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DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – JANUARY 12: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet walks in the garage area during the NASCAR Next Gen Test at Daytona International Speedway on January 12, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
![](https://image-cdn.essentiallysports.com/wp-content/uploads/GettyImages-1364279121.jpg?width=600)
via Getty
DAYTONA BEACH, FLORIDA – JANUARY 12: Dale Earnhardt Jr., driver of the #5 Hendrick Motorsports Chevrolet walks in the garage area during the NASCAR Next Gen Test at Daytona International Speedway on January 12, 2022 in Daytona Beach, Florida. (Photo by James Gilbert/Getty Images)
Who can forget a two-time Daytona 500 winner? Or a NASCAR driver who has won the Most Popular Driver Award for fifteen consecutive years? Yes, that’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. And yes, someone failed to recognize him on a raceway track!
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In an episode of Dale Jr Download, Eanrhardt Jr reminisced about the time when a Texas Motor Speedway worker failed to recognize him. He explained that when he was in the victory lane with Noah Gragson, a speedway worker brought over a pile of hats. Further, the worker asked Noah to pick his size. While he completely ignored Earnhardt. He said;
“Noah goes (imitating trying on hats) ‘Okay, this is my hat.’ And I went over there and I said, ‘Hey, man! Can I borrow one of those? I just want it for the picture. And they’re like ‘I don’t know.’ And I was like, ‘Just give me one of them, you’ve got seven and three eights (sizes). I’m just gonna borrow it for five minutes. And the guy is looking around at his co-workers going ‘Is this okay? Is it all right to loan this guy? And I was like okay, alright.”
Earnhardt’s co-host, Mike Davis pointed out that maybe the worker didn’t recognize him. And Earnhardt agreed. However, a lady soon came to Earnhardt’s rescue and he could finally get his hands on the hat. However, after clicking the pictures with the trophy, Dale told his team that he needs to return the hat since he felt like the speedway crew didn’t want him to have it.
And just then, Noah decided to pull Earnhardt’s leg. Dale shared; “And Noah is like ‘I’m gonna take off running with it. I’ll just run to the holler.’ And I was like ‘No, no, no.’ And Noah’s like ‘I’m gonna take all y’all to the strip mall across the street and I’ll get all y’all hats here in a minute. We’re gonna leave the racetrack and then we’ll go to Cole Swindell and Billy Bob’s tonight.”
READ MORE: “I Still Don’t Believe It” Dale Earnhardt Jr. Almost Cries as He Makes an Honest Admission
However, Dale Earnhardt Jr was set on returning that hat. He revealed, “I got the hat back over there to the guy so he didn’t get in trouble I got my picture It was a fun little celebration.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr discussed why Noah Gragson tried to escape his next race
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While talking about Gragson’s plans on celebrating his win, Dale Eatrnhardt Jr said that he had planned it all perfectly. Moreover, he shared that Gragson had decided to take the team to a Cole Swindell concert. And Dale decided to face time Cole Swindell and ensure a fun evening for Noah.
He said; “I pulled my phone out and I faced time Cole. And I was like ‘Hey Cole!’ And he was like ‘Here’s the winners, man!’ I was like you gotta drag him on stage. If you don’t drag him on stage, we are going to be really disappointed. They’re gonna bring the trophy.”
WATCH THIS STORY: Dale Earnhardt Jr Bets on Kyle Larson Fulfilling His Non-NASCAR Dream
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Following that Earnhardt revealed that Gragson took his trophy and hopped up on the stage in front of everybody. He said that Gragson also got a selfie with the entire crowd. However, he revealed that Noah was in no mood to drive the Cup car race on Sunday. He shared;
“I could tell when we were sitting in the media center, Noah was doing everything to try to get out from driving that Cup car on Sunday. Cause he was like ‘Man! I wanna go party.’ And I was sitting there thinking ‘Man! I would have been feeling the exact same thing.’ I’d be like to hell with this cup race! I’m gonna go to Billy Bob’s I am gonna see the sun come up. (laughs)”