up to him, had the most respect. And then you know, as my career started taking off the business side started taking off and, and you know, back then we used to fly on planes together to tracks and, and you just, you spent more time, you go up in the, in the hauler, you know, the NASCAR hauler, and you just spent more time together as drivers, drivers than I feel like they do today. And you get to know one another whether you like it or not. And, and so you know, just created some conversations with, with you know, him and myself about your, I remember he's the first one told me you gotta own your rights to your likeness. He's like, if you don't have that, you gotta go get that, you know, in your next driver contract. You need to, you know, control the licensing and you know, like, like he was the one that really led me down that path. And then of course when Action Performance came along and the diecast market just blew up, he was, you know, leading that charge and riding and he knew that hey, it's not just a one man show. It was this thing's going to be bigger and the sport's going to be bigger and the fans are going to get more access to things if all of us come together. And so he came to me and sight now of course his way of coming to together and throwing an idea. Hey, here's what you're going to do. A contract's going to come to you. There's no email. Right. Contract's going to come over. You're going to look it over. If you want to have a lawyer look at it, that's fine, but you're still going to sign it one way or another. That'll happen on Tuesday, you know, like that. And you just go, okay. And listen, every one of the deals worked out really well, so I'm glad it happened the way it did.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, that's pretty awesome. I. I always enjoy knowing that, how. How you guys were able to, like y'. All. Y', all. He and you and him and all these other guys, like Schrader, Rick Mast, and they all have stories about, you know, run ins on the racetrack with dad, but off the racetrack, y' all all figured out a way to, you know, put that aside till the next Sunday and do business and do things that were successful together. And then you get out on the racetrack and, you know, run into each other and flip each other off and be mad as you could be, you know?

[Jeff Gordon]

Yeah. There were two times that I don't think I've gotten over it yet. I can remember the first time, and I looked. This was such a huge life lesson for me as a driver. It was my rookie year in 93, and I think it was last or maybe second or third. No, it wasn't last race because it was in Phoenix. The last race back then was in Atlanta. So second or third to the end of the season. And he was, as he always was, in the hunt, you know, for the championship.

[Indeed/Wix/BetterHelp Announcer]

I.

[Jeff Gordon]

He didn't win at 93, did he? I don't think he won 93. I know he won at 94 anyway, so. So I'm racing like I'm in seventh, something like that. And he and I are battling for that position. We had about equal cars, and somehow I got ahead of him, maybe on a. On a pit sequence or something, and he. You know, he's just right on me, and I gave him the inside. And we raced side by side for about two laps, and that was one and a half too many. And we went down to turn three, and I thought I gave him enough room, and boom, round I go powing the wall. And. And I was like, man, I didn't know. I came down on him, crowded him like that. I realized later, I didn't. Yeah, yeah. It was just his way of saying, hey, kid. Yeah, that's not going to get done Especially with me. So I never. You know, I made sure that I was always understanding the situation. It was situational awareness was what the lesson was. And he had more on the line than I did that day, and I didn't erase him that hard. And then. And what was the other one? Oh, shoot. Gosh darn it. I'm gonna think about here in a second.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Sounds like you're over it. Yeah, I'm definitely not.

[Jeff Gordon]

Oh. Oh, no, no. It was. We were at Michigan practice on a Saturday. Okay. And we were about to take off pit road, and Ray Abraham comes over. He's like. He's like, listen, just. You got a good race car. We're just trying to get this thing, you know, for the. For the later practice. Right.

[Indeed/Wix/BetterHelp Announcer]

Get it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Get it right.

[Jeff Gordon]

Don't worry too much about right now. And he's like, just, you know, let Dale go. Because Dale, like, when in practice, man, he would run a practice like it was a race. He wanted to race you as hard as he could in practice. So we always kind of knew. Just stay away from. From racing anybody, really. And so. So I remember I come off pit road and. And let him. He yarded. You know, he's way out there over straightaway head. And then I start running, and my car's really good, and so I'm. I'm closing in on him, and then all of a sudden, he starts really slowing down. And so I'm like, okay, he's gonna let me go, and I'll. And he'll get in behind me. And I. I remember I come off of turn two. Yeah. Come off of two. And I mean, he's checked up on the outside. I get a big run, and all of a sudden. Sudden, he gets right to my quarter panel Just enough where I can't clear him, and we go down three. And I'm just like, surely he's gonna let me go. So I'm just gonna drive in real deep. No, no. He drove in deeper. Right on my door and sucked me right around. I backed that thing in the.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

In the wall.

