How Supercross Built (and Broke) Aaron Plessinger

Summary

Detailed Summary of "How Supercross Built (and Broke) Aaron Plessinger" – The Dale Jr. Download

Podcast Information:

• Title: The Dale Jr. Download
• Host/Author: Dirty Mo Media, SiriusXM
• Description: NASCAR’s 15-time Most Popular Driver and two-time Daytona 500 winner, Dale Earnhardt Jr., brings his unique perspective to his podcast, offering candid commentary and first-person insights into the life of a broadcaster and celebrated racer.
• Episode: How Supercross Built (and Broke) Aaron Plessinger
• Release Date: May 14, 2025

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Introduction

Dale Earnhardt Jr. kickstarts the episode by welcoming Aaron Plessinger, a prominent figure in the motocross and supercross world. He expresses his admiration for Aaron, especially after witnessing Aaron's heartfelt tribute to Dale's late father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., by wearing a Dale Earnhardt shirt during a podium finish.

Aaron Plessinger’s Background and Early Career

Starting Early in Racing ([04:00] - [06:31]): Aaron Plessinger introduces himself as a second-generation professional racer from Hamilton, Ohio. His father competed in Grand National Cross Country (GNCC) events—off-road races that traverse wooded terrains on two-wheel bikes. Aaron shares how his father’s rigorous training and championship wins in GNCC inspired his own racing journey.

Transition to Motocross and Supercross ([06:31] - [08:48]): Initially focused on GNCC, Aaron’s father encouraged him to explore motocross and supercross, leading to a pivotal shift in 2013. Training under professional Matt Walker, Aaron's dedication paid off as he secured six amateur championships, which caught the attention of factory teams, propelling him into higher levels of competition.

Challenges and Injuries in Racing

Overcoming Physical Hurdles ([12:36] - [15:34]): Aaron candidly discusses the physical demands of supercross, recounting multiple severe injuries:

• Broken Ankle ([12:36] - [13:07]): During a practice session at Muddy Creek, Aaron broke his ankle after a misjudged jump, sidelining him for the remainder of the year.
• Dislocated Wrists ([13:08] - [14:29]): He experienced multiple wrist injuries from crashes, highlighting the sport's inherent risks.
• Shattered Heel ([49:14] - [51:03]): In 2020, Aaron shattered his heel during a race at Daytona while battling with fellow rookies, leading to a six-month recovery period.

Notable Quote:

“Injuries in this sport are very, very common.” – Aaron Plessinger [12:56]

Mental Fortitude and Confidence

Overcoming Fear and Building Confidence ([32:30] - [36:08]): Aaron delves into the psychological challenges of supercross, emphasizing the critical role of mental toughness. After a significant crash in his second professional season, Aaron struggled with fear and self-doubt, which adversely affected his performance. Through self-help strategies like listening to confidence-boosting videos and incremental successes, he rebuilt his mental strength, eventually securing podium finishes and reigniting his competitive spirit.

Notable Quote:

“If you don’t believe that you belong up front, you’re probably not gonna be a front runner.” – Aaron Plessinger [35:49]

Team Dynamics and Equipment

Factory Support vs. Privateers ([21:22] - [24:30]): Aaron explains the stark differences between factory-supported teams and privateers. Factory teams have access to superior equipment, expert mechanics, and advanced bike setups, giving them a significant edge over privateers who often rely on limited resources and self-reliance.

Bike Setup and Suspension Tuning ([21:22] - [23:36]): He details the complexities of bike setup, particularly the critical role of suspension tuning in handling the rigorous demands of supercross tracks. Aaron highlights how subtle adjustments to shocks and springs can drastically affect performance, underscoring the importance of a well-coordinated team.

Notable Quote:

“If you don’t have a good bike setup and you’re coming across these bumps and getting kicked sideways, it’s a lot harder than somebody who’s got a perfect bike setup.” – Aaron Plessinger [21:22]

Personal Life and Parenthood

Balancing Racing and Family ([79:05] - [82:18]): Aaron opens up about the challenges of balancing a demanding racing schedule with being a dedicated father. With three children—Hadley (15), Jake (7), and Savannah (4)—he shares the difficulties of limited time at races and the exhaustion that comes with constant travel. Despite these challenges, Aaron strives to remain present and supportive, integrating family moments into his racing life when possible.

Notable Quote:

“He wants to throw football for a little bit and I gotta just remind myself that like I am tired but he's not going to want to throw the football with you forever.” – Aaron Plessinger [80:43]

Tribute to Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Honoring a Legacy ([74:26] - [77:56]): A significant highlight of the episode is Aaron’s tribute to Dale Earnhardt Sr. During a podium finish at Daytona, Aaron proudly wears Dale’s iconic number three shirt. This gesture not only honors Dale Sr.'s enduring legacy but also bridges the generational gap between NASCAR and motocross, illustrating the deep respect and influence Dale Jr. holds within the racing community.

Notable Quote:

“If you don’t believe you belong up front, you’re probably not gonna be a front runner.” – Aaron Plessinger [35:49]

Mental Toughness and the Racing Mindset

Dale Jr.’s Insights on Mental Preparation ([38:19] - [43:07]): Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares personal reflections on the importance of mental preparation in racing. He discusses his own struggles with mindset early in his NASCAR career and how changing his mental approach transformed his performance. This conversation resonates deeply with Aaron, who relates his own experiences of overcoming mental blocks to achieve success.

Notable Quote:

“I think just the love of two weeks.” – Aaron Plessinger [19:55]

Team Dynamics and Teammate Relationships

Collaborative Spirit ([64:17] - [67:10]): Aaron emphasizes the tight-knit nature of the motocross community, highlighting his long-standing friendships with teammates who have raced alongside him since childhood. Unlike the often competitive and tense relationships seen in other motorsports like F1, motocross fosters a more collaborative and supportive environment.

Notable Quote:

“I’m friends with pretty much everybody on the track. They call me the nice guy.” – Aaron Plessinger [64:35]

Personal Milestones and Achievements

Pro Career and Championships ([28:06] - [32:00]): Aaron recounts pivotal moments in his career, including winning his first pro contract after dominating the All Star class at Loretta Lynn Ranch. He shares the exhilaration of securing his first podium finish and the subsequent challenges that tested his resilience and adaptability on the pro circuit.

Notable Quote:

“I belong up front. I should not be back here. I need to get out front.” – Aaron Plessinger [35:11]

Balancing Career and Personal Life

Fatherhood and Racing ([79:05] - [88:43]): Aaron delves into the complexities of being a parent while maintaining a high-performance racing career. He discusses the emotional and physical demands of balancing family responsibilities with the relentless grind of racing, highlighting the sacrifices and adjustments necessary to excel both on and off the track.

Notable Quote:

“I need to be here. I need to ride for my family.” – Aaron Plessinger [88:30]

Conclusion

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Aaron Plessinger conclude the episode with mutual respect and admiration. Dale expresses his gratitude for Aaron’s tribute to his father, affirming the lasting impact of Dale Earnhardt Sr. within the racing community. Both athletes emphasize the importance of mental toughness, resilience, and maintaining strong personal relationships to achieve success in their respective sports.

Notable Quote:

“You take that moment, your moment, and share your moment, something that was really important to you.” – Dale Earnhardt Jr. [77:55]

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This summary captures the essence of the conversation between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Aaron Plessinger, highlighting key discussions on career challenges, mental resilience, team dynamics, and personal life, all while honoring the legacy of Dale Earnhardt Sr. Notable quotes with timestamps are integrated to provide authenticity and depth to the summary.

Transcript

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[Aaron Plessinger]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Aaron Plessinger]

I was jumping pretty far off of the finish line, jump and just to flat. I hit a hole one lap and it kind of shot my body back. The bike came right out from under me. I smacked the ground on my back and then it literally destroyed my bike. Ended up like spitting blood for like 45 minutes. And they thought I was. They thought something was seriously wrong internally.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The following is a production of Dirty Mo Media. Hey Everybody, it's Dale Jr. And we're back again for another episode of the Dale Jr. Download the guest edition here on Wednesday. And Aaron Plessinger is our guest. He is a motocross supercross rider and he I saw many months ago when they were at Daytona. He got on the podium and he had this Dale Earnhardt shirt on and he was acknowledging, you know, my dad, which I thought was incredible. All kinds of people were sending this to me. Noah Gragson, some friends of his were sending this to me and I was like, hey, let's have the guy on the show. Let's learn about him. Let's learn about his career. Let's Learn about the sport he's in. Let's learn everything we can because, I mean, I've followed it from years in the past, in and out, depending on who the big players are, but I don't know much about it. And it's fun sometimes to have non nascar, non stock car racing folks in here, and we get to really kind of take a little break from that and try something new. So this will be that. It's gonna be a lot of fun. And I think he'll be entertaining because those guys are crazy. I've hung out with them over the years through the Budweiser deal and all kinds of other stuff. And so let's get started. Let's bring Aaron in.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Man. Good bye.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yourself?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, I'm by myself.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right, man. Well, here's your seat. Your microphone, headphones, water. Appreciate you coming here. I know that ain't like the easiest thing just to jump up and go do something. You guys are busy.

