Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Worst Career Slump Finally Explained Breathing Life Into His Father’s Prophecy

There is a reason that the great Dale Earnhardt is called the ‘intimidator’ to this day. Thinking of him, you picture a 6’1″ man with a thick mustache and flaunting a pair of black shades. Or a man threatening everyone who dared to contend with him on the racetracks of NASCAR. However, did you know that even the ‘intimidator’ had a pet peeve when it came to ominous objects?

Dale Earnhardt had a weird belief. And his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. picked up his belief and blindly followed it. He never questioned its credibility; when the Earnhardt senior says something, you acknowledge it. End of the discussion. However, what is this ultimate belief that ruled the life of someone as indomitable as Dale Earnhardt himself?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed his father’s weird superstition

As the curtains to the latest episode of the Dale JR Download were about to close, co-host Mike Davis and Junior read questions from the fans. And the last one of those questions was probably the most interesting one.

Someone asked if Dale Earnhardt Jr. had any superstition when it came to racing. The two-time Xfinity Series champion thought for a while and said his superstitions were not traditional. Of course, since Dale Earnhardt Jr. loves to have A1 sauce as a side with his steak, it is quite natural that his choice of superstitions could be equally bizarre.

It turns out that the superstitious object that Dale Earnhardt Jr. believes might hamper someone’s day at a racetrack is peanuts. He explained that having peanuts around your race car, or anywhere on the race day, might negatively affect the results of the race. He said, “I didn’t want to eat peanuts around the race car… apparently that’s bad luck and I tried not to do it. Wasn’t really a problem.” However, that is not the one that his father believed in.

According to Dale Earnhardt, $50 bills were bad luck. Dale Junior recalled, “If you’re carrying a $50 bill in your pocket, you’re not gonna win a race, you’re gonna get bad luck.”

Read more: NASCAR Hints at Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s “Surprise” Entry Amid Top-10 Glory

In a shocking revelation, Mike Davis acknowledged how it was actually true and that he had proven it. This surprised Dale Earnhardt Jr. Both friends wheeled the clock back to 2008-9 and analyzed how that was true.

Dale Earnhardt’s superstition proved its relevance back in Junior’s early HMS days

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Throwback to 2008, Hendrick Motorsports signed Dale Earnhardt Jr. to drive the #88 Chevrolet. They could not have been happier. With NASCAR vets like Jimmie Johnson and Jeff Gordon as his teammates, it looked like Hendrick Motorsports was set to form an all-star Cup Series team. The start of the season was just as everyone had foreseen. Junior won the Budweiser Shootout. Following that, he also won the Gatorade Fuel #1, which gave him a starting spot on row 2 for the 2008 Daytona 500.

Fast forward 26 races. Earnhardt entered the contention for Cup standings in P4, just below Jimmie Johnson, with Gordon in 10th. Till then, there was no indication of the upcoming recession in the JR Motorsports owner’s career.

However, except for a second-place finish at Talladega, nothing really went right for the 88 team in a season jeopardized by pit road problems, lack of communication, and a post-race tussle with Casey Mears at Phoenix.

The biggest slump probably occurred at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Despite having a decent run, Dale Earnhardt Jr. qualified 39th while his teammates grabbed spots inside the top 9. Doesn’t it sound even a bit unusual for the 15-time most popular driver to have such misfortune?

Mike Davis told Junior how Dale Earnhardt’s $50 bill omen had proved harmful to Junior. He went back to 2008 when Humpy Wheeler was the general manager and president at Lowe’s Motor Speedway. Davis said, “Humpy Wheeler came up in 2008 and handed a $50 bill to me when you were about to qualify. I am convinced that started the slump. Can’t tell me different.”

Mike admitted that back then, he had no idea about the $50 bill superstition. And when he did, he traced it back to that Humpy Wheeler moment.

“I handed the $50 bill off to whoever and I think that’s what started it,” he added.

Watch this story: 5 Wildest & Most Bizarre On-Track Incidents You’ll Ever See During a NASCAR Race