Speedweek Left Us With A Lot To Unpack...

Summary

The Dale Jr. Download

Episode: Speedweek Left Us With A Lot To Unpack...
Host: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Dirty Mo Media, SiriusXM
Date: February 20, 2026

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Dale Jr. Download dives into the aftermath of NASCAR Speedweek and the Daytona 500, exploring both technical and human sides of stock car racing. Dale Jr. and guests—including Denny Hamlin and Kenny Cox (Civil)—unpack competition strategies, racing politics, the sport’s approval system, personal reflections on faith and fulfillment, and Dale’s own thoughts on returning to the track. Expect candid, detailed commentary and engaging stories with a mix of technical analysis and heartfelt conversation.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Restrictor Plate Racing Dynamics & Drag (01:23–07:32)

• Discussion: Dale Jr. and Denny Hamlin analyze current restrictor plate racing, focusing on why cars can’t break away from the pack due to high drag and fuel mileage strategies.
• Key Points:
  • Current cars run at 60% throttle but can’t be overtaken, even by a car at full throttle, due to drag.
  • Proposing to reduce drag so racers can pull away when going “wide open” (mashing the gas).
  • Concern that changes could bring back boring single-file racing.
  • The balance between dramatic pack racing (exciting for casual fans) and competitive integrity is under debate.

Quote:
“If I’m in a pack of cars that are running 60, 70% throttle and I mash the gas 100%, I drive away from them, I break the draft and pull away ... I would love to hear from a crew chief to tell me why that wouldn’t steer us back in the right direction.”
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (03:29)

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2. Denny Hamlin on Race Incidents & Aggressiveness (07:32–10:22)

• Discussion: Denny takes partial responsibility (20%) for an aggressive move at the end of a stage.
• Key Points:
  • Stage points are crucial, prompting aggression.
  • Hamlin analyzed the move, acknowledging that waiting would have been smarter in hindsight.
  • He discusses the domino effect and the difficulty of gauging what other drivers or spotters might do during high-speed maneuvers.

Quote:
“Algier took 100% of the blame. I'll take 20. I'll take 20 of it because it was an aggressive move, but it's coming to the end stage.”
— Denny Hamlin (07:32)

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3. NASCAR’s Approval System Debate (12:38–16:22)

• Discussion: Panel critiques how NASCAR decides which drivers are approved to compete, raising fairness and safety concerns.
• Key Points:
  • Claims that social media following trumps racing resume for some drivers (“Are we trying to get the best race car drivers… or the biggest social media following?” — 13:06).
  • Cletus and Natalie Decker cited as examples of questionable approvals.
  • Calls for a system based on results, with the ability to revoke approvals for poor performance.

Quote:
“This ... system should not be based on participation. It needs to be based on results. … It was just dumb luck that he didn’t wipe out half the field.”
— Luke (13:06)

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4. Kenny Cox (“Civil”) on Faith, Fulfillment, and Success (16:44–25:29)

• Discussion: Civil recounts his journey from material success and emptiness to fulfillment through faith.
• Key Points:
  • Despite achieving personal and financial goals (like buying his parents a house), he felt unfulfilled.
  • Attending a church service sparked a journey leading to inner peace and a sense of greater purpose.
  • Reading the Bible and reflecting on Jesus’s teachings became transformative.

Quotes:
“What a blessing it is to be able to do what I do for a living. Who am I to be like, oh, I don't know, like, what a freaking blessing it is. And to take that for granted, it's like, it's crazy to me.”
— Kenny Cox (Civil) (17:41)

“It wasn’t fulfilling. It wasn’t. It felt like it was never enough. ... No matter what next goal I hit, whether it was a dollar amount, whether it was, like a subscriber count, whatever it was, was not gonna be like, Oh, Kenny’s satisfied now.”
— Kenny Cox (Civil) (19:51)

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5. Daytona 500—Dale Jr. on the Pressure to Race Again (28:35–34:26)

• Discussion: Amy (Dale’s wife) teases Dale about returning to race the Daytona 500. Dale Jr. opens up about the logistics, pressure, and personal standards keeping him from a comeback.
• Key Points:
  • The workload, obligations, and circus atmosphere dissuade him.
  • Feels he’d need to race regularly to be competitive in a "Next Gen" car.
  • Personal pride: Dale does not want to return unless he’s certain he can measure up to his past standards.