[Aaron Plessinger]

It's. It's a lot of traveling. Yeah, We. We usually fly commercial. Like me, sometimes me and. I don't know if you know, Ken Rockson, he, he. He rides for Suzuki in our sport. And he's. He's really good dude. But sometimes he'll have a private flight back and he'll invite me on and.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep, it's take advantage.

[Aaron Plessinger]

But.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, look, I know you came out of your way to be here. I'm thankful. It's unique for us because we do sometimes get the non NASCAR personality to come on the show, but most of our people are local. Right. Live in this area. Because all the NASCAR is in this town. But. So I'm very thankful, man. Aaron Plessinger. Plessinger.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Either. Either way is good with me, but I always.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Proper way.

[Aaron Plessinger]

I always say my.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Plessinger.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. My dad's mom always says it. Plessinger. Like if you. If you take the two S's and separate them.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Plus singer, but grew up in Hamilton, Ohio.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yep.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What part of Ohio is that? That's east coast, east, west.

[Aaron Plessinger]

About as southwest as you can get into to Cincinnati.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep. I got some land in Conshocton, which is east southeast.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Okay.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

About a thousand acres. Been hunting there for about six years, me and some buddies.

[Aaron Plessinger]

That'd be real. Is it mountainous up there? Not really. Okay.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

If you head up north a little bit, it probably starts to get.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, we're kind of southeast of Columb. Columbus.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Okay.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So. But I, I'm. I like it, man. A lot of nice folks out there.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Hard workers, awesome people. Awesome awesome people out there.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You're a second generation professional racer. Your dad raced. What did he race?

[Aaron Plessinger]

He. So he raced GNCC's, which is off road. It's. It's Grand National.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Four tires?

[Aaron Plessinger]

No, no. Two tires. Yeah, yeah. So he. It's called Grand National Cross country and you race through the woods. And I did that growing up. Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So. And we had a few races down here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's a big loop though, right? Yeah. The track itself, 12 miles.

[Aaron Plessinger]

The track. Yeah. It's pretty cool. I love it. It's still my favorite kind of racer, but. Yeah, he raced in the 90s growing up, and he didn't get on a dirt bike until he was about 15, I think. But he was exceptionally good. And him and my uncle would go to these races and he was. He was a hard trainer. That's what he's pretty known for. He trained in really, really hard. And then he had two. Two GNCC championships and two. I hope I don't botch this, National Hair Scramble Championships. So he was really, really good. And he was not lazy. So. Growing up, when I used to be lazy.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He get you?

[Aaron Plessinger]

He would. Yeah. He would not be happy.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

No. So you followed your dad to the racetrack as a young kid? Grew up around this. Help me understand, what is the difference? I think I know, but what's the difference between supercross, motocross, all the different disciplines.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. So, I mean, there's a bunch of them that we have. There's like. I mean, obviously there's off road and then there's motocross and supercross, which off road is through the woods and stuff. And that's what I did growing up. And I was actually gonna go pro in off road before we switched. And my dad. In 2013, my dad was like, why don't we just try to go and do one year of motocross? Because you haven't tried that yet. We've just been doing.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Had you not yet raced in competition, but you've probably been on. In that. You know, you probably been on tracks and stuff.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Had an idea, right?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. So I. I grew up doing both.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And in the gncc, you couldn't. You couldn't race. Like, when I was like, eight and stuff, we had like, they're called 50cc's and they're real little, and they didn't have those in GNCCs yet. So I would race, like Arena Cross, which is in, like, real small, like, hockey arenas and basketball places. Yeah. And I would race that and Then I would race like local races and motocross. So I had done like off road and motocross. Pretty much raced it my whole life growing up. And then I, I never really focused on just one.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

So that's why my dad was just like, why don't we try it?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Are you in it? Are you what you would call an independent at this point?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah. Like we, I had a, I did Yamaha support, but we're still, you know, paying for bikes and paying for parts and we get an allowance. But. But yeah, changed in, in 2013, like, I went down to Georgia and started training with this guy, Matt Walker.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What's training look like?

[Aaron Plessinger]

I mean, amateur is a lot different than pro. Like, I would, I'd ride four days a week, sometimes five days a week and just kind of work on skills and stuff.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Like. Like what? Like, help me understand.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Like.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Just setting yourself up for different, different obstacles, jumps.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Like working on corners. And like, Matt Walker, he was a, he was a professional. So he, he just watched and sometimes, actually, my first day, my first day there, I was kind of wondering what I got myself into because we, we would do sections, right? And he would watch us and, and sometimes he'd pull us off and talk to us and. And we were doing this section, right? And it was like a left handed turn or something. We're coming into it and just doing it over and over again and trying to perfect, like, body position this and that. And he pulled us off and in, and this is my first day there. And he goes, some of y' all are hitting this corner pretty good, but some of y' all need to go home.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Damn it.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And I was like, I was like, man, I hope I'm not one of those that need to go home. But it turned out me and Matt had a, had a really, really good relationship. But that's, that's how we do it. Like, he would, he would have us do sections of the track just like two or three corners at a time, and he would, he would stand back and watch and if you were doing something wrong, he'd pull you off and he'd be like, hey, why don't you try this or try that and get off the back brakes and just roll through the corner. Use roll speed and stuff. And yeah, I mean, I was there for two years, but that first year I ended up winning, I think six amateur championships. And then I got noticed by a factory team.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And I, they wanted me to race their bike at this. It's. It's one of the amateur races, like the, like the pinnacle of amateur racing. It's called Loretta Lens and it's actually at Loretta Lens Ranch. Yes. And so you. I went there, I rode the, it's called Star Racing Yamaha and I rode there 250 there and I actually, I won six out of six motos there that year.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And I was doing pretty good.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And yeah. And it was, it was just funny because before that nobody really knew who I was. I mean I'd show up every now and then at a, at an amateur motocross race and just get like fifth or sixth or something like that. But I was more into off road at that time, like GNCC's, racing in the woods and stuff. So it was, it was quite the change. And then that year I ended up breaking my ankle at the end of that year, didn't get to finish. And then 2014, how'd you break your ankle? It was at a track in, it's called Muddy Creek in Tennessee and I, it was my first lap on the track and usually I'm rolling the jumps on the first lap, like just taking it easy for some reason. I jumped this double and overshot it into a triple landing and I thought it broke, but I wasn't sure because I, I'd over jumped it and I'd, I'd slammed right into the next landing or the next face of the jump. Yep, my ankle just kind of buckled and I felt it. I knew, I kind of knew in the back of my mind, but I was like, dude, no, that can't happen. So I rode the rest of that practice, which was like 20 minutes long.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Damn it.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And yeah, I couldn't barely get my boot off and it was all swollen up and yeah. Went to the doctor, sure enough, yeah, broke it like chipped a little bone off of the, off the bottom ball and yeah, that was it for the, for the rest of the year.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Injuries in this sport are common.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Very, very common. I got a few scars on the wrist right here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Same injury or two different injuries?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Two different ones.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Damn it.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. The first one, I mean they happen pretty much the same. Like I, the first one I caught my foot. I was riding a motocross track. There was this inside single that you would come over into this face of this jump and I jumped the single a little bit too far, caught my foot and it drugged me up the face of the jump and I endoed, jumped off the bike and pretty much punched the ground and dislocated, dislocated my wrist, broke the Scaphoid on the inside, and then it's called a triquetrum out here on the outside. And that was about three months. And then second time, hit neutral. Coming out of a corner over a jump, pretty much the same thing punched the ground, and my. My radius pretty much swallowed itself. It was just like, did that. Dislocated it again. And, yeah, it was. It was gnarly, but injuries in this sport are very, very common. Yeah, it's like, it's. It would probably make history if. If all of US made all 17 rounds of Supercross into going into outdoors. It's, It's. It's. It's pretty gnarly.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Supercross, motocross. But supercross is. Is outdoors. Right across. Yeah, motocross and motocrosses, there's these massive elevation changes, huge, you know, downhills and uphills. And is that. Are you more prone to accidents and injury there, or is the.

[Aaron Plessinger]

I think supercross is more prone to.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Injuries because everything's so tight.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, everything's so tight. So on a supercross track, you have, you know, sections of jumps all the way down, all the way back, and you got these whoops that you got to get on top of, and you gotta stay on top of them. So you got to be perfect.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How hard is it to do that, to get on top of the whoops? I mean, we see you guys get through sections like that and make it look pretty easy, but it does probably take some, like.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Took me a while. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Like, I mean, if you don't have any.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Perfect.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. If you don't have any fear, you can. You can just do it, whatever.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What's the trick to get through there?

