Talladega Superspeedway, IMHOF give Dale Earnhardt Jr. his father’s race car
Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits behind the wheel of the Chevrolet Monte Carlo his father drove when he won the 1980 NASCAR Championship. (Michael Tomberlin / Alabama NewsCenter)
Dale Earnhardt Jr. will leave his last professional trip to Talladega Superspeedway with some special booze and an extra race car.
The track where Earnhardt won six times went to great lengths to ensure his last race there was memorable, regardless of where he’s at when the checkered flag waves on Sunday.
Talladega Superspeedway Chairman Grant Lynch and Sen. Gerald Dial, chairman of the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, gave Earnhardt the race car Chevrolet Monte Carlo his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., drove when he won the 1980 NASCAR Championship.
“There’s no better place for this iconic No. 2 car than in the hands of Dale Earnhardt Jr.,” Lynch said. “The Earnhardt family means more to Talladega Superspeedway than we can express, so it is our honor to present the race car his father drove to his first championship to him. We know he will cherish the car like no other. It is in good hands.”
The car has been at the IMHOF and is now on permanent loan to Earnhardt.
“I am so surprised. I didn’t think I was going to take home a race car with me from this weekend,” Earnhardt said. “Just got to thank Talladega Superspeedway and the state of Alabama. They’ve been really good to me. Hopefully, we can get a win for them this weekend.”
Lynch and Dial joined Earnhardt at a press conference where they presented him with two original, historical celebratory champagne bottles. The first was from Earnhardt Sr.’s final Talladega victory in the fall of 2000. The second was from Earnhardt Jr.’s first Talladega win the following fall in 2001.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks about his last race at Talladega, his next career in broadcasting and more from Alabama NewsCenter on Vimeo.
They then were about to hand Earnhardt a small model of the blue and yellow No. 2 Monte Carlo that Earnhardt Sr. drove during the 1979 and 1980 seasons. But Lynch and Dial thought better of it and said they could do better than that and asked Earnhardt Jr. to step outside.
RELATED: Meet the man instrumental in bringing the Talladega Superspeedway to Alabama
“It is with great honor that the International Motorsports Hall of Fame presents this car to Dale Jr.,” Dial said. “He has left an incredible legacy not only on Talladega, but also on motorsports as a whole. There is truly no better way to honor all he has done for racing than to present him the very car that his father drove.”
As soon as he unveiled the real race car, Earnhardt asked if it would still run. When told it did, the excited driver climbed inside, fired it up and was out on the 2.66-mile track and its 33-degree banks.
“I got to take it for a couple laps. That was fun,” Earnhardt said. “I drove it through the garage, so all the guys could see it. It was pretty neat just to trying to imagine what it would be like running that thing around it 180, 190 miles an hour. I’ve never driven anything old like this with some real history. I love to be able to just sit in the car and see the perspective of what the view was like. It is pretty different than our cars today.”
The gifts cap more signs of appreciation for what the younger Earnhardt has meant to NASCAR.
A year ago he was named an honorary member of the famed Alabama Gang – legends Bobby and Donnie Allison, along with Red Farmer in a return for the love that Earnhardt has expressed for Talladega and the race fans here. Earlier this week, Gov. Kay Ivey declared Sunday, Oct. 15 “Dale Earnhardt Jr. Day” for the state.
Tickets are still available for what is being called Earnhardt Jr.’s #Appreci88ion Tour. Tickets can be purchased at www.talladegasuperspeedway.com or at the main ticket office at 855-518-RACE (7223).
