Dale Earnhardt Jr. : "I'm looking forward to (my birthday) because I don't feel 30 and I don't act 30 so it don't bother me to turn 30. " Credit: Autostock

Q&A: Dale Earnhardt Jr.

TALLADEGA, Ala. -- When Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks, people listen.

That was obvious Sunday, for after winning the EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, Earnhardt Jr. let an expletive slip out during a post-race interview on NBC. That cost him $10,000 and 25 Nextel Cup points, causing him to lose the points lead he had earned on the track.

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Earnhardt Jr. spoke with the media twice at Talladega, once in a pre-race press conference and again in the press box after winning.

The following are excerpts of both interview sessions.

Q: Can you recap the story you told on "60 Minutes" about the Corvette fire at Infineon Raceway?

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: It's kind of embarrassing to tell it. There was something really weird that happened that day. I think everybody here saw the piece or heard it from someone else or read the quotes. But Steve Crisp went with me as kind of my PR guy. After everything happened, and I got back to the hospital, I'd forgotten that I had asked Steve something in the Infield Care Center.

So I asked him again because I was really messed up on Morphine and stuff like that for a long time. And it took me about nine to 10 hours to get to where I could even talk. But I was like, "Man did you ever find that guy that helped pull me out of the car?" I hadn't seen any of the footage or anything.

Credit: Autostock

"He was like man, 'I told you, man, there was nobody who pulled you out.' I remember being in the Infield Care Center and screaming at him about it because it was as real as the day is long.

When I unbuckled the seat belt -- it has a twist latch instead of what we normally use in our racecars. When I reached to undo that, and I reached up into the rollbar to pull myself out, somebody grabbed me underneath the arms, I thought, and pulled me out of the car.

And I heard screaming and people hollering and carrying on about getting out of the car and stuff. But in the footage, there was nobody around. But it was as real as (it could be). It was no dream or whatever. Call me crazy. I don't care. That was an experience that only I know and only I can tell it.

I told it to "60 Minutes." Maybe it was something I should have kept to myself because I'm going to have to talk about it a lot now. But it was just something that happened and I didn't have an explanation for it, and I still really don't."

Q: Looking back, do you think the older you get the smarter your dad was?

Earnhardt Jr.: Yeah, I know what you mean. He wasn't a man of many words. There wasn't a lot of advice. You just had to watch and if you were smart enough to pay attention, you got it. If you didn't pay attention, he didn't tell you twice.

I think I went on observation more than recalling certain things he might have told me. I go to autograph sessions or appearances and something happens that I saw happen in a Wrangler deal he did in '87 or something like that. So yeah, I feed off a lot of that type of stuff. We have had a lot of similar experiences due to the size of the fan base and the type of sponsors we work with."

Q: As the Chase unfolds, do you think you'll find things that your dad did that will help you better your chances?

Earnhardt Jr.: He either went to Atlanta and had to win to win the championship, or he already had the thing sewn up at Rockingham. So for me to have to say I'm going to have to go to this race and I'm going to have to win it, you only hope for that to happen. He seemed like he could do it every time.

I think we can go to Atlanta and win, but I don't know about Homestead. We've got to really test really hard. We did test at Kansas, and it went really well and I was really happy with the car. Matt (Kenseth) was there and a bunch of other guys. Nobody said his car was really handling great. We were all kind of struggling with things about our cars. They didn't seem to want to turn, or they were too loose. But we were happy at the end of two days.

On the possible protest by a minority group and whether there is racism in this sport.

Earnhardt Jr.: I obviously don't agree. No matter who you are or where you go, you're always going to see differences in opinions. Not everybody is going to like you -- no matter who you are. I feel like out of all the places they could have chosen to come to that Talladega (where) it's really crazy and it's really wild, and I think that'll get misconstrued as an assumption of what a southern redneck's opinion is or what everybody's actions are.