[Aaron Plessinger]

You gotta come out, like, if. If. Say, if a set of whoops is. Is right out of a corner, right. You gotta. You gotta click up a few gears. So usually we hit them in fourth, third, or fourth. So you're coming out and you're lugging pretty bad, and you gotta use the clutch a lot. And the trick is to try to get your bike. Try to lift your bike up on top of them and then get it squatted so you have traction going across the top of them all the way to the end. But usually, like, it almost happened to me this past weekend, you try to come out of the corner, and you get on it real hard, and you lift the front wheel up, and then you set it down in between.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Too bad.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And then you're. You're. Yeah, it's like a. It's like a bull.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And you just Got to stay on to the end. But, yeah, it's. It's. Whoops. Are. Are really, really a tough one. But in Supercross, you got to. You got to be so perfect.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

It's like, even during the week, like, we track or we try to practice on everything similar to what we're racing on. So we build. You know, we got at the place I train at.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

We got three Supercross tracks, and they're all to scale, and. And nothing's like. It's all real. So you got to be so perfect throughout the week and then into the weekend. And even if you're tired, it's like you just got to do it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And sometimes, you know, when you're sick and you. You think you can go out there and do it. Timings off, depth perceptions off. And that's when things happen.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And so on the motocross track, there's more distance between obstacles and challenges, and there's time to sort of prepare, and it's more momentum and getting into a rhythm.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And is there. So where. At what. In what discipline? Is there a time to be conservative? So it feels like watching supercross, that it's a sprint and it's all out, and it's a hundred. Everybody's at 100% to the very finish. Whereas in a motocross, the long. It feels like. Feels like a longer race.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Get a little bit of distance between you and the guy behind you, you can calm down, not take the, you know, risk assessment changes a little bit. Is that true?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah. And it's like, if Supercross is. Is 20 minutes long and the tight stuff, and then outdoors, it's. You just get a little bit more leniency to kind of mess up. If you do mess up, it's. It gets rough and rutted and. And gnarly and, like, perfect. Yeah, It's. It's. It's like, I don't know, outdoors, it's. It's always been my favorite outdoors. And you just. I don't know, you just. You can just get with it. In outdoors, you can just hold it wide open. Like, we race these sand tracks where, you know, it gets rough, but in the corners and on the bumps and on the straightaways, you can just let her eat.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And that's all. That's. That's always been my favorite. But, yeah, you just have a. You just have a little bit more leniency to get sketchy, if you would.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. So you got into motocross full on, had some good success. At the. At the amateur level. Help me, I guess, understand. So when I watch a race, whether it's outdoors or supercross, there seems like there's, you know, a big discrepancy between someone who's very good and someone who's not so good. And help me. So I guess when I'm watching a NASCAR race, I watch a guy and I know, I'll tell you, hey, man, this guy's probably gonna run top five, and this guy runs in the back all the time. So help me understand that in your world, there's people out there that know that they don't have the equipment nor the. Nor the ability at that point or that day to compete. You know, what's their. What's. What's driving that person to keep going?

[Aaron Plessinger]

I think. I mean, I might be wrong, but I think just the love of two weeks.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Are there guys out there that are, like journeyman riders that, you know, they're probably not going to get that full support that are just. They're there, but they're grinders. They're going to be there and show up every time.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah. I mean, a lot of the privateers, man, and it's. It's awesome because our sport would be. They. We'd probably be nothing without those guys. And, like, I feel like most of the fans can. Can relate to a lot of those guys. Yeah, a lot more than they can with, you know, these factory guys.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And what's the percentage, I suppose, of, you know, if you show up to a. A motocross race, what's the percentage of privateers in a. In the. In the main.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Probably, like, if. If all of us are there, there's about 15 of us that can win, like, factory guys. And then. And then after that, in a supercross race, there's. There's 22. 22 guys in the main event, and then outdoors, there's, I think, 40. So I would say the top. There's a lot of privateers. Yeah, yeah. The top 15 are. Or the top 10 or our factory guys. And then after that, what's separating the.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Factory guys and the privateers? Are there privateers with true talent?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Oh, yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

True ability. Just don't have the equipment. Is there a big difference in the.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Equipment and more so in the. In the 250 class, in the smaller class? Because, I mean, these.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

These two of the bike.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, these really. They. They build these engines that. That push like 55, 56 horsepower and under.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, what about the setup of the bike and the mechanic, crew chief and all what, do y' all have crew chiefs?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, yeah, we have. We have crew chiefs. We have.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Tell me what, you know, tell me some of the things that you adjust to change the way the bike handles.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And so I, Me, I. I usually change the suspension, like, the power to the bike. I mean, they. They'll ask me, like, is it running good or is it, you know, is it fast enough or this and that. And, like, the speed of the bike. For me, it's not too big of a thing unless I'm getting pulled on the start or something. If I'm getting yanked off the start, I'm like, yeah, what are we going to do here? But suspension is, I'd say, one of the biggest parts to success, because if you don't have a good bike setup and you're coming across these bumps and you're getting kicked sideways and you're, you know, crashing, it's. It's a lot harder than somebody who's got a perfect bike setup where, I mean, nothing's really perfect. But, like, if they love their bike and if they're. If they're really gelling with their bike, you can kind of see that, like, it's. It's tough. And that's. That's one of the biggest things I think, is. Is them not having, like, the access to a bunch of these, like, parts in the suspension or, like, tuning wise. They. They really don't know what to do. The. The privateers, because they're. They're kind of relying on themselves to kind of figure it out.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right. So is it shocks and springs?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yep, yep. Shocks, springs.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Y' all get to run. Y' all get to run. Like, our. Our pistons in our shocks are pretty complex, and there's a lot of, you know, a lot of adjustment and different types of spring, you know, pistons you can run in the shock.

[Aaron Plessinger]

I was actually in the shop yesterday with Noah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And some of your guys's shocks look similar. Yeah, they're very similar. But our. Our reservoir is off to the side to where yours. Yeah, your guys on top. But it's very similar. Like, there's a bunch of shims and oil and pistons.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And are there mechanics or crew chiefs in the business that are in high demand, specific individuals that are thought of as, like, this guy's a badass. You know, man, if we could get him or whatever. Right.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Kind of. But everybody has kind of everything figured out already, so it's like, there's not. There's not just one guy who's like, oh, that's. That's the crew chief that we need. Yeah, I mean, there's. All the crew chiefs are really, really good. Yeah, but they. They don't really figure out stuff that. That everybody else hasn't figured out yet. You know, they're. They're always.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

They're all good, but everybody knows all the stuff.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, everybody knows everything already.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I imagine there's pretty good rules and regulations to be able to kind of keep everybody in a box where there's not a lot of real creativity and freedom.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah. So to get anything going, we. We have to race, like, what comes off the showroom floor. And. And so in Europe, the motocross series over there, they can. They can like, manipulate their frames and do stuff to make the bike.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What would you do to a frame if you could?

[Aaron Plessinger]

I don't know. I've never been able to do it. I don't know. I. I don't know what. What it would feel like to do anything really.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Like, can they. Do they come over here sometimes?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Do they have to change their.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Pretty sure? Yeah, I think so.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And you go over there.

[Aaron Plessinger]

I've been over there twice now.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You notice there?

[Aaron Plessinger]

So I. I couldn't change my bike because it was.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So you have to kind of.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. I went to France. It was my first time out of the country in 23, I think, and went to France, and it was. I mean, those guys are fast over there, really, but they ride. They ride. They ride motocross 12, 12 months out of the year.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

So we got to do. We got to do supercross from October or November until now.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And I think it hinders us a little bit in outdoors because we only get, what, a week or two to. To really test and get our suspension right and everything to where those guys are getting ready for it pretty much all year long.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

When you're training and testing and stuff, you get to. Going right. You get the bike kind of feeling really good. How much of that are you. How much. How far do you deviate from that as the year goes on? Are you. I mean, I'm sure you're still tweaking and playing, but once you get, like, a baseline happy spot, is that kind of what you ride as long as you're competitive? Or are y' all always like.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, like the, the suspension guys will. Will come up with stuff on, you know, throughout the season, but usually we don't really stray from it too much, like, unless. Unless something goes really wrong and we gotta figure stuff out. But usually you can do, like, on our suspension, you got, like, I think three or four different, like, screws, like high compression, low compression, rebound. You got the same on the forks. And we usually just do like a couple clicks here and there, whether it's feeling good or not. But if somebody's really struggling, like, you know, they'll come from California, fly down to Florida, test with you, and bring, you know, everything that they can and try and get you happy before the next race. Yeah, so it's the, the teams work freaking hard.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

I mean, it's, It's a wonder because I don't. Yeah. I mean, without them, we. We'd be lost.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Was that back to your career when you got the opportunity to run a factory bike and amateur? Was that the. Was that the entry into the doorway of factory support so that you went from amateur into the pros with that factory support?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, yeah, that was. Yeah. So star Yamaha, they let me ride their bike at Loretta Lynns and did good. And then that, that next year I did all right. I was like, you know, I was okay. I didn't have like, the greatest season, but I went the end of that year. And I don't know if you ever heard of this race called Monster Cup. So it was, it was a race. They don't do it now. They ended it, I think, when Covet hit. But it was this one off race, and it was in Vegas, it was at Sanboy Stadium. And they had. They call it the Monster million. So the 450 guys, a big premier class, they would race, and if you won all three races, you'd get a million dollars.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Damn.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And then if you, early on, if you got all three hole shots in the, in the 450 class, you won a Toyota truck. It was, it was pretty cool.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

But in that same race, they, they raced two amateur classes. One was on real small bikes, real small. Two strokes, and they called them Super Minis. And. And then one was us, like amateur guys, like up and coming amateur guys. And they, they called it the All Star class. And I went there and I won that. There was two motos. Yeah. Got start, beat, beat everybody in there twice. And. And then that race solidified my, the signing of my pro contract for the next year.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So what is that, like, was that feeling like when you.

