“Pull Out That Pink Bikini”: Terrified of Burning Up, Shaquille O’Neal Couldn’t Cross 70 MPH in a Race Against NASCAR Legend Dale Earnhardt Jr

Shaquille O’Neal has tried his hands at everything, even experiencing the thrill of motorsports by competing with NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. The show ‘Shaq vs.’ features ‘the Big Diesel’ competing against entities from various fields and trying his luck in domains beyond basketball. However, hopping into the race car, Shaq was terrified of catching fire. This was perhaps why he hilariously drove the entire race at just 70 mph. After ridiculing the sport, O’Neal described his experience seated on a NASCAR stock car and losing to the motorsport legend in his autobiography, Shaq Uncut.

It’s expected of Shaq to pull out some of the most incredible stunts imaginable. One would find no other NBA athlete so actively engaged in such theatrics off-court, even when money from a brand is involved. All this pushes the belief that Shaq is a marketeer at heart, being able to promote the best and the goofiest version of himself to his fans.

Shaquille O’Neal once had to pull out his embarrassing pink bikini after losing to NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Before racing Dale Earnhardt Jr., Shaq had dismissed NASCAR as a sport and refused to recognize NASCAR racers as athletes. Hence, he received a challenge from the legend Dale Earnhardt Jr. to try his luck at racing him at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina. Shaq accepted the challenge, unaware of the adversities he might expect along the way.

The race was among the biggest crossovers ever in sports. Therefore, Shaq had expected to get good ratings out of the race with Earnhardt Jr. And to try and improve them further, the idea was to crash into a wall.

When Shaq sat on his NASCAR stock car, that’s when he realized his car had the potential of catching fire if he crashed. Luckily, Shaq’s racing team had ensured adequate safety measures to make sure he escaped unscathed in such a situation. However, crashing and catching fire freaked out the big man. As the two athletes hit the track, Shaq drove at a modest 70 miles per hour while Earnhardt Jr. whizzed past him at 130. Compared to the NASCAR legend, Shaq seemed like he had been given a go-kart. Here is how the Diesel described his experience racing in his autobiography.

I’m thinking about the ratings and I thought, If you want to get good numbers for the show, you should really crash into the wall.
So that was my plan, but just before I rev up my engine the guy in the pit tells me, “Listen, you have a fireproof suit on, and if you hit the wall and catch fire it should take us about two minutes and then we’ll come out and get you.” Two minutes! So now I’m absolutely terrified.

I’m driving 70 miles per hour around the track, which is slower than when I’m driving to work, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. is going 130 miles per hour, and I look like I’m driving a go-kart. They are in my ear shouting, “You gotta go faster” and I’m thinking, The hell with you. I’m not going to die! So then I hear Dale in my ear saying, “Okay now, keep it steady, keep it steady, I’m going to pass you on the right,” so I grip the wheel and he goes flying by me.

When I lost to Dale Earnhardt Jr., I had to pull out that pink bikini again and run around the track in it.‌

Shaq would later run around the track in his pink bikini suit as part of his punishment. Admittedly, that was a scene most fans may never have the privilege of forgetting. After the challenge, Shaq accepted NASCAR athletes to be legitimate and called those 3 hours, the toughest of his life.

Shaq once shocked WWE fans by appearing against Big Show

Aside from NASCAR, Shaq has also tried his hands at competing in professional wrestling as well. When he arrived at the 32nd Wrestlemania and took part in the Battle Royale, everyone was surprised to see the former NBA star in this new avatar.

In the ring, Shaq faced the Big Show, whose name explains that he is one of the ‘big guys’ in WWE. However, compared to Shaq, the professional wrestler looked almost average-sized. When a 7’1″ Shaq stares you down in a wrestling ring, it’s as terrifying as one could imagine.

Kane even tried choke-slamming the big men on the ring but ended up on the mat himself. With Shaq’s size as his advantage, the WWE is a piece of cake for the Big Aristotle.