Credit: Autostock

I think it'll get misconstrued and misrepresented on a huge scale. And it's unfortunate. Many years ago there was probably a lot of that around. I'm not going to sit up here an sugar coat the fact that yeah, there probably were 300 percent more rebel flags in the infield than there are today. I think the sport is changing. Its willingness to change should be noted and appreciated. I think it's just as we kind of turned the corner and started to become more mainstream and more accepted by the wider audience that this type of thing is going to put a sour note on that.

Q: What do you have to do to win the championship and what have you learned in the first part of the year that can help with your strategy?

Earnhardt Jr.: The thing about the Chase is, is that it's hard to really know what to do. You take one race at a time and see where you are and where you stand in the points. You can probably think what your plan is but it's probably going to change every week because everybody is freaking out.

All the teams, whether they act like it or admit it or not, are really on pins and needles about not having any engine failures and not having any mistakes on pit road. Four or five of them have already gotten 30th-place finishes somewhere, and (there are) four or five of us that don't. You think that can separate you from the pack -- don't have that happen. Everybody is really tense and really nervous about it.

It's hard to strategize and say this is what will work. You've just got to go from one race to another with an optimistic mind. When I say that, I mean that if we go to Atlanta with the setup that we used to run and that we ran earlier this year and it's off a little bit, we need to work on it. We need to try to work on it.

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There are two things you can do. You can freeze up and say this is what won, we'll run this and fail or succeed. Or, you can freak out and start slinging everything you have at it. I don't think either one of those approaches are very good. I pick on Tony Jr., telling him he's playing darts instead of trying to set my car up because he slings so much stuff at it sometimes, and we get in the mode where we're not thinking about it.

We just try this or that because we only have 15 minutes left. So it's difficult. It's impossible for even some of the best in the business to know what their strategy is going to be over a period of eight races. I think it's just one week at a time."

On his relationship with Michael Waltrip this year.

Earnhardt Jr.: My relationship with Michael is never going to get bad. I don't think we're ever going to have serious problems with each other. The thing about Michael and me is that he was my dad's friend. So when I do some things, he looks at me and says, 'What the hell did you do that for?' And then sometimes he's proud of me.

We're not on the same level as far as age or generation. He's more like an uncle in a way. That's the only thing I can think of that fits. We don't pal around and buddy around. He was my dad's friend, and at times he kind of looks after me and makes sure things are cool there. Other times he's had enough of me."

Q: You have a 30th birthday approaching next week. How important is that and how do you reflect back on your life so far?

Earnhardt Jr.: It's really cool. I'm looking forward to it because I don't feel 30 and I don't act 30 so it don't bother me to turn 30. Obviously, the older you get the more credibility you attain from people and the more sensible your actions and thoughts and words are. With turning 30, I look forward to garnering more respect like I did this year and last year.

I would really like the day to come to when I can walk into the NASCAR hauler and say something or ask them to consider something, and it truly gets considered. They listen to what you have to say, but there are guys in the sport now like Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace who are way up the ladder and that get the considerations and come in there with their opinions and those are the ones they listen to. I'm looking forward to being that guy one day and hopefully the older I get the better they'll listen.

Other than that, it's just really cool turning 30. I was talking to Matt (Kenseth), and he was freaking out when he was turning 30. And I said, "Man, you're married and settled, and I'm the one who should be freaking out." It was just the opposite I guess.

I have to change the bars and clubs I go to I guess, and try to hang out with the more adult crowd. I'm looking forward to it. My sister apparently has a surprise birthday planned for me. I'm looking forward to finding out where it's going to be and who is going to be there."

Q: The director of "60 Minutes" commented on how well-rounded and educated you are. Is that another side of you that people don't see?

Earnhardt Jr.: I read the paper a lot and watch a lot of news. What's going on every day interests me. I want to know the situation as far as what we're getting ourselves into every day. When somebody asks me or I ask somebody about it, I can talk about it intelligently. I've always read the paper since I was about 15 or so. I started reading the sports and went on from there.