[Aaron Plessinger]

It was awesome. I mean, I, I was just. I was more nervous than anything. Like, I was excited for sure, but I was. I was more nervous than anything because I, you know, I'd watch these guys growing up and.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Nervous to be going pro.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah. Nervous just to be there with everybody.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And. And it was like, on one hand, it was a dream come true. On the other hand, I was like, am I going to be able to do this? Like, I don't know if I'm that good. And. And yeah. So it was.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What separates a driver from being great or being good? What?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Confidence.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Confidence.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah. And that's something.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Confidence to do what?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Just confidence to know that you're.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

To mash the gas.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. And confidence to know that you're one of the best.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

The most of the guys out there ride with a little bit of fear. Or is that what's holding back somebody more than anything else? Is this the. The lack of, like.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. The lack of confidence.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Mental.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Mental toughness. Yes, I think. And, man, a bunch of guys have really, really good mental confidence. Like, guy who just won the championship, Cooper Webb, he. He's actually from North Carolina, and his. His mental toughness is unmatched. It's like him. And I don't know if you ever heard of Eli Tomac. He's. He's another one that actually just got hurt this season. But those guys, they know. They know they belong up front. And when you know you belong up front, it's like, it's way easier to get off the start gate and out front. And it's. It's wild because, like, now I'll give you an example. So earlier this year, I don't know why, but I was. I was, like, kind of nervous to come in this. The season for some reason. I. I kind of.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

At this point, how many years you've been pro?

[Aaron Plessinger]

This must. No, I. This is my 10th year. I think. I turned pro in 2015. So, yeah, it's my 10th year, but I crashed pretty hard going into the. Our. Our boot camp. So my second day riding, I crashed pretty hard. And I don't know why, but it kind of scared me. And. And I was really lucky to not get hurt, but kind of scared me and. And it was just like I had a. Like a mental block.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

For the rest of the off season and into our season, and it was just like I was like, what's wrong with me? Like, just loosen up, get out there and go ride. You've done this so many times before. And I carried that with me from round one until about round seven, and it was not good. It was like I finished ninth in the first race. I got two DNS, crashed, crashed out of one crash into somebody tore my cable or my throttle cable off. So that ended my race. And then the next couple, it was just Like, I was just riding in the back. I was just riding in the back. Not like, not where I belonged at all. But the whole time I'm like, I. I'm like, what. What's going on? What, like, what am I doing? And. And I get on the gate and I'm like, I. I finally noticed that I was just, like, scared. I was, like, going to the gate scared for some reason because it wasn't like, it wasn't. I don't know, my bike was working fine. I was in shape enough, you know, And I actually started listening to these, like, self confidence videos on YouTube. Yeah. And I would. I'd ride to the track. I was staying in California and I would ride to the track about an hour and I would. That's all I would listen to. And finally, you know, I don't know what clicked. Something clicked and I was like, dude, I. I belong up front. I should not be back here. I need to get out front. And I think it was Birmingham that I got one. I got a hole shot. And I was like, all right. Because I had been getting starts. I've been getting starts and starts. And I would just fade back. So Birmingham. I was like, all right, if I can get a start at some point, it's gonna stick. And I. That was a Triple Crown at the time. So we do three races in one night. And. And got the start. And I was like, all right, it's just 12 minutes. Just hold out front. Hold out front. And I did for a while. And I think my teammate got by me. And in that race I finished second. And it was just like, man, it was just such a monkey off the back. And like, the night wasn't done. We had two more races left, but it was just like, I can take a breath of air. Like, I was like, all right, I. I know how to do this. I didn't forget.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And then my confidence just started to build and build and I got. I think I got third that night. So I podiumed that night and that was my first podium of the season. And then I went to the next weekend and I think maybe. Maybe that was Daytona and I got another start and the Cooper Webb and Kenny Roxton got past me, but I stayed in third right there. And I podium there again. And it's just like. It's crazy what the mind can do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

In our sport. It's like, if you. If you don't believe that, you're not. If you don't believe you're a front runner, probably not gonna be A front runner. Yeah. But if you come in with confidence and you know you belong up there, it's a whole different dynamic. You can, you can really, really be dangerous in a sport.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

When I was racing in nascar, I had tracks I hated and, and one of them was Darlington and Sears Point was another one. And I, I dreaded them coming up on the schedule. And I would go to those races and have a miserable weekend, have a miserable race. When the race was about to start, I'm. I'm just thinking, damn, this is going to be miserable. I don't know what's going to happen, but I'm not going to like it. And I got toward the, toward the back end of my career or the back half of it, I was like, you know, I was like, I was thinking to myself, I was like, I'm just kind of attracting this into. I'm like manifesting this result because of the attitude that I have all week leading into this race. I'm like, you know, if you go somewhere expecting to have a bad time, you're more than likely going to have a time. Right. And no matter where you're at, what you're doing, and it ended up working out to where those, those two. I started going to those races and not putting so much pressure on myself to get the result and just trying to find something about the track that I enjoyed or something about it that I felt was a challenge that would be fun. And by the end of my career, I enjoyed both of those tracks a lot. Ended up going back when I would run a one off over the last probably six or seven years. One of them was Darlington. Like, if I'm going to run one race a year, that's. I pick that track. It ended up being one of my favorite tracks.

[Aaron Plessinger]

That is awesome.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, it's just, I've always, I've always. That's one of the things I think that I felt like was my weakness in, in NASCAR and racing was that mindset. I was, I, I saw, I saw a video and I've talked, I've talked about this a lot, where Chase Elliott, young guy going into his very first opportunity to win a championship in nascar and they interviewed him on championship weekend. He's young, he's a kid and he's. He's gonna race. Is a, he's got a lot of pressure. Legacy. His dad was a famous guy.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yep.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So he's, he's. Of all people, he should be feeling quite a bit of pressure. And they said it was like, Friday, the race is Sunday. They're like, man, how bad is the pressure to come in here and try to win this championship with the. With the Elliott name and the most popular driver and all that? And he's like, this isn't. It's not pressure. This is opportunity. Like, I'm. I dreamed of this opportunity.

[Aaron Plessinger]

I dreamed of myself here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Like, I'm supposed to be doing this. And I'm excited because here it is.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And I was like, holy, man. That's. It's. It sounded like so easy for him to say, but for somebody who's not used to having that kind of mindset, it's so hard to get into that headspace.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, and have that kind of confidence. And instead of looking at it like, I always looked at everything, like, pressure. Like, God, everybody expects me to do this. I expect this. Or I badly want this result. And my God, if I don't get it.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What am I going to do? That's the way I lived. And it's not the right way. It's the wor. It's not the right way to be productive. Right. You put too. You know, you kind of bury yourself before you even start. And. But I've always. But you're right. Like, if you can figure out a way to kind of like change the way your mind's working, the way you. The way you approach things and see things, it will truly make a difference.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. 100%. I relate to that a lot because that's how I live right now. Like, I just. I don't have self doubt, but I'm like, what if I go out there and I. I don't do what I'm supposed to do? And that. That triggers something in my brain to where everything's like, oh, like, don't do this here. Don't do that here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Spiral.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, it's just like a spiral. And it happened this past weekend. I. I mean, kind of different, but I was. I got the whole shot and Cooper passed me. And Cooper and my teammate were battling the championship, so Coop had passed me. I looked to my right and I saw my teammate and I was like, oh, wow. Like, don't mess this up for him.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Do not mess this up for him. And I went outside of one of the corners, jumped close to the hay bales, and I had to double this section that you couldn't get back from. So I had to double all the.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Way down and cost you a ton.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Of five positions gone just like that. Yeah. And yeah, it was just like, yeah. If I Just focus on myself and did what I needed to do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

He was gonna take care.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You'd have been fine.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, he would have. He would have got by me no problem.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And I would have been fine. I probably got third.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

But just that being in my head.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And riding around me and not for me. It was just like that. That ruined the whole thing. But I definitely relate to that mindset a lot.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's tough, and I think that's the. A lot of people don't know. When people look at what you do or what I did, it looks like it's obvious or what needs to be done is obvious, but they don't. When they're put. When a human being's put in those situations, it's freaking pressure. And you feel it.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yep.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And only, you know, and I believe that I didn't understand that the first half of my career. You know, we all wish we could go back and do things differently, but the first half of my career, I did not understand the mental preparation or the mental framework that you needed or the foundation that you needed. I just raced. Show up, race. Good week, bad week. Damn it. Aha. That's awesome. Having fun. Not having fun. Up and down, up and down. And then the back half of my career, you're 10 years in or whatever. Right. And you want to keep doing it. You know, how much work is going to be involved. It's going to be a grind. And the. That's when the mental part has to really work.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Because the youth is gone. The. The, you know, the passion's still there, but the youth. The youth and the energy and the excitement you had as a. As a young rookie is gone. You know, and it's about. You're a veteran. Everybody. Everybody knows your playbook, you know, and you kind of got to go out. Your mental. The mental toughness really is what you rely on on the back half of your career.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And. Damn it, it's tough to get in that. Right. Headspace.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. And it's like. Like our.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Our.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Our career, like, longevity.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

It's pretty short, quick. It's. I mean, on average, it's probably 10. I mean, you made it 10 years. You're doing pretty good. Yeah. And. And it's cool nowadays. It's like everybody, like Ricky Carmichael, he. He retired when he was, like, 27.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And I think James retired when Stuart was. He was. He was young when he retired. And it's cool now because a lot of us, like, I'm 29 now. A lot of us are in our 30s and like mid-30s. And you never used to see that. Right. And, and shows that something's changing in our sport, you know, for the better. And like, maybe I don't know what it is, but, but it shows that a lot more people are, are starting to understand that mental game now, I think because when you're, you know, 33, your youth is pretty much, it's gone. You can't rely on yourself to get hurt and bounce back like you're a rubber band.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, we used to say these kids that were really fast and they come onto the scene and they're flying and everybody's bragging on them. The broadcasters. Damn, dude. He's got raw speed and you're this 35 year old guy and you're like, he just hasn't hit anything really hard yet because that'll slow him way down. Hey, tj, you know that I got my own Chevy dealership down in Tallahassee, Florida. We're part of the Hendrick Automotive Group.

