NASCAR drivers are known for their special celebrations after winning the races and championships. Although burnouts were popular back in the day, Alan Kulwicki set a new precedent with his Polish Victory Lap after bagging his first win in 1988. He started doing laps driving clockwise at the Phoenix Raceway, and ever since then, it became his signature move.

Fast forward to 2025, we have seen drivers adopting unique post-race celebrations. Trackhouse Racing driver Ross Chastain smashes a watermelon after clinching a race win. Meanwhile, his teammate, Shane van Gisbergen, kicks a rugby ball into the crowd. Of course, these celebrations are unique in their own right, but Dale Jr.’s Busch Series championship celebration from 1998 is something no one has been able to match so far.

But what was so special about that celebration that it has never been repeated? Well, for starters, he didn’t finish the season finale race at Miami Homestead Speedway as his race car had technical issues. 1998 was the first full-time season when Dale Jr. was trusted to take charge of the No. 3 DEI Chevy. After early jitters at Daytona, the young rookie would bag wins at Texas, Dover, Milwaukee, Auto Club Speedway, Lucas Oil Raceway, Richmond, and Gateway.

Therefore, Jr. had all the points he needed to grab the championship before heading to Homestead. His title rival Matt Kenseth had back-to-back P4 finishes in the final two races, but it wasn’t enough to topple Dale Jr. With 4469 points in comparison to Kenseth’s 4421, Jr. and the No. 3 crew knew that mathematically, they were in the clear and could enjoy after a long season. But before the checkered flag was waved, the entire DEI camp was in elation, and Dale Jr. was the one leading the charge.

The race was still going on, but with a blown-up engine, Jr. parked his car on the pit road, and without thinking twice, kickstarted the festivities. He climbed on top of his race car and waved at the grandstands, and the crowd knew the drill. The grandstands erupted in cheers and even the broadcasters were forced to cut the race and focus on the Jr.’s championship celebration.

But what if we told you that Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s dream of winning the championship was almost derailed? Not by outside factors such as sponsorships or lack of opportunities. It was because Jr.’s father, Dale Earnhardt, wasn’t convinced he was capable of competing in races in a full-time role.

Tony Eury played a big role in shaping Dale Jr.’s rookie attempt

Before Jr. could hop into a full-time role, Dale Earnhardt put him in the No. 31 car, and let’s just say his results were far from convincing. The young driver in his first four starts struggled to stay on the lead lap and often finished at the tail end of the finishing results. The tipping point came when Dale Earnhardt Jr. wrecked the race car at Charlotte during the qualifying rounds. This was the moment when Dale Sr. lost his cool and had some strong words with his son at the race shop.

Dale Sr. reached a tipping point on whether or not he would like to hand Jr. a full-time ride. But rather than reacting in the flood of emotions, he opted to have a second opinion from crew chief, Eury Sr. And despite the bleak results, he convinced Dale Earnhardt that Jr. deserved another shot. Recalling the meeting he had with the intimidator, he said, “I think the whole time his plan was he was going to put you in that car. When y’all went to Charlotte and y’all wrecked that car, and that ki–ed that guy. I’m telling you, he was so disappointed.”

“He says, ‘What do you think about putting Dale Jr. in this car? And I said, Dale, you spent money on Jeff Green; you spent money on Steve Park; why don’t you spend your money on your own kid? He brings that Charlotte deal up; he’s like, they don’t want to do this. I said, Dale, they are kids; put him in it. I said we’ll know in a year,” Eury Sr. added.

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Well, Dale Jr. repaid the faith shown by Eury Sr. and his father by winning the 1998 championship. He would repeat these heroics in 1999 before transitioning to the iconic No. 8 DEI Chevy in the Cup Series.