Dale Earnhardt Jr. has long been a man of tradition, on the racetrack and beyond. A recent post-race moment captured that sentiment in true form. As Ryan Blaney joined the booth for a celebratory beer with Dale Jr. and the crew, everyone raised their glasses for a toast. Yet, Dale Jr. didn’t just follow the pack. He gently tapped his glass on the desk before taking a sip, a subtle gesture steeped in custom.
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While the rest dove straight in after the cheer, Dale Jr. stuck to his ritual, honoring an old-school code that colors both his racing and personal life. That sense of loyalty to custom extends even to his palate, and during a recent episode of Bless Your ‘Hardt, the NASCAR icon proudly shared how one of his culinary traditional preferences found unexpected validation in Mexico.
While recounting his trip, he explained how a short walk from the hotel landed him at a nearby steakhouse. To his surprise, the restaurant placed A1 steak sauce on the table before the meal, a staple Dale Jr. had long embraced, despite taking flak from purists who scoff at dressing up a well-cooked cut.
“We went down from the hotel about two blocks to this steakhouse, amazing… You know what they put on the table before the steak come out? A1 steak sauce. That’s a big F you to all you people that say I’m an idiot for eating A1 steak sauce on a good steak. Like there’s rules you’re not supposed to have it on a good steak,” he said.
For Dale Jr., that was more than just a condiment; it was vindication years in the making. On the same podcast, Dale Jr. gave a nod to Bubba Wallace’s taste buds as well.
Wallace, who explored the flavors of Mexico City during the trip, likened the experience to American restaurants that serve a heat spectrum of sauces. But in Mexico, the heat came with nuance.
Instead of an all-out assault on the tongue, Wallace found the spice levels bold but balanced, flavorful, not just fiery. In contrast, he likened U.S. hot sauces to a test of endurance, where flavor often takes a backseat to sheer burn.
Dale Jr. had his own brush with the unexpected when he ordered a well-done steak rather than a medium one. When the plate arrived with a pink center, he figured the gamble had paid off. It was, in his words, “great.”
In the end, the trip offered more than just a competitive race. For many drivers, it served up a taste of culture, a bit of heat, and a whole lot of flavor, on and off the plate.