Yes, I have heard of Darren Hart Jr. Chevrolet.

I bet you'd be surprised on what type of Chevrolet vehicles we specialize in.

If I had to guess, I'm gonna say it would probably be Chevy trucks.

Well, we definitely sell plenty of those, but actually we're really big in commercial vehicles. We actually sell a lot of crane trucks for the number one seller actually in crane trucks.

Okay, I definitely did not see that coming.

Yeah, pretty neat, huh? So for any of our listeners shopping for commercial vehicles, here's some things you need to know about us at Dale Hart Jr. Chevrolet. We have hundreds of trucks in stock, so you can find what you need fast. And we have people there that can help you with custom orders. So if you want to build the exact vehicle you need, we can do it. We offer complimentary delivery anywhere in the continental U.S. plus, Hendrick Automotive Group is the nation's top rated dealer group for online reputation. Visit dalejrchevy.com and click Commercial to explore the wide range of available commercial vehicles. Our team at Dalenhardt Jr. Chevrolet will give you a world class experience. Chevrolet together Lets drive. This podcast is sponsored by Squarespace. Squarespace is the all in one website platform to help you stand out and succeed online. Whether you're just starting out or growing your business, it has everything you need to create a professional site, manage your brand, and get paid all in one place. We all know in NASCAR how important the paint scheme is and how it looks on the car. And, well, the same thing when you're building a Website and Squarespace has that for you. With their industry leading website templates, designer fonts and color palettes, it's all important. Get paid quickly with branded invoices and streamline your workflow with built in scheduling and email tools. No matter where you start, your website is flexible to what you need. I was talking to a friend the other day, tj who says building a new website in Squarespace has been perfect for him. You believe that?

I'm glad they're there. If I were to build a website, I'd have to have somewhere like that.

Sounds pretty good. I like building websites. My buddy's new company, they're looking to get people's attention and get people to visit their website. And with the built in SEO tools that Squarespace has, they are able to maximize their reach and grow their business faster. Pretty neat. The other feature they really like is Squarespace has everything you need to run an E commerce business, which is important especially for make money. Yeah. Brand like ours, you know, everything can be done from payment to fulfillment. All with Squarespace. Your business might be brand new, but that won't prevent you from doing business and making money. Head to squarespace.com dalejr for a free trial and when you're ready to launch, use offer code DALEJR D A L E J R to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain. I want to kind of get back to your career a little bit. So what's the difference between riding the 250 and the big bike?

[Aaron Plessinger]

So 250 and 450. I mean it's, it's obviously a faster bike physically.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Is the bike larger?

[Aaron Plessinger]

No, they're, they're about the same really. It used to be they were a little bit different, but now they. Yeah, it's like, I think it's the.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Same when you jump on. So when you jump on the 450 for the first time, what's the absolutely first thing you noticed? Torque.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Heavy.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Heavy.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Heavy. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Really?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, because it's, it's a, it's a lot more heavy I think. And then, dude, the, it moves in a totally different way. Especially on a supercross track. Yeah. There is so much speed.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And I don't know, it's like harder.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

To get it to.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, it's harder to get it to turn. It's harder to get it to, you know, stay on top of the whoops. And then like I said, it's, it's got, I don't know how much horsepower it's got, but it's got a lot and, and it's just hard to control. So you really got to figure out how to control a 450 and then like, along with the bike, the competition. Right. Like, I won't. I won two championships in 250 class. And then I go up to the 450 class and it's like, all right, you did good. But every one of these guys now has done what you've done. They know what you know. So now go race these guys and, and see where you fare.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And then like, my first two years on, on 450 was horrible. I shattered my heel in the first season at Daytona.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How'd that happen?

[Aaron Plessinger]

I came over. I was actually really, really sick going into that race. I had the flu, like, super bad. And they were pretty close to not letting me race, but I, I just wanted to. And I was, I was doing all right. Like, nothing crazy. I wasn't like a breakout rookie or anything, but I, I was doing pretty good. Got a decent start. And then it was like all of us rookies, there was like four of us. Three of us, four of us. We were all together.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And I was like, all right, I'm going to beat these guys. And I came over, there was this long, long rhythm section. You came over this big single and you, you carried a lot of speed. And it was, it was a, it was a triple. And it was like a ski jump face, kind of like more of a flat face. So I had jumped. I jumped and I cased it. I landed on top of one of the jumps and that, like flipped me forward, my weight forward, and I went off this tabletop on the bars. Like, my stomach was on the bars. I was on the bike pretty much like that, like superman action. And I ended up ditching the bike in the air and I came down on the back side of one of the jumps on my feet.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Like.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Like that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And it's wonder I didn't break my legs or something like that, but all that gave way was my heel. And I, I, yeah, I shattered that in six, six pieces. I got a plate and four screws in that. And it took me actually from. I was actually looking at it out here. Took me from March till June or the start of July to be back.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And it was a, it was a rough process. It was like my, my incision where I got surgery didn't heal. They had to, they had to use this, this cotton with this bleach stuff on it to, to heal the incision from, from the inside out. And yeah, my team manager at the time called me and he was like, what the hell's going on down there? Where are you at? And I was like, dude, I got a, I got a freaking 4 inch hole in my foot. Like, what do you mean? And he was like, let me see it. I sent him a picture. He was like, holy. Yeah, I didn't know stuff was that serious. And I was like, yeah, like, if I'd have waited one more week to come to this skin doctor, I was like, they'd have had to take the thing out, redo the whole surgery again. So it was, it was definitely wild. My first, my first two years and second year, well, that was 2019. My second year was 2020. So, yeah, we all know how that went. And everything got canceled. And then we, we did. We ended up doing seven races within three weeks. And we would race on. I think it was Saturday and Tuesday or Wednesday. And we did all that in Utah, where I just came from. But then that team got sold to what is Star Racing now. Yeah, and I was pretty much back on the same team I was on on 250s. And it was like right out of the gate I was better. And it was like, I mean the, the, the bike I was on, it was still a Yamaha, but it was a, it was factory Yamaha. And it was. Man, it was so much weight. And I don't really know what they, they did or what parts they had on the bike to make it act the way it did, but didn't work too great. So when Star got ahold of the thing, they pretty much gave me a stock bike and said, here, just go ride this for a couple weeks. And right out of the gate like, I, it was, it was so much better. And yeah, and it was, it was wild. And I actually, the. When I broke my wrist with, I, I did that right before they sold the team. So they were going into, they were going into outdoors in 2020. I was like one week away from the season starting and shattered my wrist. And then, and then, yeah, they ended up, you know, selling that team to Star Racing. And then I had the best 450 season of my career. My. Pretty much my best season overall other than winning championships in the 250 class. But that's when I got my first, first podium in at Daytona. Yeah, and that was cool. Yeah, it was, it was fun. And, and that whole season was really, really fun. It was just like I was kind of inconsistent and I do good here. And then for the next two races I'd be back in the back or out of the top 10. And then to end that season, I. We were upstate New York. It's called, it's called Unadilla and it's motocross track up there. And I was battling for a moto win and jumped off this. You at Unadilla, the finish line, they call it the gravity cavity. And you, you turn left, you jump off into this real deep gully and you come back out and you land and it's just flat. So I came back out and I was jumping pretty far off of the finish line jump and just to flat and I hit a hole one lap and I bottom the forks out and it kind of shot my body back a little bit and I went whiskey throttle.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What does that mean?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Whiskey throttle is when you get throttle lock and you can't let go. And the bike came right out from under me. I smacked the ground on my back and then it, it literally destroyed my bike. Like, I mean the pipe was off the subframe which is what connects the back of the bike pretty much like the back fender of the bike to the bike that was torn off. It was like, it looked like a bike that came out of a, like a junkyard.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And ended up like spitting blood for like 45 minutes. And they thought I was. They thought something was seriously wrong internally and they ended up flight me to, to Albany from Unadilla, which was like a 45 minute helicopter ride. And I'm deathly afraid of heights. So. That was fun. Yeah, it was. It was definitely an experience for sure. But yeah, so that kind of ended my season. I got checked out. Everything was all right. It was just some bruising on my lungs and I was spitting blood. But. But yeah, it's. That kind of ended my season. I tried to race the next race, but it was my. I got 15 minutes in and I. I couldn't breathe. Yeah, it was just like everything blew up and it was just like I was breathing like. Yeah, it was just not. Not good. So. Yeah. And then after that I signed with the team I'm on now is Red Bull ktm. Yeah, it's been a ride for sure. Yeah, it's been wild.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So what's the difference? Like when you switch bikes, what's the, you know, bikes aren't all the same.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah. So it's, it's kind of weird because I, I mean I didn't ride for I think a month before I got, I went to get on the ktm. So it wasn't like too Too weird. Yeah, it wasn't too. Too weird because I. I was kind of not used to the Yamaha at the time. And. Yeah, so once I got on the ktm, it was. It actually came pretty natural. Like, it was. I mean, in a sense, they're. They're all two wheels, and they'll get handlebars, foot pegs, and stuff like that. So it's. It's not like. It's not like, crazy, crazy difference. But the, The Yamaha, I think, had a. An aluminum frame to where the KTM has a steel frame. And the steel frame flexes a lot more under you, and you can kind of feel it a little bit in some instances. But, like, I couldn't really. I couldn't really tell a difference at first. And like, all that stuff came when I was actually pushing the bike. And like, outdoors you can. You can kind of tell a little bit more because it's a lot more rough.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Rugged. But it wasn't. It wasn't too bad. It was as. It was just like the, the height from the foot pegs to the seat was a little bit different how. I think the. The Yamaha, I think it was.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You can't. Shorter. You can adjust that.

