The Rolex 24 is a race etched in motorsports history. From iconic winners such as Ken Miles in 1966 and A.J. Foyt in 1985, the race has seen legends grace the track. The race usually occurs on the last weekend of January, so as we build up to the race, some NASCAR fans showed up with a blast from the past. In the 2004 rendition of the event, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart were spotted attempting the endurance race.

Dale Jr. and Tony Stewart raced well despite DNF

The 24 hours at Daytona served as the first round of the 2004 Rolex Sports Car Series. A three-race series that included the 24 Hours at Daytona, Homestead Grand-Am, and Phoenix Grand-Am. The No. 54 Doran JE4, driven by Terry Borcheller, Andy Pilgrim, Christian Fittipaldi, and Forest Barber for Bell Motorsports won the 24-hour event.

However, the race also had a team by the name of Howard-Boss Motorsports. This is the same team that had partnered with Richard Childress Racing and had run a limited schedule in the year 2008. Tony Stewart, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Andy Wallace ran the Crawford DP03 for this team. Heading into this race, Stewart was already a Cup Series champion, taking the crown in 2002 with Joe Gibbs Racing.

Despite the star-studded affair, the team was not able to secure a victory and ended up with a DNF. Now that 20 long years have passed, some fans have unearthed a picture of the cars, and it is surely worth remembering. A recent Reddit post went viral, and the post was captioned as, “Nascar driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr driving a Crawford at the 2004 24 Hours of Daytona, he raced alongside Tony Stewart and Andy Wallace and retired but still ended up fifth in the general results”. 

2004 was also the same year when Dale Earnhardt Jr. made it to victory lane at the Daytona 500. This race is one of the most iconic races in the NASCAR world and winning the same is a big deal. However, the endurance race is a completely different challenge and the NASCAR representatives were doing quite well until suspension issues saw them finish in 5th place. 

While Dale Jr. and Tony Stewart did take part in this race together in 2004, their relationship was not always a bed of roses. Their scuffle in 1998 led to Tony Stewart reaching out to Dale Jr. to settle their dispute.

When Tony Stewart extended his hand of friendship to Dale Jr.

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Just like every dark cloud has a silver lining, the camaraderie between Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Stewart kickstarted after a heated race at the Pikes Peak International Raceway in 1998. It was Stewart who had bumped Dale Earnhardt Jr. out of the track and soon the two were in the hauler. However, the good thing is that the two drivers ended their grievances during the Busch race in Milwaukee. 

While Dale Earnhardt Jr. was in a conversation with Tony Stewart on the Dale Jr. Download in 2019, the former recounted how Stewart had been the one to take the first step. He said, “We’re in Milwaukee. I’m walking into the pits, and he came up to me on Friday morning before the first practice and said, ‘Hey man, we’re gonna be racing each other a long time, so let’s be friends. Let’s not run into each other anymore, and let’s not drag this out. So, I got no problem with you. I’m cool. Let’s just be cool, and I’ll be cool.’ And we’ll be cool. I would have never done that”. 

Stewart and Earnhardt Jr. have been cordial since then and the two have been spotted at quite a few off-court events as well. In fact, it was in 2003 that the two drivers starred in the music video 3 Doors Down’s song “The Road I’m On”.