Dale Earnhardt Jr Unearths Iconic Talladega Nights Experience Involving One of Ryan Blaneys Biggest Idols

It’s no secret that Ryan Blaney is one of NASCAR’s greatest Star Wars fans. From cosplaying as Princess Leia to making his lightsaber, the 2023 Cup Series champion has been on an exciting journey toward becoming a Jedi. That being said, Blaney might be saddened to hear that Dale Earnhardt Jr got to experience one of the biggest honors a Star Wars fan could ask for, without ever asking for it.

As the broadcaster for Amazon’s 2024 Cup Series coverage made the rounds to promote The Intimidator’s documentary, Earnhardt Jr shared a thrilling story on The Rich Eisen Show.

The stars literally aligned for Dale Earnhardt Jr

The 2024 season is shaping up to be quite intense for Dale Earnhardt Jr, even without his presence in a Next-Gen car. The Dale Jr Download host will take the mic for Amazon’s Cup Series debut in 2024 and is a vital part of the giant’s entry into NASCAR. Speaking of which, Dale Earnhardt Jr highlighted some big names that had made an appearance at the premiere of Amazon Prime Video’s four-part documentary on the Intimidator.

Amongst big names like Reese Witherspoon, one man’s presence was highly appreciated by Junior. NASCAR’s very own Ricky Bobby made an appearance, prompting Junior to share a ‘cool memory’ he made with Will Ferrell. The JR Motorsports owner shared, “So he made Talladega Nights and all of us at NASCAR were very, very excited about that, and they came to me and said, ‘Do you want to watch the full movie for the first time? It’s not quite released yet but you can see it’.”

As Junior was in Sonoma, California at the time for that weekend’s Cup race, the former #8 driver agreed immediately. But what he didn’t expect was the location of this private screening, and more importantly, the people that would be present. Junior revealed, “They took us to Skywalker Ranch. Which was great, right? Because we were at Skywalker Ranch walking around, George Lucas, all that cool stuff.”

The DJD host explained how his team sat down in a screening room when the unexpected happened. He added, “We sit down to watch it in one of those little film rooms and George Lucas walks in, sits down, and watches the whole movie. Will Ferrell said, ‘Well did he laugh?”’ and I said, ‘Yeah, he laughed. We all laughed’. It was a great movie.” With Will Ferrell also startled by George Lucas’ presence, Junior tried to keep his cool as he sat right in front of the Star Wars veteran.

Earnhardt Jr concluded by highlighting how he was thrilled to just be able to see Talladega Nights and Will Ferrell’s performance. George Lucas’ present was icing on the cake. While Junior got to experience one of NASCAR’s greatest films with one of Hollywood’s greatest directors, Ryan Blaney certainly hasn’t had that luck so far in his ‘journey’. The reigning champion and Star Wars fanatic might just have to wait until a Talladega Nights sequel to get a similar opportunity!

With that being said, here’s a look at Ryan Blaney’s favorite moments from the Star Wars franchise!

The moments from George Lucas’ masterpiece that gave Ryan Blaney “Goosebumps”

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Back in 2020, Ryan Blaney was interviewed by USA Today about his Star Wars obsession. Apart from sharing his exploits at Disney World’s Millennium Falcon: Smugglers Run and Rise of the Resistance rides, Blaney also revealed some of the most intense moments from the Star Wars franchise. Unlike casual fans, Blaney was able to predict the greatest revelation of them all.

The Penske driver shared, “So, it’s tough, right? I saw the prequels first before I saw the originals just with the timeline I was born. So when I got to the, ‘I am your father’ line, I already knew. So that part is still a great line, but you already know it’s coming.” Although Blaney found the moment predictable, it didn’t take away from making Darth Vader’s (Anakin Skywalker) big reveal “pretty cool”.

With that being said, a major gut-wrenching moment in the franchise for Blaney came during the Phantom Menace installment. Blaney shared, “In Phantom Menace when Qui-Gon Jinn gets killed. I remember watching that as a kid and was so distraught. I was like, ‘Man, you killed Liam Neeson, man. That’s nuts’.”

Whilst Dale Earnhardt Jr may have been in the same room as George Lucas before Ryan Blaney, the day that the same comes true for the Star Wars fanatic will also be the day he fulfills his aspiring journey toward becoming a Jedi.