[Aaron Plessinger]

You can if you want to. Like. Like, if you want to carve the seat out a little bit.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Okay.

[Aaron Plessinger]

But. But yes, I think. I think a KTM set up more for taller person than a Yamaha.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

But, yeah, it's just. Just tiny, little, tiny stuff.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How big is the. How big are the. Is the competition, I suppose, between manufacturers? This one's, you know, the engineer out sort of out engineer. The other kind of like, go back and forth. Ebb and flow. Or is it more even these days?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, it's. It's. It's a little bit more even. Like, it almost works, like, backwards almost, kind of, because we'll get a new bike. Like, they'll. They'll manufacture a whole new frame. Like it happened in 2022. Like, my first year with KTM, they manufactured a new bike and different frame, different. Like a. Pretty big changes. And going into the season, we had really no data to go off of. And like, all our testing was preseason and we didn't have anything to. To go off of for. For all the tracks.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right.

[Aaron Plessinger]

So we were struggling hard and we didn't really know what to do to the suspension to get it to do right. And. And that. That year was. Was pretty tough, and I ended up. That's where this scar came from. Hit neutral.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It was like every year you had a major injury.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah, it's. It's been. It's been a tough ride. This is actually the first. The first Supercross season this year that. That I've finished since this 20, 21. Yeah, it's. It's been tough, but. But now the. That year was tough because we didn't really know how to work with the bike yet. And it's like, over that off season, they did. They busted their ass and tried to get everything right. Like, after 22. 20, 22 ended. They were testing, they were doing this, they were doing that, and they were. They're busting it. And the next year, bike was a lot better. Yeah, a lot better. And, I mean, it wasn't, like, domination factor, but it was. It was up there. I mean, we. I think our team won. Won a few races, and I got a couple podiums that year, too. And then 24 was even better. Had a new teammate at that time, and he ended up winning the outdoor championship. And all the while, like, the guys are in. The team are doing work and just going back and not. Not stopping working, just trying to get our. Our bike to be the best bike. And so it's like, we'll get a new bike, we'll struggle for a couple years, and then it'll be on top after, you know, and that happens. I feel like that happens with every team. Yeah, they. They get a new bike, they don't know what to do with it. They figured out, and then they're back on top.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's just somebody else. Then the next manufacturer builds a bike. It's kind of flips.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Just. I don't know how much you follow other forms of motorsport, but in. In when I look at teammates, for example, I want to ask you about teammates. So when I look at teammates, the way teammates act in NASCAR is different than the way teammates seem to act in F1. And, like, there's. There's a lot of competition between teammates in F1. There's some. There's some sort of, you know, little animosity and tension. Doesn't seem like there's a ton of transparency in certain forms of motorsport. What's it like in your world? What are your teammates? I know that's probably a loaded question, because you actively want to be great friends with your teammates and keep relationships good, but can that relationship be very beneficial to both parties? Is there a lot of transparency between what they're doing to their bike and what, you know, hey, I learned this, or I did this, or we changed this.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, I mean, you can. But I. Man, I'm. I set my bike up so different than, Than anybody that it's like these guys, they. They like their bike to be a little bit front heavy for the turns and stuff. And when I get my bike front heavy, I just shut down. I don't know why I, I have to have, like, the front wheel feel, like the forks have to be pretty stiff for me. And in the back, I like my bike, like, always say choppered out, like, just kind of like that. And so in, in that sense, like, some people can help each other. Yep. But. But in, in our sport, I feel like it's. It's more like F1. Like, it's.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You guys are more independent.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah. It's like you're doing it for yourself.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Do you have teammates for long periods of times? Is there a lot of turnover? Do you. Are you able to establish, like, you know, dependable relationships? Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. So I'm, I mean, pretty much like people.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You.

[Aaron Plessinger]

You already know the people. Like, in our sport, it's. It's such a tight knit, like, family sport that, that my teammate now, I've, I've known him since. Since he was like 8 years old. And just like my other teammates, like, I've known them like we grew up racing together and we would see each other at the amateur races and, and stuff like that. So. Yeah, like, I'm, I'm friends with pretty much everybody on the track. They call me the nice guy. And. But there was. You ever heard of Ryan Dungy? Yeah, yeah, yeah. So he, he actually came back, came out of retirement for, I think, the outdoor season of 2022.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And that was. I was kind of starstruck at that point. Like, I knew him. Right. But I'd never raced with him.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Sure.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And he's a big deal. Yeah. And he just like that. And then this, this other guy, he's. He's Italian. His name's Antonio Crowley. And he was like a so many times champion. I don't want to say a number. I don't want to mess it up. But he won so many championships and he came over and that was essentially to, like, help with the bike set up in 22. But that. I was, I was kind of starstruck at that point. Like. Like, I've been watching these guys since I was, you know, since I could watch supercross and, and motocross. And I was just like, these guys are gonna be my teammates. And I was just like, wow. Yeah, like, that is. That is something. Something else. But. But now I'm Usually I, I make good friends with my teammates no matter who they are, what they are. I like to like, I like to think they like to be teammates with me because I'm, I'm always just kind of very, very light hearted. I never like take anything too serious on race day. Obviously when we get behind the gate it's a little bit different, but I'm, I'm always joking around, laughing, signing autographs for people, just like kind of hanging out with the fans.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And it's just like a, it's a good time to me because we, we train, we train all week to go there and, and do our best, like show our skills. So at that point, like I ride the best when I'm happy. And so I'm going to try to be happy all day long.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

So. Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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Let's talk about Daytona. This is how, this is kind of one of the reasons you're here today. I saw where you rode and finished on the podium.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yep.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And you had a, you acknowledged my dad. And so that's a big deal for me because it's a bit of a surprise to me, I suppose when someone that is a generation younger or even two generations younger in some cases even knows what he did for nascar, his impact on the sport or even acknowledges him in any way. Right. So I'm always, I just always assumed that over time, you know, people would kind of forget his impact or his, you know, it wouldn't, it wouldn't be easy for someone who'd never seen him race to know why, why was he so cool? Right. I get that question today. A lot of times. You'll see people say, man, I've hear about, I'm a new fan of nascar. I hear about this guy all the time. What's the big deal? You know, Tell me about why everybody loved him. Not everybody. But you consider him to be your. The goat.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How long had you been a fan? Was your dad a fan? What was the connection there?

[Aaron Plessinger]

So my dad, he would have, he would have NASCAR on like pretty much every Sunday. And, and when I was running around through the house, I'd play if I'd pay attention to it and I'd, you know, I'd see it every now and then, but, but what always stuck out to me like growing up was your Budweiser car. Oh, and that like I, I got a die cast car with me and it's Budweiser car. And it just reminds Me of my childhood. I don't know, like, just growing up and I always see that Budweiser car and. Yeah. And then like later on I, you know, I found out like, I was born in 96, so I, I didn't really see your dad race.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

But growing up, I would just. I would just see these videos of this number three car going around the track and, and like, I just thought it was his, his want to win and his will to get by somebody to win. And that mentality, it's like, it kind of gives me chills because I'm, I'm like the opposite. I'll do everything I can to be nice to somebody, to get around them.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And, and I say it's like, it's like opposites attract. Like, I was. I so attracted to how your dad got to the front and how, like, how, how bad he wanted to win. Like, it was like he, you know, went like, that's, that's how my dad was. It was like, win or go out with a bank.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And. Yeah, it's just that, that mentality, I like his mentality really, really intrigues me. And then, I don't know, I thought, you guys, you guys, I could relate to you guys a lot more than anybody else in like, any other sport, really. Because to me, you guys were like the normal guys who like. Yeah, like the normal guys, like everyday guys that I would see around my hometown that could just, you know, got win a NASCAR race. It just like you guys to me were a lot more relatable than, than the other guys. Yeah. And I, I try to be that now in my sport. Like, I, I try to be very, very relatable in a sense to where if, you know, a kid wanted to become a professional dirt bike rider, he could look at me and be like, well, he did it. He's. He's this dude that just. Out of Hamilton, Ohio.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

It just, you know, carved his own path up, up to supercross and motocross. And he's, you know, very well liked. And, and I just, I don't know, it's. It's weird to think about because I, I really don't try to. I really try not to have a big head, but I think it kind of gets in the way of, of like, my confidence a little bit. But I just don't like bragging on myself at all.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Sure, me neither. I understand that. I. So you're gonna go to Daytona. So you get your, your, you know, you decide to do this tribute. How did that come about?

