Dale Jr. is known for being a popular driver, a successful Xfinity Series team owner, a television analyst, a NASCAR spokesperson, and more. But his favorite hat to adorn is that of a NASCAR history aficionado. His obsession with all things iconic and old stemmed from a visit to Joe Whitlock’s house in the late 1980s.
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Whitlock was one of the most talented sports writers back in the day, who later became the public relations manager at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. He eventually landed a job as the first business manager of then-upcoming star driver Dale Earnhardt Sr. and brought home great sponsorship deals with the likes of Wrangler and Goodwrench.
Years after the beginning of this relationship, Dale Jr. once got the chance to visit Whitlock’s house. He wrote the incident on X recently, “He was a respected NASCAR media member, and his house was full of racing history. He gave me 2 VHS tapes of Bud Lindemann’s ‘Car and Track’. On each were 20 short highlight reels of NASCAR’s events of the past.”
I’ll tell you the origin of my NASCAR history bug. I was at Joe Whitlock’s house in the late 1980s. He was a respected NASCAR media member, and his house was full of racing history. He gave me 2 VHS tapes of Bud Lindemann’s “Car and Track”. On each were 20 short highlight reels… https://t.co/g3kHPczzMq
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) January 5, 2025
Watching the tapes led to him developing a huge interest in history, and there began the journey. The 20 highlight reels were later used by him to create the show ‘Back in the Day’ that ran on Speed Channel in the 2000s. What continued serving this interest was the unprecedented access that he had to track vaults as the Intimidator’s son.
The benefit of being Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s son
An old photograph of Dale Jr. walking alongside his father with a large pile of books under his arms resurfaced on social media. With fans wanting to know what it was that he carried, the icon explained how he had free access to every track’s media center, even as a kid. He used to collect media packets from there every time he went to a race.
He wrote on X, “I would grab one of each team every trip to the track to get postcards and other cool items. Fun time being a kid with the access I had.” Dale Jr. looked rather too happy with his possession in the photograph. Such little escapades are what led to him being a Guest Curator for the Hall of Fame in 2020.
The media center had media packets of all the teams. I would grab one of each team every trip to the track to get postcards and other cool items. Fun time being a kid with the access I had. https://t.co/WmogxozTef
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) January 5, 2025
NASCAR approached him to curate a list of 18 cars for a new exhibit in the hall, understanding his love for the sport’s history. The exhibit was named ‘Dale Jr.: Glory Road Champions’ and was on display till January 2023. His selection included the cars of Richard Petty, Dale Earnhardt, and Jimmie Johnson.