Quotes:
“If I could put a suit on and walk out and climb in the car and start it up and drive ... Hell, yes. But you got sim. You’re going to photo shoots ... There’s months of lead up.”
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (29:32)

“I only want to do it if I feel like I am absolutely 100% as good as I can possibly be ... I only can be that good if I'm doing it every single week.”
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (32:38)

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Memorable Moments & Quotes

• On NASCAR’s fear of boring racing:
  “NASCAR is terrified, I believe, that we’re all going to end up on the top in a big string … it was relatively uneventful. They’re worried … the casual fan thinks that’s amazing.”
  — Dale Earnhardt Jr. (05:49)

• On social media vs. skill in driver approvals:
  “Get a bunch of followers and friends and they’ll let you in.”
  — Connor (12:43)

• On fulfillment:
  “It was never enough. Even the money. … Upgraded to ramen and raviolis for a few months ... That’s not making much of a difference on my happiness.”
  — Kenny Cox (Civil) (19:32)

• On public perception of retirement:
  “One of the things that bothered me when I retired was, people were blaming Amy. … It’s her. She told him to stop. … That’s not accurate at all.”
  — Dale Earnhardt Jr. (34:44)

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Timestamps for Important Segments

| Segment | Timestamp | |------------------------------------------------------|---------------| | Restrictor plate racing & drag vs. strategy | 01:23–07:32 | | Denny Hamlin on aggressiveness and stage racing | 07:32–10:22 | | NASCAR approval system debate | 12:38–16:22 | | Kenny Cox (Civil) on faith and fulfillment | 16:44–25:29 | | Dale & Amy debate Daytona 500 comeback | 28:35–34:26 |

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Tone & Takeaways

• The episode blends technical racing insight with deeply personal reflections.
• Dale is candid—revealing doubts and frustrations alongside passion for racing.
• Guests bring both humor and critique, especially regarding NASCAR’s policies and the influence of social media.
• The discussion with Civil offers an unexpected but moving foray into questions about purpose, happiness, and faith.
• The conversational tone throughout is earnest and occasionally playful, making technical debates accessible and personal stories relatable.

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For Listeners

If you want to understand both the nuts and bolts of NASCAR’s current racing scene and the real emotions behind moments in the sport—and to catch a glimpse into how faith and fulfillment shape racers and personalities alike—this is an engaging, honest episode worth your time.

Transcript

[Amy]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Indeed.comdalejr Terms and conditions apply. Hiring do it the right way with Indeed. Hey, everybody, I'm Dylan Hart Jr. And this is the Dirty 30. The best highlights from all of our podcasts this week. 30 minutes every single Friday. The Dirty 30 coming at you. Let's get right to it. This episode of the Dirty 30 is presented by Arby's new Meet in 3 box. Get more meal for your money at Arby's. We have the meats. We got the whole field sitting there running 60, 40, 50% problem. Even the guy leading, even the guy leading the race is running 60%, right? If there's a person that's running, you know, in the middle of the pack and they're like, man, I'm a run wide open. They, they, they, they, they. If they go and and pull out of line and mash the gas to 100%, they cannot drive away from the field. The car has so much drag on it and such a large spoiler that even running wide open, the pack running 60% throttle will hang right onto them. And so I discussed this with Denny and I Believe he agrees that if we were to take enough drag off the cars. So what are you gaining? All right, let's just go back and say, all right, what's the advantage you're gaining by saving this fuel? It's, you know, for every. It's a second or two on pit road, right?

[Dale Jr.]

Yeah. It cycles you to the front of the group.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. So when you come down pit road, you're on pit road less, you come down pit road 30th in a big pack, and you pull off pit road first, fifth, tenth, whatever. Right. So it's a couple of seconds at most. If I took enough, I need to know exactly what nascar. I think what I propose to NASCAR is find out how much drag to pull off the car so that if I'm in a pack of cars that are running 60, 70% throttle and I mash the gas 100%, I drive away from them, I break the draft and pull away. And if I'm running wide open and I'm driving away from that pack, then I'm negating their advantage and they're going to have to chase me down because then if I get so far ahead now I have the advantage. If I drive out to four or five, six seconds away from the pack, then I'll just, you know, I'm going to be adding more fuel when I come to pit road, but that's how many seconds of fuel I'll be taking, right? Yeah.

