The rags-to-riches-to-rags story is not that uncommon in sports. There have been plenty of athletes who amassed vast fortunes earned over decades, only to squander them with bad investments and sometimes due to bad luck. For Dale Earnhartd Jr., one of the richest drivers in NASCAR, everything could have been different if not for that one moment that made Jr. think about really focusing on his finances.
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The Hall of Famer, who has a net worth of $300 Million, has an incredibly diverse business empire, ranging from owning the CARS Tour to JR Motorsports, one of the most successful teams in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
On this week’s episode of Dale Jr. Download, co-host Mike Davis asked Earnhardt about his financial acumen, something that has led to the creation of one of the largest business empires in the NASCAR world.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on that exact moment that made him serious about money
Junior, who also owns the media behemoth Dirty Mo Media, gave that one specific moment after which he thought he needed to sort his money out.
“The exact thing that happened was the 30 for 30 on ESPN about players all going bankrupt. That was what, 15, 20 years ago that came out, that scared the hell out of me. And so, you know, I felt like, you know I would go to Kelley, who’s my general manager and understands all my financials.”
Junior would tell Kelley Earnhardt Miller, who is also the part-owner and general manager of JR Motorsports, to manage his investments in the best and safest way possible.
“I want to stay as far away from careless. Any investments that I might do in the stock market are always going to be low risk. I’m never going to put myself out there to be, to put in a bad position.”
Today on the Download, @DaleJr shared with us the exact moment that he knew he wanted to be smart with his money 💸
📺 FULL CLIP: https://t.co/aczlof4ODc pic.twitter.com/wlH0gMv2S8
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) September 12, 2023
Dale Jr. narrates a hilarious honeymoon story underscoring his point
Perhaps Dale Jr. got a little too close to the money! In the same episode, the two-time Daytona 500 winner opened up on how going over the costs for his honeymoon room left him shocked.
“We get to the honeymoon and I’m working with this lady that’s helping us plan this trip and I get the costs. She gives me this sort of options on rooms and cost and I’m like (mocking voice with expression)..”
Junior did express though that perhaps those concerns were a little too drastic, considering what the honeymoon meant to Junior and his wife, Amy.
“I knew that my thought process was wrong. For the occasion you have to take exceptions, you’re not gonna honeymoon every year.”
Watching Dale Earnhardt Jr. narrate this particular story does show that even if you are one of the biggest NASCAR stars on the track, at home, you are just another American looking for financial safety and security.
