Conversation: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Editor's Note: The following Conversation contains adult language. Discretion is advised.

I'll keep this brief so you can get on down to the good stuff. Nothing I could possibly write would be more entertaining than the following interview in raw form.

I woke up in Chicago on Monday morning primed for the coming two days of sheer baseball bliss, but first I was scheduled to spend the day with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. amid the hoopla surrounding the Major League Baseball all-star game.

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We were to take batting practice on the field, but he overslept. (Dangit). So instead we met up at MLB Fan Fest, where he was slated to make an appearance for Budweiser and hang out on ESPN Radio with Dan Patrick.

And honestly, being that Junior had followed up a tough day at Chicagoland Speedway with a killer party deep into the night, I expected cranky.

What I got was classic.

Folks, the goods:

Q: Has all this extracurricular sponsor stuff gotten mundane for you? For most of us, it's a dream come true.

Earnhardt: "It's all right. Sometimes it's kind of mundane but, I don't know, you've just got to find ways to get a kick out of it. The batting practice deal, it's mundane. It's fun though, especially for guys like Ty (Norris, DEI executive vice president). He can hit it to the wall just about, almost hit one out last year.

"It's fun. You get out there and the guy throws it to you and you hit the ball. Then you go over and get to throw some pitches and they time you and stuff. But the best part is when you get to stand in the outfield and just toss the ball back and forth with somebody. That's f------ awesome. Find you a little spot over in the shade. The ball field's beautiful. They're all beautiful, all kind of different in their own way."

Is it the fact that you're in a 20-week stretch?

Earnhardt: "I take every opportunity I can to be home, no matter whether it's a weekend off or 20-week stretch or whatever. I don't really feel burnt out, been getting better and better at managing myself to where I don't get too burnt out. Seeing the (All-Star Game), it's a been-there-done-that kind of thing. Just ready to go home."

I'm sure Budweiser wants you to wave at the cameras on FOX for 30 seconds, too, but you're at a point in your career where you can kind of dictate what you do.

Earnhardt: "Yeah, well, yeah. I was at a game somewhere and they put me on the jumbotron and I had a Budweiser, and I stood up and cheers'd the crowd, you know, and the next week this guy writes an article in the USA Today about how it was a shameless plug. I was kind of bummed out about that, so I just steer clear of those opportunities now. "

	Credit: Autostock

Are you surprised at how crazy the crowd has been today? They're mobbing you like we're at the track.

Earnhardt: "It's kind of cool because it's for baseball. It's real weird signing baseballs because I feel like, 'uh oh, I'm not supposed to be signing these. These are for players.' It's like you haven't earned the right to do it. But it's pretty cool. There's a lot of race fans here. It's so cool to come here and see people that have your cars and your memorabilia, and came here expecting to see you. That's really cool."

Back to this particular event. Obviously, your sponsor has relationships with this kind of thing that others don't, so you have to do more than maybe other drivers do appearance-wise.

Earnhardt: "Well, that's kind of a bonus for me because I get to see all kinds of different stuff, get to meet baseball players and get a sense of what baseball fame is like, comparable to race car driver fame. Suddenly you don't feel so bad, seeing how these guys get hounded all the time, too. I'll tell you, Budweiser is awesome. I can go to any football game, any baseball game, any boxing match I want to go to. That's awesome."

When you meet baseball players, are you accepted as part of the athlete fraternity. Do they view you as equal to them?

Earnhardt: "I think they do, the guys that know about racing. Those guys that have no clue, you know, 'Hey, I drive NASCAR Winston Cup.' They don't know that from the Tour de France, you know?"

How does your fame compare to theirs, from what you've seen?

Earnhardt: "Used to be this wide gap, but it's closed up quite a bit."

Ever taken BP (batting practice) before?

	Dale Earnhardt Jr. also seems to garner a lot of attention. Credit: Autostock

Earnhardt: "Yep, last couple years I did. I couldn't get up very early this morning. I wanted to go out in Chicago. We always come to these towns and never get to see the cities. So we went out last night and I just didn't feel like getting up. We went to the FOX party, which was pretty cool, then to some other bar.

"I met this guy, he's a receiver for the Ravens, Marcus Robinson. Well, I was here a couple months ago for a Drakkar appearance, and this lady gives me this autograph of his, and he's in his Bears uniform catching a pass or something, and the lady was like, 'Hey, this guy is a fan of yours.' And I was like, 'Really?' Like, it's supposed to be the other way around.

"So he comes to the race Sunday and he's like, 'Hey man, Marcus Robinson. I play for the Ravens. Used to play for the Bears.' I was like, 'Man, I think I got your autograph, what number were you?' And he said '88.' And I said, 'Yeah, yeah that's you.' So he said, 'Man what are you doing?' I said I was staying in town and he said 'I just live down the road, man. Hit me up.'

"So we went out last night and it was a lot of fun. Cool guy. I was amazed. I mean, he's from Georgia so he's got some Southern boy in him and he knows NASCAR, so it kind of made sense. He lives here so he knows the town, took us to a couple bars and stuff. It was fun."