[Denny Hamlin]

I mean, yeah.

[Dale Jr.]

Theoretically, if you get that far in

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

front, you're going to need. So it should come out if you can. What would probably happen is you might get 4, 5, 6 cars pre race that go, hey, man, when we get a chance, we're all going to link up, mash wide open, we're going to drive away from these guys. Remember when the Haas cars drove away from the field at Talladega by themselves?

[Denny Hamlin]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I'm not saying that was what was going on. I'm just saying if you got four or five guys that teamed up and said, hey, let's jump off this strategy of saving and let's run wide open together, drive away from the field. Yeah, they were fast. Well, the, the, the, the car currently can't do that because it has so much drag. So there's no point for anyone to go wide open because they can't gain an advantage by driving away from the field. Cause the car has too much drag. So there in lies the issue. And that I would love to hear from a crew chief to tell me why that wouldn't steer us Back in the right direction. I'm not saying it fixes the problem, but why wouldn't taking the drag off the car fix it? I know that, you know, if I'm running, why. So, okay, they might tell you this. They might say this. Okay, Dale, you know, you've taken the drag off the car. Now I can pull away from this pack. But the pack just runs 80% throttle instead of 60. They're still saving gas. They'll run 80% to keep up with the 100%. Right. The guy that's full throttle, the pack's just going to sit behind him and still save, still beat him off pit road. Yeah, you're still going to have. You're still going to have people, I mean, do it.

[Dale Jr.]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I've drove race cars with all types of packages at Daytona. Different splitters, wings, spoilers, restrictor plates. And yes, you're. If you're second, third, fourth, fifth, you're not wide open. We weren't saving gas. We were just trying not to hit the guy in front of us. But you're not always wide open. But we weren't thinking, hey, we're saving gas. We were just driving in a draft, you know, so what does that race like, though, in a pack? Yeah, that's. That's going to be the tough part. NASCAR is terrified, I believe, that we're all going to end up on the top in a big string like we were at, you know, the end of 2016 or so. You know, we were. You know, Jimmy won the Daytona 500. I think I finished second. And we ran around the top of the racetrack for a majority of that race. It was relatively uneventful. They're worried, I think NASCAR is that we mash a button, figuratively. We change some things. And they go from running three wide, and the casual fan thinks that's amazing. The fan that doesn't really know about the fuel savings thinks this is amazing. And they go from that to running Single file from 1, from 1st to last, and then they're going to be. NASCAR will be so disappointed if that's what we end up with. And I agree that's a risk you take. And I'm. And I wouldn't be comfortable throwing something out there to see how it works without a real understanding of what we might get.

[Denny Hamlin]

Algier took 100% of the blame. I'll take 20. I'll take 20 of it because was an aggressive move, but it's coming the end stage. He's got to know I'm going to be like, I'm going to take every run I'm going to get at the end of a stage because stage points do matter to me. I had established very early I wanted to be in the top. You know, it's why once I cleared the bottom, in the bottom lane, I moved right to the top. I want, that's where I wanted to be to in the stage. And so, and I was coming with such a massive run, I, I figured as well that. So I made up my mind probably, you know, a hundred yards or so before I actually went high. I said I'm going to the outside no matter what, because I knew where he had run on, on the top before that. So I knew there would be enough space, but it just was not quite. It was enough space. I mean, obviously if he, if he didn't move up, I would have, you know, I had outside position, but it probably happened so quickly that it caught him off guard. And so for me, I think it's my 20% is that he probably didn't have a whole lot of time to react or see that that was coming, therefore was late to react to it.

[Dale Jr.]

I get points or stage ones are more important this year, but on your end, why be so aggressive for someone that always says, like, you just got to get to the end, like you're in a good spot, like keep pushing him and that runs gonna keep going.

[Denny Hamlin]

Yeah, that's, that's what I would have done differently had I had to do it all over again. I certainly would have just, you know, stayed on the 40. What, what I was saying though is that we were running like 10 miles an hour faster than him at that time because of the push that I got. So I just, if I go into the tri oval and then check up for him, I mean, I, I, does the 12 just plow into the back of me? I, I don't know. Probably not because he's got a good spotter, he's a good driver. So he, they, they can know and plan for that kind of stuff. But I just, it would have caused a huge domino effect had I just checked up and, and not taken it. Or I could have just gone to the bottom and probably cleared them with the speed differential that I had, I probably just could have passed them then gotten right back up to the top. But yeah, I agree that again, doing it all over again, had I known what the result was going to be, I would have just stayed in line there for a few more laps.