[Aaron Plessinger]

So I already had the. I already had the Dale shirt with me. I already had the number three shirt with me. And. And I told myself early on in the day, because I. In. I'll back it up a little bit in 21. When I got my first podium, I. I can't remember exactly what I said, but I was like, I just. I just cut my hair into a mullet and just. I just shaved in this. This mustache, Right? Yeah. And it was my first podium, so I went up there, and I was like, yeah, super excited to be up here. I just wanted to come up and show my mullet off, show my mustache off. And. And. And, yeah, it was a. It was really, really good race. And everybody was, like, headed out of the. The stands at that time, and. And they were all pumped and. And whatever, but half of them had left, and. And I was, like, at the end of the interview, I was, like, shooting, do it for Dale. And, dude, it was like. It was like there was more people in the stadium than there were before. They got so loud when I said that, it was like. I don't know. It was. It was. It was crazy. And. And, yeah, I don't know. It just. It just showed me the respect that. That those words had. And. And it was really cool. And then. So this year, I had the numbers three shirt with me, and I was like, all right, I don't care if I get in trouble. I don't care what anybody says. I'm wearing this up there. If I get on the podium. And ended up getting on the podium. And I said. First thing I said when I come off the track is, where's my Dale shirt? Where's it at? And. And they had to actually run back to my camper and get it. They came back, I put it on. And, yeah, it's just like. I feel like at. At that. That speedway, I feel like, yeah, a lot more people are going to resonate with, like, other than a football stadium or whatever. I know, because everybody around it, every single race, at least four or five people come up to me, hey, man, do it for Dale. Do it for Dale. And. But I just feel like the people down there are going to resonate with that a little bit more. So, yeah, it was just. It was just a kind of a special moment because when I put that on, it started getting loud again, man. And now nowadays, like, back in the day, they didn't let people. They didn't let the fans come on the track and get up close to the podium. So this time, there's actually slow mo videos of them letting the fences open and people just, it's, it's carnage getting up to the podium. But, but yeah, man, it's just like, it was just a cool experience because everybody, every. Everybody there was just like super, super stoked for me and excited for me that I was on the podium again. And then I was just stoked to get to wear that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You took that moment. Your moment.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, yeah. It's just like, I don't know, that's.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And share. You shared your moment, something that was really important to you. And I acknowledged him in that moment. I'm so thankful you did that.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, yeah, man.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Because I, I'm thankful because it made me take notice of that. Some people shared that with me, knowing some other friends were telling you about, about you and it brought you here so that we could talk about what you do for a living and your story. And there's a lot more to it that I want to get to. But I was worried when dad passed away that there would come a time when people just didn't remember what he did because I would think back to. I think back to other legends. Right. In our own sport or you probably have some in your own sport. These people, people that are around today never saw him race and just don't appreciate them as much as they probably should, you know, And I knew that's probably potential for dad to fall, you know, fall into that at some point down the line. And so when somebody like you does that, it's just a neat thing because, you know, it's just a real genuine gesture. I wanted to talk to you about being a dad before we turn you loose.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah, man.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How old are you?

[Aaron Plessinger]

I'm 29.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

29. You got, you adopted Hadley?

[Aaron Plessinger]

Hadley, yes. Yes. My oldest daughter.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

She's 14. 15.

[Aaron Plessinger]

15. Just, just turned 15. Just started driving, so.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And so watch out. Yeah. So. And you have a boy and another girl.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, yeah. So my six year old, Jake, he's turned seven in July. And then I got a four year old, Savannah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And then I have a seven and a four.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Let's go, two girls. That's awesome.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What is it like? You know, when I think about, you know, motocross, supercross, I think about, you know, young kids that aren't ready to be parents that probably aren't even married yet, you know, you know, these, it's a young man's game. You talk about the short, brief careers that you guys have. But here you are, a dad competing, still competitive. You're, you're a parent all at the same time. How does that mean? How does that dynamic kind of fit into your world? Because it's very chaotic. You know, your world and that sport. How does, how does that work for you and how do you, how do you make sure you're, you're devoting the time and being, being what you need to be.

[Aaron Plessinger]

So I'm, I'm still trying to figure it out. Yeah. Right. Like the, so I've had kids for a while now but you know, I, man, it's so much traveling. Right. And they don't, they don't come to, to many of the Supercross races, but I, I like to bring them out for the outdoors because outdoors we bring our camper and yeah, it's like a.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Better environment for that.

[Aaron Plessinger]

It's like a camping.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yep.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Trip. So I like to bring them out for that. But it's so hard because especially during outdoors you've. I'm so tired. Like I'm so, so tired at the end of the day and, and I, and my boy, he likes to throw football. He likes to play football. So he wants to go out in the summertime and it's like 3:30 in the afternoon, four in the afternoons, 105 degrees out. He wants to go throw the football for a little bit and, and I gotta just remind myself that like I am tired but he's not going to want to throw the football with you forever. Forever. Yeah. So it's instances like that to where I'm like, you got to get up, dude. Just get up off the couch and go do it. And it's, it's hard because like I said, it's, it's just such a grueling sport. And then you, we get home on, on Sundays after the races and it's like I just want to chill but, but you gotta got dad up, you know, you gotta, you gotta, you gotta do the dad thing. But, but no, I just, I just, I just try to try to balance it a little bit, but it's, it's hard. Like I said, I'm still trying to figure it out, but I'm sure it'll.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Come to me sometime.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What was the motivation behind adoption? Especially someone that's, you know, half your age, I mean. Or, or yes.

[Aaron Plessinger]

So how'd that work out? My. When I got with my wife, I'd known Hadley from. Since she was 1 years old.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

How.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Right. So I was, my sister was friends with my wife before we even started dating. And I met her through my sister. She had already had Hadley, and. And I just kept friends with her for a long time. And I didn't know. I mean, I. I thought she was beautiful. Right. But I didn't know I was, like, attracted to her like that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And. Yeah. Fast forward three or four years. I. She was single at the. We were both single at the time, and I was at her house. Made a move on her. Didn't know if it was gonna work or not. And. And she's. She's. She's like four and a half years older than me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I got you.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And made a move on her. Didn't know if it was gonna work or not. Turned out to work. And. And yeah. Yeah, we were. We were secretly dating.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

For.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Why secretly? Because she's your sister's friend.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah. We didn't.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Okay.

[Aaron Plessinger]

We didn't know if anybody would care or not. And we were just kind of nervous a little bit. So. Yeah, she actually. She actually came up to my house to visit my sister. We went. I was going snowboarding, she was going skiing, and we would just, like, kind of pass by each other in the. In the ski slopes or whatever and kind of wave, whatever, but nobody just. Nobody knew we were dating, so it was just like a secret. But. But yeah, and then. Yeah. So we stayed together from then. I think that was like, 2014 somewhere around there, and. And we. We pretty much stayed together. And she came out and visited me one. One day or one week in California, and. And get a phone call a couple weeks later, and she's. She's got a pregnancy test positive. And I was like, okay, let me process this real quick. And at. Well, at the time, it was like, the worst time for. For her to call me. Right. Because I had this blister on the bottom of my foot, and I was putting. You. Haven't you ever put new skin on a blister?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

You know how bad that hurts? So when she called me, I was doing that, and when she said, I'm pregnant is the first time I touched the new skin to the blister. Yeah. So I'm like. I'm freaking out. Like, oh. Oh, my gosh.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And she didn't know what the hell was going on.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. She just started crying, and I was like, oh, no. Like, no, that's. That's awesome. But.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Like.

[Aaron Plessinger]

But. But, yeah. So I didn't know what to think. I was 22 years old at the time, and I was just like, what? Like, what am I gonna do?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And I called my best buddy, and he was like, what was the first. What was the first thing that came to your mind when she told you? And I was like, well, I'm gonna be a dad. And he was like, all right, you're gonna be a dad. Congratulations, dude.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And after that, it was just like, kind of. Kind of easy. I just thought, like, I don't know, I was just. I was just freaking out for no reason. And I didn't think I was ready to be a dad. Probably wasn't at the time, but it was just like. I don't know. I had to. I had to man up.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You don't get a choice.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. Yeah. I had to man up.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And it's happening.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Just do it. And.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Which is kind of the way it probably happens for everybody. We just don't, you know, nobody. Guys don't really talk about this.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. So it's. Yeah. Just.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

That man up and. And, man, it's been the. The best experience ever because, you know, I. I had to learn. Learn how to be a dad and race at the same time. And. And that was kind of a loaded year.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

It was 2018, and she called me, like, I think it was the November or December before New Year's, and. And. And my dad wasn't too sure about it at first, just like any dad. But. But I. I swear that made me focus more on what I needed to do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. I could probably see, like, I didn't have children when I was in the middle of my career is actually after my career was over with. And I always kind of wondered. I always said, you know, man, maybe I wouldn't have been able to be a great dad because of how much your career, you know, demands.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, it's.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But it might have make me. Made me actually a better race car driver because you. When you don't have kids, you're not married, you feel all of the time when you're not racing with. Off.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Doing that probably isn't important. Not really helping. Become better. Yeah. And you wouldn't have time for any of that.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

And that's. That's how it was. Like, I. She. After I found out, I moved her out to California with me and. And then I ended up winning. That was the year I won both my championships in 250 class.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Because almost. It was almost like, look, you don't. You don't. It's not a want anymore.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's. Have to.

