Despite spending the vast majority of his adult life in the public eye, Dale Earnhardt Jr. still has a few modern-age lessons that can catch him off guard. One of those involved learning how not to use a medical patient portal.
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In an episode of the Bless Your ‘Hardt podcast earlier this year, Dale Jr. recounted an awkward and unintentionally funny moment that followed a routine health checkup.
Like any other patient, Earnhardt had been communicating with his doctor through an online patient portal, under the impression that he was having a private, digitized one-on-one conversation. That assumption turned out to be very wrong.
The NASCAR Hall of Famer said, “In the portal, he’s talking to me, and I am responding in text as well. I’m like, ‘Well, that one thing might be high because I did have sex within 36 hours of the test.’ I’m thinking I am having a conversation with my doctor.
“And then, another person replies! I guess his assistant or something. This lady goes, ‘Y’all can talk about this when you come for the visit.’ I’m like, ‘What?!’”
We found out the patient portal ain’t as private as we thought! ⚕️ #BestOfBlessYourHardt@DaleJr | @AmyEarnhardt pic.twitter.com/Pn2vCu8SoF
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) December 21, 2025
Junior could not believe that someone else had been part of the conversation the entire time, and that he had unknowingly shared intimate information on a clinical communication system. His candid disclosure about having sex with his wife, Amy, who was seated beside him at the podcast table, sparked rounds of laughter between the two of them.
The moment served as an abrupt lesson in just how transparent modern medical technology can be, especially for people who are accustomed to texting on platforms that are typically private. Junior had no idea that anyone beyond his doctor could see his messages, including his overly honest explanation. He will certainly be more careful the next time he sends a message through a patient portal.
For him, the moment was likely more than just funny. He has spent decades in front of microphones, cameras, and under constant scrutiny, yet still managed to fall into a privacy blind spot that many everyday people unknowingly experience. The candidness he developed during his long post-racing career followed him into a space where it simply did not belong.