[Dale Jr.]

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[Tommy]

all right, last one. The NASCAR approval system is Broken. Spot on, spot off.

[Connor]

Tommy, what do you mean? Just get, what do you mean? Followers and, and bunch of friends and they'll let you in.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Connor]

I mean that's all you got to do. Case closed.

[Tommy]

Case closed.

[Luke]

I mean, I mean that's, I mean that's what I was saying earlier. Like this is not going to be, this is going to be very unpopular and I'm sorry, but what are we doing? Are we trying to get the best race car drivers on the racetrack or are we trying to get the biggest social media following?

[Connor]

Yeah, let's, let's just get. I'm going to buy 5 million Tic Tacs, tick tocks and I'm going to make a bunch of friends and you know, do some, some street stock racing and next thing you know, I'm going to be driving a top five truck.

[Luke]

I mean, there was two glaring examples of this weekend. One, Cletus, obviously in the truck race. How, you know, what has he done? Like for me, I get it. There's a, there's a system in place that you have to run certain races to get approved for other races. This, this, a system should not be based on participation. It needs to be based on results. This guy run two plate races last year, wrecked in both of them. Wrecked half the field in one of them from trying to do a restart. Talking about Cletus. And then we're just lucky the other night that he didn't wipe out half the truck field because when he spun he went down instead of up and, and running. I mean he was running in the top 10 when it happened. And I told you, I said, listen, this guy's never been in this position before. Arrow bottom. He's in the bottom of three wide. He's never been in this position before. He's going to wreck. And it was, I said the next five laps probably, and it was two laps later he just loses the nose and you know, gets loose off of four and Rex and it's, it was just dumb luck that he didn't wipe out half the field. And we're talking about safety. The guys, I'm sure he's a great guy, seems like a phenomenal person. He's got great car control. The videos that I watch, he drives anything in the world. He's not ready for what he's doing. So you cannot approve these people to go out there. Natalie Decker, another one. How did she, first of all, how did she ever get approved? Now that she is approved, she's run 13 races and averaged a 29th place finish piling into wrecks on top of that. Like, at what point do you look and say, all right, we made a mistake approving this person. Now we need to take it back. Because you put these people in positions where this is not Cletus's fault, by

[Tommy]

the way, is there a system for that? Like, if, like, can you revoke your.

[Luke]

There should. If there's not, there needs to be.

[Connor]

There's a committee, you know, like, and

[Luke]

like, I want to make it clear that Cletus is, It's not Cletus's fault, but it's NASCAR's fault for letting him race.

[Tommy]

Same thing we talked about with Katherine Leg. Like, it's the system, not. And if, and if you had a problem with how she did and what she did. No, I know, but don't have a problem with Cletus.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Then. Yeah, there's your example.

[Connor]

Catherine had has way, way more race experience.

[Amy]

Totally.

[Connor]

Right.

[Tommy]

But not necessarily in, you know, what we're talking about.

[Luke]

It doesn't matter. At the end of the day, honestly, neither one of them should have been approved. There's the system, like I said, should not be about. Connor, what was your approval process like? I mean, you're the perfect one to ask.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I mean, took a while, right? I had to, you know, I had to race at an ARCA at, in a mile and a half before. But I mean, I don't.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

Look, it would be really bad if

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

NASCAR said no to Cletus.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

Like, you know, he's going to probably

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

go out and be mad at nascar, but I don't know, it's a tough spot. I, I, I'm glad I'm not the ones making those decisions because at the

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

end of the day, you've got this

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

guy with, you know, a ton of followers that, you know, he can bring

[Tommy]

a lot to the sport.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

He can bring a lot to the sport.

[Connor]

But go through the system like you had, like Luke has.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

He should be racing.

[Connor]

Run modifieds, run late models, run, run, no doubt. Go through the system, learn how to race, do all the things that we all have to, we all have to do to get to the places.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

Yeah.

[Connor]

Spend the money like we all had to. To get to.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

Yeah.

[Connor]

Certain spots.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

It feels like a movie.

