Chat Transcript: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

July 15, 2001
12:48 PM EDT (1648 GMT)

Nascar_Host1: Welcome to NASCAR.com's chat with Dale Jr.!

Dale_Jr: Thanks for signing on tonight!

I am sure everyone wants to know my thoughts about the last two weeks. I am really excited about the win. It was the most exciting of my career. It did a lot for my team and DEI, and it made the family happy.

Everyone talking about having the race rigged or anything like that has a ridiculous idea. We ran so good that I can see how it raised the question, but it is not even possible. For NASCAR to do anything like that, hundreds of people would have to know about it. What happens on the racetrack is uncontrollable. If NASCAR was going to give someone a break, it would have already been revealed and in the courts by now! Haha

It is really a shame and some writers dramatized it. I don't think they were really thinking about the effect this would have on me. It really hurt Tony's and the guy's feelings.

When you go to Daytona, it is more car than driver as far as the racing goes. I am really proud of the car they put together. They wanted to win the race for me and my dad. We came out of there thinking the best and to come away without the credit they deserved was a poor hand dealt to them.

I have seen this type of thing happen to other people before, but those writers just don't understand. I feel bad for the team and for our sponsor, Budweiser. All the fans have to deal with this and all my fans have to deal with this crap when they go to work the next day.

It will blow over and everyone will come to their senses and see what we accomplished. It will go down as one of the finer moments in NASCAR history I do believe.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Alli88fan: Hi Dale, Congratulations on your win on Saturday night! Awesome job. Were you relieved to see Michael Waltrip in your rearview mirror?

Dale_Jr: Definitely was! During the race all three DEI cars were in the front a time or two. Steve Park was up in the top-3 a lot of the night, but he tore a balljoint. Michael had a bad pit that put him back, but he made his way through there. His car was good, if not better, than mine.

Whoever got out on front was hard to pass. I knew he had a fast enough car to get up in there. We told each other that if we got around each other, we would help each other so one of us would win the race. It was cool. He came up there and I knew I really had a friend to help me at the end. I was working for him during the 500 and he was returning the favor.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Paris!: How did it feel to be able to celebrate with all of your friends there?

Dale_Jr: It was fun. I took those guys to Daytona about a week earlier. That is a circle of guys that I hang with. We go to the bars together. Those guys don't know about racing and don't really care. They just hang with me for a good time.

I was going back to Daytona and I didn't want to go by myself. We just hung out and got comfortable with the place. They helped me emotionally. We went to the beach and hung out on the boardwalk. They had a great time. The win there was a bonus for them. I am glad they got to see that.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: tennesseewalker60: Dale, great job on your win! I was wondering, what were you thinking on the last restart when you were back in 6th? Did you think you could get to the front?

Dale_Jr: I was really nervous about it. My spotter kept telling me we had a car that could win. I knew we had better tires with four, but still when they block the racetrack it is hard to get around them. I got help from some guys like Mike Wallace behind me. I think Rusty or someone put me in the lead in turn 3. I got by a lot easier than I thought I would, but most of those guys weren't running really good anyways except for Schrader. I just wanted to get by everyone before someone with 4 tires got by me.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Lesh: They say that Daytona is like a new beginning for the rest of the season. I was just wondering how your mind-set has changed (or if it has) toward the rest of the racing year?

Dale_Jr: I am really looking forward to it. We came in to Chicago with a lot of weight lifted off my shoulders. I feel like I was rescued off a deserted island. It was a chance deal to win that race and to have done it there, I think it will change my life dramatically. We came in here really pumped. We had a fast car in practice today, and that didn't show in qualifying, but we have a fast car. I am going to wheel the hell out of it so we should be fast on Sunday.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: marshatres: How cool was it to go to the All-Star Game in Seattle? How was batting practice?

Dale_Jr: All that stuff was a lot of fun! I have to credit Budweiser for putting me in situations like that. They have a lot of different teams and things they are involved in so I always have a chance to do things like that. We ran that scheme for two races this year.

