Here’s the thing about Dale Earnhardt Jr that makes him such a universally loved figure, he is as relatable as the next guy. Junior is without a doubt one of the most humble and one of the most down-to-earth celebrities, which is something fans absolutely love about him.

In fact, despite his stature and his background, he was as nervous as one can be while going out on stage to announce Linkin Park at the MTV Awards in 2001.

This was something Junior recently spoke about in an episode of his podcast show.

Dale Earnhardt Jr was “kicking and screaming” about announcing Linkin Park

During the Ask Jr. segment of the episode, Dale Jr was asked by a fan if he would ever consider hosting Saturday Night Live, something Jeff Gordon has done before.

But he immediately shot down that idea and recalled an incident from 2001 that more or less summed up the reason for him not wanting to host SNL.

“I’ve never been more scared in my life,” Earnhardt Jr said of the incident. “I got asked to introduce Linkin Park at the MTV Music awards and I was kicking and screaming, like heels in the dirt, like getting shoved to the door to get in there, I’m like, ‘NO!!’, and my PR guy, he’s like, ‘You gotta do this. This is going to be so good for you. The Bud people are behind this. You have to do it. You’ve got to do this. This is going to be important.’

“You’re like, ‘I don’t have to do this. I don’t need this, I don’t want this in my life.’ Like I don’t want to be up here.”

Junior on the incident at the award which pumped up his ego

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After revealing how scared he was and how he felt after actually being done with it, Dale Jr revealed an incident right before he went on stage, which made him feel better and more confident.

The JR Motorsports co-owner described being backstage around stars like Beyonce, waiting for his turn to go, and then suddenly, a crew member walked up to him and showed him a diecast, possibly asking for his autograph.

“Right before I was going to get on stage, that really helped, that kind of pumped up my ego a little bit,” Earnhardt confessed.

But then again, as soon as he turned around, the fear and the reality were back staring him in his face, “When I spun around and saw all those musicians and stars staring back at me, I was like, ‘How did I get here? What am I doing here?'”

Also Read: “The Amount of Commercials…” – Driven “Crazy” by “Flat” Commercial Rate, Dale Jr Shuts Down Ad Overload Protestors