[Connor]

Like, it feels like show up and raise our voice. It feels like it pisses me off.

[Tommy]

It feels like impractical jokers where like there's somebody in a room somewhere being like, ok, wreck half the field. Okay, now spin out. Like, it's like, what the is going on?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Your real name's Kenny Cox. Everybody knows you as civ or civil.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

Yes, sir.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You had success, I would say publicly, as a mad gamer years ago. And we're gonna talk about your story a little bit, about how it's kind of shifted to where you are today. And one of the things that you did recently was you went public with your faith.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And, you know, I was following you already and just sort of, you know, skimming some ideas off of your information on trying to how to beat my buddies. And you have a dynamic personality on your content. You know, you're very personable, easy to watch, good energy, all of those things. I'm not sure if you even have to try, but it comes across really, really well. Appreciate that. How do you. How do you remain fresh and sustainable?

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

I think it comes back to the Lord, like, I mean, like, what a blessing. Like, dude, what a freaking blessing it is to be able to do what. What I do for a living. Like, who am I to be like, oh, I'm. I don't know, like, what a freaking blessing it is. And to take that for granted. It's like, it's crazy to me. Before I ever came to the Lord, it was very obvious to him. Like, I have no idea why I'm having some of the material successes I'm having. Like, this makes for a logical stand, but this makes no sense. Like, I'm not. I was never the smartest in the room. I was never like, this or that or whatever. And I'm like, like, we are. We are objectively, materially killing it in this. I don't know why. Yeah. And then being able to see, like, okay, these. These, like, different material things that I'm having here for me can be. Can be used to, like, bless. Like, it's way bigger than. Than civil or way bigger than Kenny from the up. From the standpoint, one, like, of, like, be able to provide, like, jobs for people. Like, that's, I think, one of the coolest things you could possibly do. But then being like, to give back to community, be able to buy my parents a house, be able to do other things. Like, that's like, dude, like, that's freaking awesome. Like, how could it. What more do you want?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So I think of that you were having all this success, and you, you know, you're trying. You felt empty, and you were like, you know, you went out, party, had, you know, tried different things to try to find, you know, find ways to make life feel more full.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

I. I'm. I dropped out of college. Like, my. My goal when I was 18, was to take care of my parent. Like, figure out, how do you do it? How do you do it? How do you do it? And then in December 2024, Christmas, my brother and I are able to come together and buy my parents house. It's like, what? More like, they are. They are set financially, barring some. Some disaster. And then afterwards, I'm like, that was cool. I'm like, dang. That actually is not, like. Because if you had told me before that I'd be. I could die the next day. And, like, we're good. Like, who cares? And I'm like, this is not it, dude. And then for the past seven years

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

or so, what are you looking for? What do you mean? There's just.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

There's more. There's just more to it.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You felt. You just. You needed to feel.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

It wasn't enough. It was never enough. It was never enough. Even the money. Things, like, I would see go from like, making no money, where I was eating ramen every single day for months and months and months and months and months. I upgraded to a ramen and raviolis for a few months, too. I'm like. Then I'm eating, like, actual food, and I'm like, okay, would I. Do I get. Do I get better food? Like, that's not making much of a difference on my happiness. Like, the money is.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Why were you not happy?

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

It wasn't fulfilling. Like, it wasn't. It felt like it was never enough. And there was always something I was trying to chase after. It became very obvious very quickly that no matter what next goal I hit, whether it was a dollar amount, whether it was, like a subscriber count, whatever it was, was not gonna be like, oh, Kenny's satisfied now.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

