Biofile with Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Published by Scoop Malinowski on February 9, 2010 filed under BioFiles · Comments (0)
Biofile with Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
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Status: NASCAR driver of the #88 AMP Energy/National Guard Chevrolet for Hendrick Motor Sports. Will start from the front row in Sunday’s Daytona 500.
Ht: 6-0 Wt: 175
Born On: October 10, 1974 In: Kannapolis, NC
Childhood Heroes: “My dad. He was ‘The Intimidator.’”
Hobbies/Interests: “Boxing, chillin’ and working on the late model stock car with the guys.”
Nicknames: “A lot of ‘em. Little E, Junior, Junebug, whatever you wanna call me.”
Favorite Movies: “Cast Away, Almost Famous.”
Musical Tastes: “I like almost everything. Elvis, 3 Doors Down, Korn, Pink Floyd, Ludacris, Fleetwood Mac.”
Favorite TV Shows: “Seinfeld, History Channel.”
Favorite Meal: “Grilled chicken with rice on the George Foreman grill.”
Favorite Breakfast Cereal: “Probably Cheerios or Frosted Flakes.”
Favorite Ice Cream Flavor: “Icees or Popsicles – do those count as ice cream?”
Childhood Dream(s): “I never was sure if I’d be a race driver, but I knew I could change oil as fast as anyone [smiles].”
First Car: “Red 1978 Chevy Monte Carlo. My brother Kerry and I sold a go-kart and bought it to race as a street stock at Concord Speedway. We eventually sold it to Hank Parker Jr.”
First Job: “Working in the service department at Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet.”
Pre-Race Feeling: “Depends on my mood. If I want to get really aggressive and pumped up, I listen to Korn. If I want to mellow out, it may be something like Otis Redding. Usually, once I leave the driver’s meeting, I’m not in any mood to talk to people or mess around with anything. That’s my time. A lot of people don’t understand that.”
Early Racing Memory: “I was about 12, and I was still kind of a little guy. I fell out of a go-kart so much, my daddy made me stop. I was foot-to-the-floor, haul-ass, until I’d crash. And those didn’t have seatbelts.”
Funny Racing Memory: “It’s all fun. It was awesome and fun racing against my dad for the first time at Motegi, Japan (2000). I beat him, and he threw his shoe at me. Plus, my crew had gone down and borrowed all of his good tires, so he didn’t like that too much [smiles].”
Greatest Sports Moment: “Winning the Daytona 500 (in 2004). It’s the biggest win of my career. Best day of my life.”
Most Painful Moment: “Getting burned in a big fiery sports-car crash in Sonoma in 2004. I still have pretty big scars on my neck and legs from that crash.”
Favorite Vacation Spot: “Hawaii or Jamaica.”
Last Halloween Costume: “Bill Clinton, and all my buddies were my secret service men. We went to a big college party, and I wore a suit and a Bill Clinton mask. It was cool.”
Closest Racing Friend(s): “Tony Stewart, Matt Kenseth, Martin Truex Jr., Hank Parker Jr, Elliott Sadler.”
Funniest Racer(s): “Bobby Labonte – because no one really knows he’s really funny. He’s just a damn cool guy.”
Favorite Racetrack(s): “Daytona. It’s the most prominent track we go to, and it’s a lot of fun to race on. But it also has a great city life. It’s right there on the beach. It has great restaurants, great clubs, great bars. Lot of fun.”
Embarrassing Racing Memory: “Definitely Martinsville my rookie year. I hit everything but the pace car… wrecked like three or four times. The final crash bent the steering wheel six inches in my hands. I was pretty proud of that [smiles].”
Toughest Competitors: “Rusty Wallace. No matter when or where, he always raced me as hard as anyone. I know it’s because we had competing sponsors, but the man never cut me a break.”
People Qualities Most Admired: “Honesty.”
Topics: 1978 Chevy Monte Carlo, 3 Doors Down, Breakfast Cereal, Car Red, Chevy Monte Carlo, Childhood Heroes, Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet, Dale Earnhardt Jr, Daytona 500, Fleetwood Mac, Foot To The Floor, Fun Racing, George Foreman Grill, Hank Parker Jr, Haul Ass, Hendrick Motor Sports, Kannapolis Nc, Late Model Stock Car, Musical Tastes, Otis Redding
