Dale Jr. Recalls His Awry Yet ‘Bad—’ Martinsville Outing With Heartwarming Claim

While NASCAR racing often celebrates the winner, the true definition of success on a raceday isn’t always measured by the position in which a driver finished. Sometimes, the story of true grit and tenacity is what overshadows the winner, and this is something Dale Earnhardt Jr. pulled off at Martinsville Speedway. The 2006 Direct TV 500 race isn’t the part of Jr.’s illustrious racing career, but a P4 finish that day felt more than a win for the driver of the No. 8 DEI Chevy.

This was a time when the likes of Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Jimmie Johnson were all competing for the championship. Meanwhile, the No. 8 team were in dire need of a good season after they finished 19th in 2005 and had only a race win to show. Statistically, Martinsville was one of the better tracks for Dale Jr., but as the race went green, a disaster struck. Just 2 laps in, there was a huge pile, and Jr.’s No. 8 car was sandwiched between the mess.

Jr. and his team had the option to park the car as there was significant damage to the right front fender and a damaged rear end. But the driver wasn’t ready to give up, not just 2 laps into the race. The next thing you know, the pit crew got fast at work and did the repair job on the car, and for some reason, Jr. was able to make passes after coming back on track.

“We start the race big crash in turn one I’m in it and tear the right front off of my car. My car’s got wrecked. It’s not going to be competitive. I’m going to be in the freaking way all day. Nothing’s really happening. But as the laps start clicking off – start passing a few cars, start going by a few more guys. My car is feeling good. Guys are getting worse, and I’m just trying to drive through the field all the way up into the top 10. I’m like, Sh–! We’re good. This is going to be great” Dale Jr. recalls this as one of his favourite races he didn’t win on Bussin’ With Boys.

Well, a crash often leads to a dip in on-track performance, but in Dale Jr.’s case the lack of right front fender on his car worked like a cook trick. The biggest thing that drivers are concerned about on a short track is tire conservation, and with the right front tire getting the all and getting cool, the No. 8 car found out a little hack.

Even Jr. admitted this on the show. “With the fender missing, it kept the tire cool and it allowed the tire to outperform everyone else, who had a fender on it. And they are getting cooked by the fenders on the engine and everything else. The fact that my car is out in the wind it was an advantage over the long course of the day, and that’s why the car ended up being more competitive then it should.”

Surprisingly, one of his fans made Jr. a custom diecast of the wrecked No. 8 car from the Martinsville race. “Somebody made me a custom diecast of that car that I got in my collection, and I’m like, this is one of my favorite races that I didn’t win because of all the sh– that went wrong and how bad it should’ve been. But we didn’t stop trying and the car actually was bada–.”

Tony Stewart won the race, with Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson finishing second and third. But out of the blue, it was Dale Jr. and his banged up No. 8 Budweiser car that bagged P4 and sweet $133,416. After coming oh so close to winning at Martinsville, Jr. would have to wait another eight years to celebrate a win at one of favorite tracks.

8 years down the line, Jr. finally wins the Grandfather clock

After parting ways with DEI and the No. 8 team,

Dale Jr. landed at Hendrick Motorsports. At present, HMS has 29 wins at the half-mile track, and this streak started back in 1984. In 2014, Jr. had already bagged his second Daytona 500 and was eager to rake in more trophies; a consecutive victory lane celebration at Pocono added to his dominant run. And then came the race at Martinsville Speedway late in the season.

Ironically, it was Tony Stewart again competing for the race win, but this time around, Jr. had the advantage. A late race restart allowed the No. 88 Chevy to get past Stewart, and from here on, Jr. held on to the lead and bagged his only win at Martinsville Speedway.

“We have tried to win here so many years and this place is so special to me. Real emotional win. I can’t believe we won here. I’m just really emotional. This means so much to us all. I lost my daddy a long time ago. And I know how hard that is. I can’t imagine losing the magnitude of people that Rick did. My heart goes out to him. This honors them.” Dale Jr. said this in the victory lane.

Last year, Hendrick Motorsports had a memorable 1-2-3 finish at the paperclip. So do not be surprised if you see a Hendrick car contending for the win this weekend, as this place is indeed special to them.