And so I just went looking. I looked for, like, partying. I looked in, like, relationships. I looked in and every which way that you could possibly look, trying to find, like, okay, maybe I need to be around, like, other YouTubers. My friends just don't get it. Yeah, no, that's not it. Maybe other entrepreneurs, like, no, that's not it. Like, whatever, whatever. And I remember one time I was getting, like. I was kind of being, like, cocky to myself, walking around where I was like, man, like, Kenny, you've done some, like, cool things. Like, heck, yeah. And I'm like, dude, for some reason, I remember thinking this so clearly, like, dude, like, you are about to crash, you idiot. And I'm like, I don't know what that means at all. But, like, whatever. And I remember thinking, like, I should look into, like, another place called Church. Like, I don't know what that really looks like. I called one of my good friends, who's my girlfriend now, actually, and I called her up, and she. I said she went to church. I'd never done anything with it. I was like, hey, do you know any churches in my area? Like, she's way up North Austin. I was South Austin. And she's like, I don't really know any around your area, but, like, in the morning, I'm actually getting baptized, if you want to come. Like, see that? And I was like, oh, like, sure, I'll just go there. And I went. That was the first time going to church. January 5th of 2025. I remember, like, walking in, like, shaking people's hands, and, like, they were, like, talking to me. Like, I was like, a human who, like, they cared about. I was like, this is weird. Like, okay, let's go. And I got to see the baptism. Didn't really understand what that was at all, but I was like, cool. Like, people are cheering for her. So, like, let's go. Was there for a couple weeks, all the guys who come up to me and be like, hey, man, like, so happy you're here. Like, by the way, this, like, this Christ thing, this Jesus thing changed my life. Jesus changed my. I'm like, what are you talking about, dude? Like, you're like, I don't know what you're full of, but, like, it ain't. But I know people said it. I'm like, I'm not smarter than you, so there might be something here. Yeah. And so a couple weeks, I decided to read, get a Bible. And one of the people at the church named Shane gave me a Bible. Started with the Gospel of Matthew and the end of it. I'm like, dude, if this is true, this is a really big deal.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Tell me about that. So I had a friend of mine talk about picking up the Bible and read the Bible and how reading the Bible and the stories within it had this massive impact on them. And so I've not read the Bible thoroughly. I've not read an entire. You know, I've not read an entire three, four pages, you know. But. So, like, tell me, like, if I were to sit down and literally dive into the story, right, what would. What would my experience be?

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

I think it'd be. It'd become very, very clear of, like, what we're doing here on Earth. There's so much more. There's so much. It's so much bigger than everything here. It's bigger than Our jobs, it's bigger than even our immediate family. There is something bigger going out there and there's a. A creator above who. Who loves us more than we could possibly imagine. I'll say. I think one of the things that, like, I would ask you, Dale, is like, like, what do you think about, like, Jesus, for example? Like, you just had to say, what do you think about Jesus?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

What would you say that he died for? For our sins.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

And so like, that's a big deal.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

So like, if that is true, that's a massive deal. Right? It's like objectively, because, like, if that's true, if he died for our sin and the wages of sin, it reads in the Bible is death, and he died for it to give us forgiven and with a chance for eternal life in heaven. It's like, well, these are objectively big claims. Like, there's no way around it. And so it's like, well, I want to research these claims and like, see, are these like, is this just a load of crap? Because if it's a load of crap, I want nothing to do with it. Yeah, but if it's.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And so reading, in reading the Bible, you gain confidence in those claims.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

Yes, yes, I gained confidence in the claims that Jesus was the son of God. That Jesus was God, is God, that his word is true, His Word is reliable. And if that's the case, you know, like, I think it was like a father figure, but like to the ultimate extreme where it's like, you know, you may not understand your father always when he's telling you things, but you can have confidence that he's telling you things in good faith and he has what, your best interest in mind. Right. You don't see the big picture. But like, you know that like, okay, like, I listen to dad because he's saying this and whatever. Or maybe you might even be like, ah, whatever, dad. But that's so like, take that idea and like put at times infinity, because there's a Father in heaven who knows our. Who knows what we need, who knows our deepest and our smallest desires and is telling us how to achieve these things. And it's just like by putting faith into him and him alone, we're like, we're able to come closer to him and come closer to those things.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. And so this has given you peace and.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

Yeah, it's giving me fulfillment. It's giving me drive towards like something way bigger. It's like a lot of the things I remember reading the Gospel of Matthew and consistently throughout, I'd be like, these, like, they're like different I thought ideas that I would have. And it's like articulated right here. Like so well articulated here. So well articulated here. So well articulated here. I'm like, man, like, what a, what a freaking great. Like, it was so, so, so cool and so many things that would like, challenge me. And it's like, okay, I look like the idea of like forgiveness, like we can all agree that like it's good to forgive people. Like you should forgive people at the same time, like someone really wrongs you. It's like really hard to forgive. Like Jesus says we should forgive even the people who have wronged us the most. And it's like objectively, even though it's hard for us emotionally to do that, I think we can all be like, yeah, we should. Like, that's probably a better way to live life than like not forgiving at all. Yeah, it is. Yeah. It has been an incredible, incredible like, life change for me.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Amy]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So visit communitycoffee.com and use the code Dale25 to save 25% on your next community coffee order. That's Dale25 for 25% off [e-mail] you

[Dale Jr.]

