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via Getty

via Getty

Our favorite racing legend, Dale Earnhardt Jr, has had many iconic looks to match his varying paint schemes across over 750 races run in a glorious career spanning almost three decades. The Intimidator’s son is a glowing symbol of evolution alongside NASCAR’s effort to constantly deliver the freshest product.

The one thing that Dale Jr cannot ever be associated with, however, is predictability. In any means, shape, or form. Even his close ones seem to be baffled by the legend’s personality. This was very apparent when he responded to fans on YouTube with a comically golden anecdote regarding his latest look. Junior took to his segment “#AskJr” to respond to fan questions on his Dirty Mo Media Network podcast, The Dale Jr Download. The cast discussed Junior’s dashing new clean-shaved image, as the first question was already about this new “clean slate”, last seen quite some time ago. 

“Old Gun” Dale Jr’s Call-Back to DEI Days, Courtesy of Wife Amy

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The NASCAR icon began by explaining how his wife Amy “scheduled” him a haircut, as he had decided to give himself a fresh-face makeover. Dale Jr then elaborated on why he got a beard in the first place. He reminded fans that he was one of the original “Gillette Young Guns,” harkening back to promotions in the mid-2000s with the P&G-owned personal care conglomerate. This saw Junior act as one of its active ambassadors, and without a “beard”, maintaining Gillette’s unique selling point – partnering with the “cleanest-shaved celebrities”.

This resulted in Junior not being able to grow a beard for a while, till the next generation of “Young Guns” took over. The brightest beacon of the historic Earnhardt family chafed at being told “what to do,” but he still honored the partnership throughout its duration. He took the dialogue to a hilarious level, as he explained his iconic, scruffy beard was actually a revolt against his wife’s demands of his man-mane being “too long”.

Turning 50 in October, the legend then talked about how his affinity for a beard also helped him avoid “make-up” for a while as more facial hair means less surface area for any type of beautifying product. Junior also stated how his friends who have seen him since say that “It’s weird” and how they “don’t like it.” His co-host explained this reaction perfectly when seeing Junior with this brand-new look: “It was a little jarring when I saw you this morning, for sure, or I guess yesterday.”

Dale Jr, however, made the most Dale Jr statement only Dale Jr himself could make, as he said, “You know what that means? We’re keeping it….  I’m a pain in the a**”

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As the answers kept unfurling, Junior revealed another mind-blowing tidbit. This time, it was about his current music preferences. When telling fans how he felt about having music in cars. The 2021 Hall of Fame inductee described how during his run in the Budweiser cars with Dale Earnhardt Inc (DEI), he told his then crew chief Tony Eury Jr how he wanted to listen to music during the long practice sessions of yesteryears.

The innovative Tony Jr “rigged up a wiring system for the helmet” that would allow Junior to listen to music during those long grueling practice sessions, as he reminded fans that this was the golden era of MP3 music listening, thriving without the accessibility of recent wireless devices.

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Fans as well as his co-hosts were curious as to what really gets Dale Jr grooving. He listed, “Traditional, Alternative, 90s alternative, Current popular rock” as just some of his favorite genres. According to him, what he doesn’t like on the other hand, is “anything slow, maybe beach music.”  Interestingly it was also mentioned that during the Q&A session on YouTube someone in the live chat said, “Freebird solo! That would be fantastic, You’d win that race,” suggesting their own choice of song during a high-speed run. This left Jr with a wholesome smile on his brand-new face.

Read More: Dale Earnhardt Jr Reveals His Dark Thoughts on the Track That Consumed Him as a Driver