I got to meet Roger Clemens, who I am a fan of, as well as Randy Johnson. They are big race fans themselves, so that was cool. I liked hearing their thoughts about racing.

I got to actually receive some pitches from the Seattle coaches in, so that was a lot of fun to go out there and do that. They told us what was wrong with our swing and how to improve. There is more going on in a baseball game than you realize.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: nascar: Did you get a chance to hang out with Britney Spears last Saturday?

Dale_Jr: Actually, I didn't! She was pretty well guarded! She had some beefed up security around her and I knew going over there was really not going to be a good experience. I was excited that she came to the race and I would have liked to have met her and said a few words, but under the circumstances it didn't look comfortable. She probably had a good time with it, but she looked a bit uncomfortable around the crowd there.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: nascarwilly: How did the track change between practice and qualifying today?

Dale_Jr: Everyone said it changed a lot, but I felt like we were fast in practice (10th) and then we went out to qualify and we were awful. I was so pissed off that I didn't know what to think. I just sat down and cooled off.

The left front spring coils mashed down and we lost a lot of time with that happening. If my car hadn't of done that, we would have been just as good as we were in practice.

It is a difficult track. For a lot of guys it takes a while even after a few laps of the track to get used to it. If you have a few hours between practice and qualifying, sometimes you forget some stuff.

Some guys said their cars didn't drive the same, but my car should have been the same way it was in practice. At least we have a reason. We ran out of suspension travel and that is just something that can happen.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Dalejrrulz: My question is, I heard Hank Parker Jr. has a new nickname for you, something about a baseball head? Do you have a nickname for him?

Dale_Jr: I forget was his name was... let me think about that... his little brother is called "Catfish," but that doesn't help ya! I don't have one for him really, but dumbass... Hahahaha

We have been buddies forever. I met him when I was 13. The first car he ever drove was one he bought from me, and my daddy and his hunted a lot. His racing started from buying a car from me and my dad. We stayed in touch and we hang out whenever it is possible, and we also talk on the phone or internet.

It is a shame that he has been in the equipment he has been in the last few years. He is a great driver and he has great talent. He has as much as me, if not more. He has really dedicated himself to racecars without any family background in it. He has a lot of knowledge on how a car works. Someone should pick him up, dammit! He has what it takes!

Nascar_Host1: Question from: OnlyDale: What are your views on the Tony Stewart situation?

Dale_Jr: My opinion, he got forced down on the apron, no doubt. It is a judgement call and in that there is no right or wrong. There are a lot of grey areas.

He was up beside the #10 car and if you asked Johnny Benson, he would tell you that. Tony would have run into Johnny and caused a big wreck.

It is a race and I would have done the same thing Tony did. I felt like he was improving his position BEFORE he went below the line. You can't fault a guy for not causing a 10 or 15 car wreck.

NASCAR will rarely go back on what their call is. As far as Tony arguing with them, that is a different story. His fine is for afterwards, not what he did on the racetrack. Those are two different things there.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: kelliejrfan: How do you think the article in Rolling Stone turned out? Were you happy with it?

Dale_Jr: I was real happy with it. Toure, who wrote the article, did the first one with me last year. I really trust the guy and I poured my guts out to him for the article. I trusted him to use the information positively.

When I am in those situations, I may be worried about what the public might say and I take it to my mom or him and see what they say. It was really strong but I really wanted to get it off my chest.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: tfraley8: How do you feel about the upcoming 20-week stretch? Will that be tough?

Dale_Jr: I don't think so. It just depends on how good we run I guess! We have been through this last year. I am really prepared for the stretch now more than I was last year.

It came fast and furious last year, but this year we have a grasp on what we are getting ourselves into. I am more prepared for such a stretch as this. A lot of tracks we are going to I am pretty interested in going to, so we should be fine.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Jen: Can you tell us more about the charity you are involved with, the Urban Youth Racing League?

Dale_Jr: The group is called Liger Racing that puts it together. The program is for young kids based in Philadelphia. They are going to open in new markets, and it runs from like May to September.

