Latest news with #DaleJr.
Newsweek
a day ago
- Entertainment
- Newsweek
Luke Combs Teases Music Video With NASCAR's Dale Jr. and Richard Petty
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. American country singer Luke Combs has teased a new music video, featuring NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and seven-time Cup Series champion Richard Petty. Titled 'Back in the Saddle,' the track will be released on Friday, July 25. Combs shared images of the song on X. One image of a checkered flag has photos embedded inside the black and white blocks. Two photos of Dale Jr. can be spotted from his racing days, including his number 8 car. An image of Petty's belt bearing his racing number 43 has also been featured. One detail that can't be missed from the photo is NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s quote. It reads: "You win some, lose some, and wreck some." Further details of the song will likely be available after its release on Friday. Music video will be out with the song this Friday. Can't wait for y'all to see it — Luke Combs 🎤 (@lukecombs) July 21, 2025 Dale Jr. has been making full use of media to ensure his father's stories go out to NASCAR fans. As well as his popular Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media, the former driver has launched a podcast series titled 'Becoming Earnhardt 1980,' which is based on stories about Dale Sr., obtained from scrapbooks that Dale Jr.'s aunt preserved. Singer Luke Combs poses for a photo in the pace car prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 30, 2024 in Lebanon, Tennessee. Singer Luke Combs poses for a photo in the pace car prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway on June 30, 2024 in Lebanon, series focuses on NASCAR's 1980 Cup Series season, showcasing lesser-known details of the events that unfolded, eventually leading to Dale Sr.'s championship victory. Speaking about the new series, Dale Jr. said: "It's just a show that I started. I got these two scrapbooks from my aunt when my grandmother passed away. We went to her house, we were kind of looking through some of the things - photos and all kinds of stuff - and there were these two scrapbooks that my aunt made. "They are literally, one is from the '79 year and one's from the '80 Cup season. She cut out every article and everything. So right there in front of me, man, is basically this kind of book of, like, 'here's what happened to Dad.' "I just never really dove into that real deeply to get details about that particular couple of years when he drove for Rod Osterlund and landed his first full-time ride in NASCAR. "So we decided to make a series, Becoming Earnhardt, to detail what's in those scrapbooks and the things that we learned. It's pretty interesting." Addressing a controversy that will be highlighted in the podcast series, Dale Jr. said: "1980 is what this particular season of Becoming Earnhardt will be focusing on, and there is a high-profile split with crew chief Jake Elder. How Jake handles that in the media is wild—Jake goes off the rails, Jake comes back on the rails—it's just wild. "And Dad and Cale get nippy in the media late in the year. Cale actually is real critical of Dad on the racetrack. Just watching that whole thing—kind of reliving it, putting yourself in the moment of going back through that particular year—I think it's really fun for me. "I'm a nostalgia freak. I love the history of the sport. So it is a great time for me, a good excuse for me to dive more into learning about that particular part of Dad's life. I lived a lot of the late '80s and the '90s. I wasn't even in Dad's life in 1980. I was not living with him yet."
