Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a knack for winning hearts, whether by honoring old traditions or through quiet acts of kindness that catch even those closest to him off guard. And after more than eight years of marriage, Amy Earnhardt still finds herself floored by the hidden corners of her husband’s character.
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On a recent episode of their podcast Bless Your ‘Hardt, the couple shared a moment that left Amy both speechless and smiling. During a low-key dinner outing, a deaf man in the restaurant instantly recognized Junior. While most of the crowd remained oblivious, the gentleman’s excitement was unmistakable, pointing animatedly toward Dale Jr. and urging everyone at the bar to take notice.
Despite flying under the radar with others, he had his eyes locked on Junior the whole time. Moved by his energy, Dale and Amy quietly decided to foot his bill. But when the waitress handed over the tab, they realized the man hadn’t ordered any food; he had only downed $150 worth of margaritas.
The staff marked the receipt with a simple note: “Dale Earnhardt Jr. paid for your dinner.” Later, after the couple had wrapped up their meal with their daughters, the gentleman, Ricky, walked over to thank them and snap a few pictures. He even taught Junior’s daughters basic sign language, telling them how to say ‘I love you’ in sign language.
Amy responded with a signed “Thank you,” but what truly left her stunned was Dale Jr.’s response. Cool as ever, Junior looked at his unexpected fan in the eye and signed, “Have a nice day.”
Amy was taken aback. “I know you know a bunch of random s—t, but I didn’t know you knew how to sign language, too,” she said. She confessed that in that moment her jaw dropped, and as she struggled to hide her surprise, Ricky and the man next to her burst into laughter. “I was like joke was on me almost at that point,” she said. “But it was amazing. I was impressed with Dale yet again.”
Dale Jr. then pulled back the curtain on how that hidden talent of his came to be. “Back in the ’90s, around 1994-95, I was racing Myrtle Beach Speedway, and one of the fans that came every single weekend was deaf, and brought me a sign book. So he was telling me, ‘Man, I would like it if you might learn a couple signs so we could communicate.'”
Though the years had blurred the details, the recent moment at the restaurant brought it all rushing back. So, while Amy went to settle the check, Dale Jr. pulled up a YouTube video and taught himself how to sign “Have a nice day” on the fly.
“I watched the video on YouTube real quick and was like thinking in my mind like how to mimic the motions. And so I was like, ‘All right, so when he comes over here, I’ll just make sure I can sign to him so he’ll feel seen or heard, you know,’” Dale said, recounting how he mentally rehearsed the motions before Ricky came over.
Amy, clearly still mightily impressed, nodded. “It was very smooth.”
