Such is the thrill and enduring passion of racing in NASCAR that many who ‘retire’ from their job, be it a driver, like Dale Earnhardt Jr or Jimmie Johnson, or a crew chief, like Steve Letarte or Chad Knaus, or a spotter, they simply cannot stay away from the sport.
But of course, exceptions are always there.
If there’s one side of life post-NASCAR that involves another life in NASCAR, there’s another side to that coin, a side that Dale Jr. recently opened up on, a side that sees people go as far away as possible from stock car racing.
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Jimmie Johnson says he will enter the Daytona 500 and the Chicago street race with Carvana. pic.twitter.com/J3ksHwBljE
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Dale Earnhardt Jr. claims certain Hendrick folks are detached from NASCAR now
Speaking in a recent Ask Jr. segment of his podcast show, Dale Jr. revealed how life looks like post-retirement for most professionals in NASCAR.
“Everybody’s kind of, when they get out of the sport, they don’t come back. They go back home to wherever they’re from, they get into the family business, they start a new business so unrelated to racing,” he said.
But then, Junior disclosed that there are certain individuals who are as far away from racing as one can imagine. “I’m seeing guys that I knew from HMS that I follow on Instagram, man, they’re so far removed from motorsports, it’s ridiculous,” Earnhardt described.
“I’m like, ‘How did you get there?! How did you get from here to there?”
Watch this Story: Dale Earnhardt Jr Set to Make His Annual Return to the Xfinity Series at Bristol
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During the 2008 recession, when all of the world’s industries and businesses were suffering heavy losses, including NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Jr. showed everyone just how big a heart he has.
Back then, he was driving for Hendrick Motorsports and he offered his boss Rick Hendrick that he’d take a million-dollar pay cut for the betterment of the organization.
Obviously, this left Mr. H pretty shocked and in awe of Junior. “I was shocked,” Hendrick said as per FOX Sports. “That just shows you the character that he has and his relationship with people.”
But in exchange for this, Junior made a pretty eccentric demand, one he raised his voice for quite recently again. If he were to take a million-dollar pay cut, he’d want HMS to allow him to have wrapped side skirts.
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“I drive the car, I want the dang thing to look good. I never understood drivers that don’t care about what their car looks like,” he had said about this demand.
Of course, Junior’s ask was fulfilled by his former boss.
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He was even allowed to design his entire paint scheme.