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[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Mo Media Junior Motorsports and I have a new partner this year and we couldn't be more excited about this. A lot of y' all may have heard Arby's has come on board and we're loving every second of it. And Arby's has entered the chat with a meal deal that raises the bar for value. Introducing the new meat and three box for $7.99 that's filled with Arby's quality favorites. Each meat three box includes your choice of one sandwich. The classic roast beef that is hand sliced and slow roasted. Or you can go with the crispy fish sandwich. All this comes with the melty mozzarella sticks, some crispy curly fries. Everybody loves those. And a peach cobbler roll for dessert. Guys, you got to try that dessert. It's really good. And you get a small drink. It's called Meat and Three. But you're actually getting five items, all for only $7.99. Nobody out there is giving you this much value for your money. This is a value meal that won't leave you hungry. You know, you don't have to settle for less when you get more from Arby's. Available for a limited time at participating locations. While supplies last, prices may vary. Get your meet in three box at an Arby's near you today. All right, so let's. Let's address the elephant in the room.

[Dale Jr.]

I wanted to keep it going for a little longer.

[Amy]

What? The elephant in the room.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Daytona 500.

[Amy]

Listen.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Listen. Explain yourself. Amy.

[Amy]

I was in a weakened state. You had me trapped in a bus with the kids. And I have a short shelf life. I have a short shelf life in environments like that.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I was just gonna say I was laying next to my handsome husband in bed and I was in a weakened state. Well, you know, not trapped in a camper with him.

[Amy]

I'm a fluffer. I'm trying to make you smile and make you happy. And you laid down and you were talking about the race. I was like, you just should run it yourself next year. And he looks at me like, what the hell? Who has abducted my wife and put this chick here? I mean, I was kind of serious, but it's. Listen, it is up to you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy]

It's always up to you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's just so much work.

[Amy]

Oh, my God, it's so much work.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You have no clue.

[Amy]

I don't. You're right. I don't.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So.

[Amy]

But I feel like it would be worth the extra whatever.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It ain't like. All right, look, if I could. If I could put a suit on and walk out and climb in the car and start it up and. And drive it off and race like hell. Hell, yes. But you got sim. You're going to photo shoots. You got to take picture. You know, you got to. You got to get fitted in the suit and do all. It's just. There's months of lead up to. And there'll be so many, you know, people that are partners and think you'll be a lot of media. There'll be just a bunch of asks.

[Amy]

You can't just go race.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

You'll be. You'll feel bad saying, no, I don't want to do all that.

[Amy]

Why do you have to feel bad?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Because I feel bad.

[Dale Jr.]

I.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

It's a. It's a privilege to be able to do it.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And you feel like it's your job and your obligation to say yes to all of the things that. That it. That allow it to happen. Right.

[Amy]

Well, this is part of the reason you've always felt so much pressure is because you feel that way.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah.

[Amy]

Instead of just enjoying the racing and separating those things for yourself. You know what I mean?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. Like, I. I just know that if I said, yeah, I'll do that, it will turn into a. Just a circus. And standing out there on the grid, getting ready to get in the car, there's just a circus.

[Amy]

I mean, that's. I don't feel like that's a reason to say no. I mean, the other reason I don't enjoy.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

We go. We went to the Daytona 500. We stood out on the grid.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And we're. And it's not a circus in this. In my current role. And I like watching. I like watching the circus not being.

[Amy]

You don't want to be a monkey in the circus.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah. So I don't know. I. I do love driving. I do watch them go around the track and go, man, I'd love to be out there and feeling that and doing that. I would love that.

[Amy]

But what if they created, like, a.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Okay, so the other part is I

[Amy]

got that big, fat hand.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I have never raced the next gen. Oh, that's true. I've never been in that car. I don't know where this is. It is racing at the cup level, and I will always feel this way. It is an elite level. You have to be freaking badass to be there and know where all every square inch of that car is as you're traveling around the track. Yeah, I don't know where the corners are. I don't know. I don't know. You don't know the car that. When we get into the very finite moments of adjustment and driving and decision making and instant, like, bam, bam, bam. I don't know that I still. I don't think you can just jump in and all that comes right back, really. I think you need to be doing it every week.

