Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been spending a lot of time building Dirty Mo Media, his media empire, in recent years. At the core of this large ecosystem is the Dale Jr. Download podcast. Fired off for the first time in 2013, it began featuring the former driver as a regular voice only later in 2018, after he retired from full-time racing in the Cup Series.
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The success that Dale Jr. has enjoyed in this role does not have to be spelled out. The fans love listening to him share insights and history about the sport and discuss the same with the wide range of guests he invites to share his table. But there is something specific, other than the popularity and money, that keeps him wanting to keep the show running.
Dale detailed it in a recent interview with the RACER magazine, “I think that’s probably the reward for me is the discovery. It’s like music. I love music, and I love discovering a new song.
“Discovery in music is so fun and motivating, and that’s the way the podcasts are. It’s like, I’m going to go in here today, and I don’t know what I’m going to learn, but it’s going to be fun.”
It is all about asking the right questions and getting information out that will serve the interests of fans. He doesn’t know if it is about the room, the people, or just the comfort of being at the table, but guests really do like opening up when they are on his podcast.
Perhaps the secret is how Dale Jr. is just as intrigued as the rest of the world to know the stories they reveal.
How Dale Jr. overcame his shy nature on the podcast
Junior had never been someone to go out into a crowd and lead a conversation. But being the host of Dale Jr. Download changed that nature step-by-step. Mike Davis, his longtime friend and associate, speaks admirably about how he has worked on transcending the earlier boundaries he had and become someone who could express their opinions strongly.
He said, “It’s a borderline miracle, because you think about the introvert, the shy guy. He’s never been comfortable in big public settings or expressing his opinion.” Any new listener of the podcast would never in a million years be able to tell that Dale Jr. was or is a shy person who doesn’t like speaking out in public spaces.
Not only has he become comfortable with such settings, but he also makes his guests comfortable enough to speak their minds. That’s some serious skill development.