These 50-75 kids get to participate in the classroom and on the "racetrack" in mini Cup racecars. They get to learn how cars work and how to drive the cars and just things like that. They all compete against each other somewhat and they have a banquet on September 15th.

It is a pretty big program and it is growing fast. July 26th is the Dale Jr. Celebrity Shootout. I am going to that with the mayor and it is held at Memorial Hall in Fairmont Park. We are going to have a lot of fun with the kids there and see their progress.

I am close to a couple of the kids and it is pretty much the same group there when I go. This one kid actually made it to a national event and finished 2nd! This kid has learned a ton in this program and now he competes at that level.

Some of the people that are part of this are Hank Jr. and Coy Gibbs. For more information, contact Liger Racing at 215-473-9014 and you want to talk to Anthony Martin. Some of the sponsors are pretty beefy; we have the General Manager from the 76ers, the GMAC Vice-President, and a bunch of others.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: jrfan: Out of all the towns that you visit during the racing season, which has the biggest party atmosphere?

Dale_Jr: The Pepsi 400 in Daytona! That is probably the one. It may not be for the fan, but as a driver, that is the race weekend I have the most fun. I feel the least amount of pressure. You don't have to be the best racecar when it is a restrictor plate race.

We probably drank 500 beers 4-5 days before the race! I probably wasn't in the best shape to run a 400-mile race, but a few days of detox takes care of that! It is a laid back weekend without a lot of pressure.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Turtle: Junior, if you could listen to music while racing, what band would you listen too?

Dale_Jr: I would listen to Korn. When I am in a racecar and racing, that is how I feel. The way that music moves and feels, man, them boys can play some stuff! It really kicks butt. They aren't my favorite band of all, but when I want to get pumped up in a racecar, that is how I would do it.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: BiggestDaleJrFan: Dale, I visited DEI the other day and was excited to see your car from Saturday right up there in front behind the glass. Do you plan on running that car again, or are you gonna leave it where it is now?

Dale_Jr: There is no telling. It ran so good that we will leave it there the rest of the year. We may run it at Talladega, but we will take it back to the Daytona 500. To run as well as it did, we would be a damn fool not to.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: chevyracin: How do you keep so calm in such a press and media frenzied sport where reporters are always looking for a flaw in someone's character?

Dale_Jr: It has been tough. I think the last eight days have been the hardest that I have ever had to deal with. Dealing with trying to explain what winning that race was like -- I couldn't put it into words. I can't describe the feeling, and then the controversy...

You don't want to say the wrong thing, but for example, I mouthed off a few times about Jimmy Spencer about some of his comments about the race and that was poor judgement on my part. Those are the decisions you make and it has been hard recently, but most of the time it is a piece of cake.

Nascar_Host1: Question from: Newt: Is it true you wrote some songs, and if so, are they available?

Dale_Jr: I did actually! I wrote one 4 years ago. It was released and is now out of print. I don't know if you can find it, but it is past history!

Nascar_Host1: Question from: stef24: Dale, congratulations on the win! I was just wondering how a race team prepares for a race at a new track like the Chicagoland Speedway?

Dale_Jr: We never tested at Chicago, so we listened to other people about the track and their comparisons to Las Vegas, Texas or California. We came with the same kind of setups that we ran at Michigan and I felt like after a few laps that it was more like Texas, so we headed in that direction. We ran some pretty good laps and it was really comfortable. I am really satisfied with it.

You associate it to another track and you make changes based on the track you are comparing it to. It is a lot of fun to go to a new track. It is like riding a new roller coaster for the first time. You want to see where it takes your stomach or what the loops are. You just go out there and have a good time!

Nascar_Host1: That's all the time Dale has for us this evening. Thanks Dale! What are your final thoughts?

Dale_Jr: Appreciate you all showing up! I hope you got something out of the answers. I enjoy doing online chats. Start hitting the message boards and I will get back on here soon! Have a Bud if you can! Don't drink and drive, and drink responsibly.