NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver for 15 years and Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr often invites important personalities from other sports for revealing conversations and ends up uncovering interesting stories. Sometimes, these stories involve fathers. Such was the case when he recently invited the sensational WWE star Cody Rhodes on the sets of his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download.
Now, if there is one thing common between the two superstars, it’s that they are the sons of legendary dads. “The Intimidator” is arguably the best NASCAR driver of all time, and “The American Dream” Dusty Rhodes was perhaps the most charismatic of all professional wrestlers. As both Cody and Junior were exchanging tales and memories, an interesting link between Dale Sr and Dusty Rhodes emerged.
Dale Earnhardt Sr had a fan in WWE Hall of Fame Wrestler
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Remarkably, the 38-year-old wrestler divulged his father’s reverence for the seven-time Cup Series champion. Cody’s father Dusty Rhodes himself was a three-time NWA World Heavyweight Champion of his time. During the conversation, Cody recalled his childhood memories of his dad rooting for Dale Earnhardt Sr.
He said, “I’d be completely remiss. I don’t know if you’ve heard this before, but my dad was a monster fan and your dad was his absolute favorite.”
“So my sister was so excited I was coming on this, my sister Teil [Runnels]. Because my dad sat there, he watched every race, and he had very specific taste. He’s a showman, so he loved your dad. He loved that there was a presence. There’s almost a gimmick here and then the gimmick’s backed up by, oh he’s that good? Oh, my gosh!”
Interestingly, ‘The Midnight Rider’ was partial to Dale Earnhardt Sr over the “King” of NASCAR.
Watch This Story: Dale Earnhardt Jr’s Sister Mourns Loss of Companion of Sixteen Years
WWE champion Dusty Rhodes was Team Earnhardt over Team Petty
Richard Petty holds the record for 200 wins in NASCAR racing events and an astonishing 123 pole positions. The King won seven Cup Series championships, a number tied with senior Dale Earnhardt. When their careers overlapped, both Hall of Famers developed a dedicated fan following.
However, the two groups were divided over the question of the greatest racer in NASCAR history. Cody Rhodes was certain that Rhodes Sr belonged to the Earnhardt camp. Cody and his sister Teil have fond memories of both their parents enjoying the races together.
Cody Rhodes continued, “And he had this odd dislike, not dislike, but not into Richard Petty. And I was like Richard Petty and he’d always be, he’s a king, you know. But when he got to Dale, it was Dale Dale Dale and then watching you, he was, him and my mom both, big, big, big time fans. Big time! And those races are guys, these races are long. So when you’re a kid, you’re just like, he’s just, he’s plugged in on the couch. He loved it so much!”
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Dale Earnhardt Jr was beaming with joy after learning his wrestling idol’s love for his late father. Fans of these stalwarts would relish every nugget of information through this unconventional team-up.