I still like to go out on the town. Me and Elliott and Jamie McMurray -- I like to call him "Mac-Murray" -- went downtown. I hadn't been downtown Charlotte for two or three years if that tells you anything. They go more often than I do so I just hung out with them. Normally we just keep it close to home and go to a bar real close.

Earnhardt Jr. with Jeff Gordon at Talladega. Credit: Autostock

I'm still single and don't have anything serious going on so I can kind of do my own thing and it's nice. But I like to know what's happening. My grades in school weren't that great. But I think if you can keep aware of what's going on, you're way better off than walking around without a clue.

Q: Do you think your language while being interviewed in victory circle might affect your point standings?

Earnhardt Jr.: Johnny Sauter said it in a fit of anger. I said it in Victory Lane. Do you want the commercial of Matt (Kenseth) being a robot to come to fruition? If anybody was offended by the four-letter word I said - which, in my book, I think (George) Carlin said it was one of the ones you could say - I can't imagine why they would have tuned into a race in the first place.

But there were a lot of hand gestures going on during the race, and that was pretty weak compared to what we're doing on the racetrack. I hope they understand that it was in jubilation, and I know me and those other guys that got fined let it slip, but it's two different circumstances.

I think that when you're happy and joyous about something and it happens, I think it's different than being angry and cursing in anger. Of course we don't want to promote that. But if a guy is in Victory Lane jumping up and down and let's a "s---" slip out, I don't think that's something we need go hammering down on."

Q: Do you feel like people are always going to react to you and what you're doing to stay in the game?

Earnhardt Jr.: No, actually every time I come here I have fewer friends and a harder challenge. I bet it boils Jeff Gordon's blood that I won here today -- or Jimmie Johnson's too. I think all those guys at Hendrick's are just boiling right now. And we are the same way in return, when they win. We try not to laugh in anybody's face when it's over.

When we ran around the top, it wasn't like everybody was my friend. It wasn't like 12 guys were lined up being my buddy. The bottom was slow and bogged down. That was a smart way to go around the track. When we run here, it seems like there's a good 200 miles where everybody just rides. It's pretty hectic for the most part at the start, and everybody just calms down. That was just part of the race.

Q: Are you preoccupied with the points rather than being able to celebrate this win?

Earnhardt Jr.: No, I was standing down there in Victory Lane, and they said you were all tore up about what I said on TV and that bothered me a little bit. I'm not joking. I'm worried about losing points. If you guys push the issue in the next three or four days, it could be a big problem for me. I just hope everybody understands. I don't know if everybody sees it the way I see it.

I think it's definitely two different things when a guy is cussing in anger and a guy says s--- in jubilation in Victory Lane. I was pretty happy about winning the race. If it came out, it was a mistake. But I don't think it's the same.

But we've won five races this year, and I'm pretty thrilled. It's been a great year for me. And I think at the end of the season whether we win the championship or not, I can say we're better. Even though we had that slump in the middle of the season, I think when I read the papers or magazines during the off-season, we'll be toward the top of the list for a championship next year.

I just hope we can be strong for the next several weeks. In a way, yes, some of the stuff in the championship does tone down the celebration mood. It's kind of like winning the 125 before the 500. You're happy about it, but you know there's a bigger race on the line down the road. And that's the way it is now, I guess.

Q: Were you excited that Talladega was in the last 10 races?

Earnhardt Jr.: Yeah, a little too excited for some, I guess. I was looking forward to it but I was nervous because it would come at a time when you really need it. My whole life has been, man, when I really need this it never f---ing happens. I just let that slip out. I need to go to some class or something. Dale Carnegie or something, to get it right.

I just was really nervous that we would get in a crash or blow a motor or something. I was never sure we could win this race until about one lap to go. When I got pushed out in front and saw that Kevin was pretty close and wasn't making runs. When you get pushed out, your car dies and they come back to you. He was just kind of sitting there pushing me the whole time. He never fell back to make a run. But I was worried the whole time that something crazy would happen."