[Aaron Plessinger]

I need to do this.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

I got to do this. It's like I got a family to support now. So I have to be here.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Aaron Plessinger]

So I won my Supercross championship, and we were in Vegas, and I go up on the podium to get my trophy or whatever, and. And I'm one of my best buddies, run me a ring, and I ended up proposing to her on the podium the night that I won.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Where was she?

[Aaron Plessinger]

She was. She came up right there with you? Yeah, she was right there with me. It's funny if you listen to her tell the story, because I was like, my mom. My mom was on one side of the podium, and then she was on one side, and she had, like, walked over to grabbed my helmet, and I had it in my hand, and I was like, no, go back over there real quick. And she thought I was mad at her.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Oh.

[Aaron Plessinger]

So she, like, kind of ran away and. And my mom stopped her, and she's like, turn around.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And mom knew the plan.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah. And I had the ring in my hand already, and I got down on one knee and. And I asked her right there. It was. It was pretty wild. So that. That year in a hole was pretty, like. That was. That was best year of my life.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Honestly, man, that's a hell of a story. I. I gotta say, dude, you're. You're doing a really good job being relatable.

[Aaron Plessinger]

I appreciate you are. Thank you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's been. It's been fun sitting down here and talking to you and you're. I. You know, I got a lot of. I've been friends with guys over the years, over the course of the last several decades that have, you know, been in your sport, and. And I've always kind of admired. Kind of look at you guys, like bull riders, working with bud. I got to work with different people in both. Both professions, and y' all are pretty wild. You talk about, you know, the. The having to be fearless and the confidence, and it's a. It's a unique, elite level fearlessness that it takes to do what you do and to continue to put yourself in danger and know that injuries are just part of it. Not if it's when.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, it's when, really.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But I'm thankful to be able to sit down with you today and learn more about it. Learn more about your story and what it is you do. I'm also thankful that you, as we spoke about, took the time to take a moment that was your moment in Daytona and include my dad and acknowledge him. That was very special for me, my family, all of his fans, everybody that sent that to me on social media, just fans and followers of yours and ours.

[Aaron Plessinger]

I want to reassure you, though, they were like, look, that your dad's legacy, I think, is not going anywhere.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It surprised me. It's not going anywhere because of things like what you did. Those things are like, I'm like, oh, okay. You know, because even when I'll say, I mean, when he passed away, man, I had no. I thought he was a big deal. I learned in that week after he died of all the things that I saw on TV and all the people that talked about him that I thought didn't even know who he was. And so, I mean, it's been surprising over the, over the years. And there's moments like this that continue to sort of be great reminders of, of, you know, his impact and what he means and continues to mean.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Yeah, man.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

But I appreciate that, man.

[Aaron Plessinger]

Glad to do it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You. You got a new fan here in all of us.

[Aaron Plessinger]

You do.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You know, I've. I kind of go in and out of following the sport, depending on, you know, what's going on. And there's at times, man, there's some very, very compelling storylines and so forth. And so I've got. And, you know, I've worked with my grad. Jeremy came and drove our late model car for a couple, like a year, many, many years ago.

[Aaron Plessinger]

That's pretty cool.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

After he retired, he came here and raced our car a little bit. Took him to tri county and ran with him a little bit up the road. And me and Carmichaels kind of crossed paths several times. So I kind of been in, in and out of the. The deal, man. But now, you know, now I got somebody to, to really to be rooting for every single race, man. And I'll be hoping for the best. Aaron, thanks for giving us some time. I know you came out of your way to do this. You're a great dude. You're a great example and reflection on the sport and your partners and sponsors, ktm, Red Bull, they got a good guy.

[Aaron Plessinger]

I appreciate it, man. And coming from you, that means a lot. Like I said, it's. I mean, you. You're one of the racers that I've, that I've looked up to for a long time. And to. To sit here and talk with you, it's. It's very surreal. I told Noah this morning that I was. I was nervous as I'll get out to, to come and talk to you, but he was like, man, he's. He's so easy to talk to. Just, he's such a good guy. And yeah, it's just, he's. He told me I was going to have fun and, and man, it's, it's been an awesome experience. Thank you for having me on and I really, really appreciate it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's been great for us, man, talking to you. I think we got a lot of commonalities, man. Yeah, we look at things and the way we approach our, our jobs and maybe even our relationships with our dads. A lot of similarities there. So. Pretty cool. Yeah. Best of luck, man. Safe travels.

[Aaron Plessinger]

I appreciate it. Thank you. Like I said, thanks for having me on and hopefully we can do this again sometime.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Absolutely. Aaron Plessinger on the Dale Jr. Download the Cowboy.

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All right. So that was a pretty interesting conversation. Awesome to have somebody that's not in the NASCAR world on the show from time to time. And when I saw that Aaron was, you know, Aaron was doing anything around recognizing my father, especially like in this cool moment when he's in the middle of something that's, you know, that's a big deal for him personally. Pretty neat. So I've talked about that on here from time to time where, you know, I wonder how dad will be remembered as we get many, many years down the road and all the people that, you know, some of the people today that are 20 years old, 30 years old, hadn't never even seen him race. It's always surprising to me how his impact is still kind of resonating with some people. Just also fun to hear Aaron talk about his world and how he got involved in it and how he works himself through the ranks and, you know, dealing with injury. Almost like it's just part of the game and part of the process. It's a. It's pretty fascinating. We. I had a ring ceremony that was involving all of the junior motorsports employees that was happening right at the back end of this interview. So we had to be kind of concise. I would have loved to have spent more time with Aaron and really dive into some of the notes here about his career and some of the specifics to certain moments. But honestly, just a great opportunity to get to know him, introduce him to some of the people that follow our show. And, yeah, I think I want to be a fan of other forms of motorsport or other sports. I just need somebody to. To cheer for. Right. That's what we all kind of. We all kind of get drug into these things by either a chance, you know, a chance interaction or meeting with a certain athlete or performer. And. And that's all it takes. And then you're. You're like, hey, man. You know, you're checking in and seeing how they're doing, catching their catching races or whatever it may be when you can. And so, you know, Aaron. Aaron will be somebody who I'm. Who I pay attention to and follow over the next, you know, several years or however much longer he wants to continue to compete. So. Sounds like he's in the, you know, the back half of that career. And be fun to see, knowing the challenges he's facing with the younger drivers, younger riders coming up. So pretty awesome. Thank you, Aaron, for giving us the time. Thank y' all for tuning in and enjoying this segment in this episode. And it's time for the white flag. All right. It's time for the white flag. The teardown was live after the race on Twitter and YouTube. Reacting to Larson's win and on Monday, actions detrimental. Denny Hamlin had Kyle Busch in studio. And you don't want to miss that one door bumper clear. Also had Austin Dillon, Kyle's RCR teammate. And then Herman Schrader, Speed street. All that Stuff is coming out today. Just a lot of great insight from Herman Schrader. But Speed Street's really critical around this time of year because of the Indy 500. Daily gives some great insight on what he's experiencing there. And what's going on around the sport is that race is closing up quickly. And then Thursday. Tomorrow, another episode of Bless yous Heart with my wife Amy and the Dale Junior Foundations. When Dale Junior's ride raffle is underway. This one's kind of special because we're gonna. We're gonna give away a 20, 25 Chevy Tahoe. But what the best part is, it's loaded full of stuff me and Amy's put in there. I mean, literally, I've taken hats out of my closet. I have. I get these hats made from time to time, maybe a patch or something that I get made special, and I'll have a couple dozen of these hats made. Well, I pulled these out of that inventory to put into the back of this Tahoe. There's a beach shade that me and Amy use out out at our beach house in South Carolina. If you love going out on the beach, you'll want the shade. Amy has this slushy machine that I got her last year that she loves and JBL speaker that I go everywhere with, and all kinds of stuff in the back of this Tahoe. And we're adding more and more things. Some of this stuff is actually our stuff. It's kind of like a solo stove, but it cooks. And I've had that thing in my garage in a box, and I just haven't gotten it out to use it. I said, hell, I'll throw it in the back of this Tahoe. Somebody can win it. So there's literal things that have come out of our house that are in the back of this Tahoe that you can. You can buy a $25 raffle ticket to try to win. And, hey, you're supporting the Dale Junior foundation and all the great things we do. And this raffles been quite popular because of the. I mean, I know the Chevy Tahoe is cool, but I think it's the stuff in the back of it. Go to thedalejrfoundation.org Just go to the Dell juniorfoundation.org Look at the video. There's a video me and Amy telling you everything that we put in the back of this thing. And tell me if you don't want to buy a raffle ticket. After you see all that great information on that website, purchase your ticket. We'll see you next week. Check out DirtyMome Media on Instagram, Facebook X and TikTok.