[Jeff Gordon]

Destroyed the car.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Jeff Gordon]

And he was unscathed, as usual. And. And so, man, I got. And Ray was pissed at me. He wasn't mad at Dale. He's like, what did I tell you?

[Chassis Builder / Crew Member]

Stay.

[Jeff Gordon]

I said he was letting me go. I thought he was letting me go. So that was another life lesson.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Has there been moments that you remember being on the other side of that where you were teaching a young driver on the racetrack how it's done?

[Jeff Gordon]

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, Definitely. I Mean, that's why later, you know, I realized, especially the 90, the 93 thing, like as a rookie, every rookie that came in, you had to teach them that lesson like it was, it was your duty. You, when they came, if they thought they were too good or they, they were running up front and, and you know, using up a little too much track or what, you're like, yep, here comes that Dale senior moment.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Man, we can, I might not wreck.

[Jeff Gordon]

Them, but I, I definitely moved them.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh, I'm sure I learned a lot being around you on the racetrack and, and in, in the, in the office as well. It's been a lot of fun over the years and appreciate you giving us some time today. It's awesome to sit up here and just listen to some of these stories. You know, you, you, you're a great icon in the sport, man. It's awesome to see you as involved as you are and, and hope you, hope you have a good weekend this weekend with your guys. Hopefully you run 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, that 40 out front.

[Jeff Gordon]

Yeah, yeah. Listen, listen. You say you got a better car this year. You finished 10th last year, so, you know, you got some big shoes to fill now. But no, it's going to be great. We're excited. We, you know, just excited about this year, the Daytona 500 and we got a great car, great chance, you know, for all of our guys and can't wait to work with you and, And Justin, the 40 team out there as well as like an extension of Hendrick Motorsports. Really cool to be a part of that. That and, and thanks for not calling me a pioneer. You call me an icon instead. I, I, I, I think I like.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You'Re not pioneer yet. I think when you retired, when you retired, you're gold.

[Jeff Gordon]

Carl Edwards called me a pioneer one time. Yeah, I left at that. But I'm honored that my, my hood is at the studio. That's amazing. And I can't wait to get up there and see in person.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Awesome. Jeff Gord.

[Jeff Gordon]

Thank you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Thank you, Jeff. So we got a little bit of an announcement to make. I don't. Jeff, you want to do this? You're sure? Your deal.

[Gluck (Host of The Glut Cast)]

But I have to tell everybody a secret, I guess because you know when you do a podcast right after the race, you haven't heard what anybody else thinks. So like I haven't heard actions detrimental or DBC or dodging your download. So sometimes you're just kind of like, I'm like, man, this just happened. We got off the pit road, we come to do the podcast and I'm like talking about stuff. I'm like, yeah, I think this is right. I think this is what people are.

[Jeff Gordon]

Going to think about this.

[Gluck (Host of The Glut Cast)]

But my show is just after the race, so I don't have any else. Anything else to.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

To say.

[Gluck (Host of The Glut Cast)]

So I'm going to be doing a Thursday show now. It's going to be on the. The tear down feed and it's going to be on my YouTube channel.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Is this the name of it?

[Gluck (Host of The Glut Cast)]

This is the name. The name of it is the Glut cast.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Is it?

[Indeed/Wix/BetterHelp Announcer]

Okay?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I love it. You picked that name yourself, did you?

[Gluck (Host of The Glut Cast)]

They said that I had to have a. Because it's on the teardown feed, has to have my name in it. And I was like, I don't know.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

About the Gluck cast. I don't think anybody's going to forget it. I'm pretty excited about it. I love listening to Yalls content. I learned so much about things that are being discussed in the sport from y'. All. I think you keep all of us sort of up to speed on really truthfully what the big conversations are in the garage and in the industry. And so I'm pretty, I'm pretty excited about, about this show and look forward to it. I mean, it'll be interesting to see kind of how what your perspective is going in and then how you may change what you say and do on the teardown after the race. Right. Because you've got this, this preview and this post reaction now. I'm looking forward to it. So tear down the Glut cast. All right. It's a weekly spin off.

[Gluck (Host of The Glut Cast)]

I'm gonna say this like tear down. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So it's debuting February 19th, new episodes dropping every Thursday day. And there'll be an audio version as well as a YouTube version. We'll all be checking that out. All right, that was another episode of the Dirty 30 presented by Arby's new Meat in Three box. Get more meal for your money at Arby's. We had the meats.

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