[Amy]

Okay.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

To be able to be as sharp as you're going to want to be. And so if I go out there and those guys are moving, reacting quicker, because their. Their minds are.

[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

Are.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Are where my mind used to be, you know, and they're. They're quicker reacting. They're sharper. I'm gonna notice that, and I'm gonna go, I don't want to do this unless I can be as good as I remember being.

[Amy]

I understand.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Right?

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And so while it's fun and I do enjoy it, I only want to do it if I feel like I am absolutely 100% as good as I can possibly be.

[Amy]

And how are you gonna know? How do you know you.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I only can be that good if I'm doing it every single week. I think any cup guy, like, even Blaney, a friend of ours, would come in here and say, hey, man. Yeah. Are you sure you're going to have your hands full? Yeah. You know, but I feel like I would really be in over my head. I hear you, and I'm. As much as it would be fun, that would be. No matter. It would be fun, but I would end it no matter what the result would be going, man. I realize I don't. I'm not there anymore, you know?

[Amy]

So are you worried a little bit, too, putting all that aside, like, how it would affect your ego?

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Not so much.

[Amy]

I don't mean that in a negative way, but, like.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Yeah, I know what you mean.

[Amy]

I wouldn't say hurt your feelings.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

I wouldn't say ego, but, yeah, it Might. It might. It might drive home the. The truth that, you know, you're. You're 51. You're. You're not as. You're not going to be as sharp because you don't do it every week. It's like golf. Like, if you want to be great at golf and truly doing a great job hitting the ball and putting it where you're supposed to do it, you need to do it all the time. You can't just. And another example. And I'm not. I'll end here. Casey Kane came in to the studio probably six years ago.

[Amy]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

And he was back and forth about driving his dirt cars. And I'm like, why don't you drive them? Why don't. Why don't you drive them more? He goes, man, I get mad because I do it every now and then, and I'm. And I get my ass kicked, and I can only do it well if I'm doing it every week, and I can't do it every week. And so it's frustrating. I want to do it. It's fun, but I can't be as good as I want because I can't do it all the time. And I'm like, yep.

[Amy]

Yeah, he gets.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Totally understand that.

[Dale Jr.]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

So.

[Amy]

All right, well, we settled it. Thank you for. But I'm drinking stuff. I was taken aback when I saw that come up on my phone yesterday. I was like, holy, I can't believe you said that.

[Dale Jr.]

I didn't want him to come out and acknowledge. I wanted to sit there for a little.

[Amy]

It was just going to be in the camper, and that was that we're going to leave it there.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

Well, I said that. I said that selfishly maybe because one of the things that bothered me when I retired was people were blaming Amy. And so people. I saw people on social media, and I know you're not supposed to be.

[Amy]

I mean, I'm an easy target. That's. That's, like, where everybody.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

They were like, I bet Amy told him to quit. It's Amy. It's her. She told him to stop. Amy's. Amy told him not to do anymore. And that's not at. That's not accurate at all. And so when you said that the other night, I was like, man, people would not believe that. She just said that. They would. They wouldn't, you know, they wouldn't believe your. Your point of view. And so. Oh, I, you know, I shared that. I shared a commerce. I shared that, you know, with everybody, and I made the choice to stop and Amy, and I am. He supported my choice, but she wasn't sitting there going, man, you need to stop.

[Amy]

No, I was very careful with what I said to you. Of course I wanted you to be healthy and safe and all the things. But also you have to be happy and your choice has to be yours or you have because you have to live with it.

[Dale Jr.]

Yeah.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

All right. That was another episode of the Dirty 30 presented by Arby's. New meet in 3 bucks. Get more meal for your money At Arby's we have the meats.

[Amy]

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[Dale Jr.]

Their iced Coffee K cups are rich and refreshing and they stand up to ice so your coffee isn't watered down. Available in classic black and vanilla sweet cream.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

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[Denny Hamlin]

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[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

and can lose up to 50ft of visibility before burnout.

[Denny Hamlin]

That's why you shouldn't wait.

[Dale Earnhardt Jr.]

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[Denny Hamlin]

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[Kenny Cox (Civil)]

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[Denny Hamlin]

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