Dale Earnhardt Sr’s legendary status in NASCAR is known to many, but few can claim to have known him personally. His intimidating image, which also earned him the nickname ‘The Intimidator,’ likely contributed to this. However, now that his son Dale Jr has hung his racing helmet and hosts a popular podcast, stories about Earnhardt Sr’s life are emerging. One of the few people who had a close relationship with Earnhardt Sr was Donnie Rives, but what’s lesser-known is that they shared a pact that led Rives to keep a low profile. As a result, Rives’ anecdotes about Earnhardt’s life have remained largely untold, until now.

The Pact Between Dale Earnhardt and His Best Friend

While introducing Donnie Rives, Dale Jr mentioned that the old-timer avoids going for interviews and talking about his friendship with Earnhardt Sr. Dale Jr hence rightly asked him, “Donnie Rives does not do interviews. So, what brings you here today?” Getting ready to explain, Rives said, “Well, Dale himself asked me one time. He said, ‘If anything ever happens to me, do not write a book and don’t go telling everything we know.’ But I figured that, being how it was, he was okay with it.”

This only shows how, even years after Dale Sr’s passing, his best friend respects his wishes. Upon hearing the response, Dale Jr said, “There’s a story about Dad on my show, and it’s a lot of his, you know, friends from time to time. But it’s mostly the industry and the work within the industry. There won’t be many opportunities for somebody to hear from one of his best friends, and I love that you’re protective of that story.”

Rives explained that the only reason he is revealing this story is because it’s on Dale Jr’s podcast.“I feel like the only reason I’ve done it was because Dale would approve it. I mean, I hadn’t told anybody anything and I know a lot of stuff I ain’t going to tell. And that’s just the way it is.” While there are some wild stories that we will never learn about, it is clear that the two were extremely close.

Dale Jr’s podcast might be the first time that Donnie Rives has spoken about the Big E in such depth. While these stories about him keep coming up from time to time, there is one that reveals an interesting fact about him that separates him from most professional drivers.

When Did Dale Earnhardt Get His Driving License?

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It was on another episode of Dale Jr. Download that the world learned that Dale Earnhardt Sr didn’t have a valid driver’s license until he was in his 30s. This surprising fact came up during a podcast with Dale Earnhardt Jr and Tony Furr, a former crew chief and friend of Dale Sr. As they discussed the bizarre situation where a professional driver did not own a license, Furr shared a few details about it.

On the podcast, Tony shared stories about Dale Sr’s early racing days. One of the wildest stories involved a race at Metrolina Speedway, where Dale Sr bumped another driver, Dickie Anderson, out of the race, making fans furious. As fans stormed the track, Dale Sr ran to Tony’s car to escape. It turned out that Dale Sr had been driving without a license, possibly due to a few DUIs.

The old days of NASCAR were a different time when something like a license could be avoided to join NASCAR; however, that system is a relic of the past. Dale Jr and his co-host were shocked to learn this about his father, as this would be surprising to anyone from today’s generation. Dale Sr still managed to win second place in that race due to an unexpected rainstorm and some contact, which only proves that he was unstoppable in his prime.

It’s incredible to think that such an iconic figure in racing had such a rebellious start and even more interesting to know that he wanted to keep his legacy private. While Dale Jr is not a man of extreme privacy, the same cannot be said about his father. With that said, do you have a favorite Dale Earnhardt story? Let us know in the comments below.