Is it a bummer to go to L.A. and (Chicago) but never really have a chance to get to town?

Earnhardt: "Well, it's getting a little easier because I'm starting to meet people that can take me to certain places, like, 'hey man, I'd like to go somewhere that's kind of quiet,' or 'I'd like to go somewhere and be in the middle of the crowd,' and you've got people you can trust that can do that for you, like Marcus or some of my friends in LA. So it's getting easier. I used to go out there and sit in the motorhome and think, 'Man, this sucks,' or 'I'm so far from home, f--- this.' (laughing)."

I was watching you on (Jim) Rome the other day. I remember back in '99 when you won the Busch championship, you were on that show. This time around it seemed the respect level for you, from him, was way different. Do you agree?

Earnhardt: "I felt like the first time he interviewed me -- you know how Jim is and how he can be. And I expected the first time when he interviewed me he'd divulge into NASCAR and try to pick it apart. And he didn't do it. He was actually really respectful then. I didn't feel like there was a big difference from now to then.

"He's always been cool to me. I haven't ever done anything to deserve it. Never met the man before, but both interviews I've dealt with him -- I don't understand. I don't see him acting that way toward anybody else (laughing). He's always asking the hard questions and I get all the questions that are typical. He doesn't ever ask me anything hard."

You had a disappointing race (at Chicago). Does that stay with you a couple days or are you able to come here and have fun?

Earnhardt: "It used to bother the shit out of me, like it'd take all week (to get over it). I'd have to have a good finish to get it out of my system. But I went over to the garage after I got done with my infield care center stuff, carried my helmet to the truck, walked over to the car and Tony (Eury) Jr. was trying to fix the car to where they could load it. He comes over, pats me on the back, says 'Tough luck. We'll get 'em. Don't worry about it. What can you do, you know?'

	Dale Earnhardt Jr. is third in the Winston Cup standings. Credit: Autostock

"That makes it so much easier. Because I walk over there and I know I busted my ass and the car was out of control. I couldn't drive it. I don't think anybody could have drove it. I feel like, I didn't make a mistake, per se, but I maybe should have come to pit road a lot sooner (laughing). But I'd just pitted for tires, so it was a catch-22 deal.

"But I called my mom, and my mom said, 'No big deal.' She always pumps me up, and that's kind of cool. I didn't have that stuff a couple years ago and it bothered me real bad. There was always a lot of pressure on me. There's still pressure on me now, but it's nothing like it used to be."

So I hear you sang with Kenny Chesney at the Tribute concert. I hate I missed that little display.

Earnhardt: "Yeah, man. It was fun."

So how'd it happen? Were you just like, 'Man, I want to sing with you'?

Earnhardt. "No. Hell no. I was standing on the side of the stage with about 30 people and he was like (gesturing towards me). And I was like, 'Hell no, I ain't going out there.' He was like, 'Y'all didn't know Dale Jr. could sing. Don't you want to hear him sing?' And everybody was like, 'Wooooooooo!' So I was going to be a total asshole if I didn't go out there."

What'd you sing?

Earnhardt: "'That's where I come from.' Song he's got."

How big a baseball fan are you?

Earnhardt. "Not sure. What's the scale?"

One-to-ten.

Earnhardt: "Ummm ...seven."

Favorite team is the Braves?

Earnhardt: "Yeah, that's my favorite team. I pull for Roger Clemens when he pitches. I'm not a big, huge Yankees fan, but I pull for Roger when he pitches. And Randy Johnson when he pitches."

You ever play the game?

Earnhardt: "Never played. First and only game I've ever played was the celebrity softball game last year here."

And?

Earnhardt: "I broke up the no-hitter and caught two pop flies. Which I was very proud of, actually. Then I got yanked because I was seeing too much action."

You hear a lot about how some Cup drivers know a lot about what makes the car work right and some don't. How good a mechanic are you?

Earnhardt: (Laughing) "I'm pretty good, I guess. I mean, I worked at a dealership and kind of moved all around the service department, so I did pretty much every job. I wouldn't say I'm a jack-of-all-trades or a master in no (particular) part. But if you've got something wrong with your car I can fix it."

In terms of chassis', aero, etc.

Earnhardt: "Oh, you mean race cars? (laughing) I thought you were talking about standard automotive vehicles. Race cars, I built the cars that my sister drove, a car my brother drove, two or three of my own race cars. From the ground. I can do it. If you need a race car, give me enough money and I'll build it for you.

"There's so many variables, hundreds and hundreds. At this level drivers aren't really involved as far as the day-to-day mechanical operations of the race car, like putting it together and problem solving and things like that. Pretty much, my job is anything I can touch. When I'm strapped in, if I can touch it and there's something wrong with it, it's my fault. If I don't like the way it is, I'm the guy I've got to talk to.

"At this level there's so many experts. There's so many people working on the cars that there's nothing for us to do but drive. I would (help out), but they pay me to drive. I'm opinionated. I'm not the final decision-maker in all the areas, though."