Even though Dale Earnhardt has been gone from us for nearly a quarter-century, fans just never seem to get tired of his legacy and lore. For example, while many Earnhardt fans likely felt he was all-NASCAR all the time, the driver of the black No. 3 Chevrolet did enjoy other sports.
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On this week’s edition of The Dale Jr. Download, a listener asked Dale Earnhardt Jr. if his father liked other sports. Even for someone who has covered NASCAR and both Earnhardts for nearly 30 years, Junior’s answer came as a surprise.
“(He was a) big Atlanta Braves fan, knew a lot of the players, knew Bobby Cox the manager at the time,” Junior said of his father. “(He) would text back and forth with them or communicate back and forth with them to the dugout, to the racetrack, he was a massive Atlanta Braves fan.”
The senior Earnhardt wasn’t much of an NFL fan, but Junior still recalls Super Bowl XVIII, when he and his father watched it together on TV. Junior was a big Washington Redskins (now Commanders) fan. And like he did so many times in his life, father needled son because the Raiders were blowing out the ‘Skins in that game.
“Washington were the defending champions in the NFL and Oakland destroyed them,” Junior said. “(Raiders running back) Marcus Allen just destroyed Washington, giant gaps, big runs, it was awful.
“I cried, I think, and Dad was sitting over there cheering like hell. He wasn’t a freaking Oakland Raiders fan, but he was just cheering for them because they were winning. But that pissed me off.”
The elder Earnhardt didn’t have a college team he cheered for — after all, he never finished high school, dropping out in the ninth grade to pursue racing.
What teams do Junior and his wife cheer for?
As for Junior and wife Amy, they’re big sports fans. Junior has long followed the Redskins/Commanders in the NFL, while Amy is a big University of Kentucky Wildcats college football and basketball fan.
Junior used to love the University of South Carolina Gamecocks. Former head coach Steve Spurrier sent a very young Junior some autographed footballs when Spurrier coached at Florida, and when he moved to South Carolina, Junior’s loyalty followed.
Spurrier, now 80, was even a guest on one of Junior’s early radio shows several years ago. “I still want them to do well,” Junior said.
Another well-known coach that the younger Earnhardt liked and admired was Spurrier’s predecessor at South Carolina, former Notre Dame head coach Lou Holtz, who is now 88.
“I asked Lou to come to DEI (Dale Earnhardt Inc., his father’s then-company) and speak to our company right after dad passed away,” Junior recalled. “Lou was a great speaker in his time and hard to understand, but he had great messages. That was a lot of fun, so I pulled for the Gamecocks.”
It’s confession time for Junior on who he really pulls for
But then Junior had a big confession to make. “At my core, I am a Tar Heel (the University of North Carolina’s nickname), no question,” he said. “If you said, “Hey, what’s the A team for you? I’m a North Carolina Tar Heel.
“I think that everyone, whatever state you’re from, it’s like an obligation for you to have to pull for that particular team. I know there’s a lot of teams in North Carolina, but no team is like the North Carolina Tar Heels.
“They are the North Carolina team. All the other ones, they’re like the B, C, D teams, but the Tar Heels are it and the Carolina blue (the team’s colors), man — it’s beautiful. Can’t be beat.”
And as for baseball fandom, the leaf doesn’t fall far from the tree: like his father, Junior is also a Braves fan. He added, “It’s been fun being a Braves fan, but I’m not the Chase Elliott level of Braves fandom. I know that’s a massive deal for him.”