Newsweek
24-06-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Denny Hamlin and Kyle Busch Clash On Dale Jr.'s NASCAR Crew Chief Role
Following Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s first win as crew chief for NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Connor Zilisch at Pocono, Kyle Busch dismissed the effort as a publicity stunt. However, Denny Hamlin disagreed with Busch, stating that Dale Jr. still had to manage strategy and take on the responsibility of a crew chief. Co-owner of JR Motorsports, Dale Jr. took on the role of interim crew chief for his driver Zilisch, filling in for Mardy Lindley, who faced a one-race suspension. However, Busch argued that there was enough technology to have Lindley connected remotely, suggesting that there was no need for Dale Jr. to step in. Speaking to Dalton Hopkins, he said: "It's all publicity, but spin it how you want it. He's just going to be a warm body sitting on top of the box. You know, they've got enough stuff from the shop and enough technology these days of being able to have the crew chief still involved. So, I could say I could do the same thing with one of my truck teams, but the guys at the shop would be the ones handling it. Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 zone/GetGo Chevrolet, looks on during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 21, 2025 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Kyle Busch, driver of the #8 zone/GetGo Chevrolet, looks on during practice for the NASCAR Cup Series The Great American Getaway 400 at Pocono Raceway on June 21, 2025 in Long Pond, Pennsylvania."Still, great, you know, cool. Eyeballs, and putting some attention on their team, and stuff like that. I mean, JRM is one of the top two, three teams in the Xfinity Series. So, let the best man win." Hamlin took a slightly more diplomatic stand on the matter and admitted that credit must be given to Dale Jr. for taking on the responsibility. He said on his Actions Detrimental podcast: "I think we've got to give Dale Jr. a little bit of due and certainly, don't want to undersell the fact that the team was doing the heavy lifting. I think that the answer can be somewhere in between of Kyle Busch says he's nothing but a warm body up there — the TV sells it as if he's an actual crew chief — I think the answer is probably somewhere in between. But you still got to be responsible, right? "You got to get the messages to the driver, and he saw opportunities, strategy wise, and he's probably talking to the engineers about the strategy. The result was he was walking to Victory Lane at the end of that race and obviously, Connor drove that car fantastic." Dale Jr. acknowledged in the post-race press conference at Pocono that he was under a ton of pressure while performing the role of a crew chief. Busch later clarified his stance on the matter on X, saying he was pointing out how silly crew chief suspensions are since they can be in touch with their teams, and stressed that he had nothing against Dale Jr. He wrote: "This has nothing to do w any animosity towards Dale jr. I'm referencing how silly the suspensions for cc [crew chief] are these days w all the technology they have to stay in contact w their teams. I'd say the same thing if JG [Jeff Gordon] went on a HMS [Hendrick Motorsports] box as a cc." [sic]
Newsweek
14-06-2025
- Automotive
- Newsweek
Dale Jr. on His Father's Private Closet: 'Nobody's Been In There Since He Passed'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed that his father and NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s closet has been left untouched since he passed away on 18 February 2001 during the Daytona 500. Dale Jr. spoke about the items that are left in there, never opened for 24 years. Dale Sr. won a staggering seven NASCAR championships in his storied stock car racing career. However, at age 49, he suffered a fatal crash in the last lap of the Daytona 500. The event shocked the world of NASCAR and played a major role in improving the sport's safety standards. The personal items of Dale Sr. have been left alone in his closet since his passing, only to be spoken about after more than two decades by Dale Jr. on the Dale Jr. Download. He said: "He had this closet where nobody's been in this closet since the day he passed away. There's a lot of stuff in there. If I could go to a space to take a look at what is physically there, that's absolutely no question where I'd go. There's all kinds of stuff in that room that you know, old racing uniforms and his gun collection, and all types of stuff like that." Dale Earnhardt Jr. speaks to the media on the red carpet for the NASCAR on Prime Presents The World Premiere of Earnhardt at The Revelry on May 22, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Dale Earnhardt Jr. speaks to the media on the red carpet for the NASCAR on Prime Presents The World Premiere of Earnhardt at The Revelry on May 22, 2025 in Charlotte, North NASCAR and Prime Video Adding to the list of things, he said: "It's old uniforms; mine and Kelley's military uniforms are in this closet. Some of our stuff's in there. I think Kelley stuck some of her old racing uniforms in there as well. And so it'd be cool to see some of that stuff, it's not pressing, but uh, maybe one day." Dale Jr. recently spoke about his upcoming show 'Becoming Earnhardt 1980,' which features Dale Sr.'s 1980 NASCAR Cup Series championship battle. Newsweek Sports reported Dale Jr.'s comments on the show. He said: "It's just a show that I started. I got these two scrapbooks from my aunt when my grandmother passed away. We went to her house, we were kind of looking through some of the things - photos and all kinds of stuff - and there were these two scrapbooks that my aunt made. "They are literally, one is from the '79 year and one's from the '80 Cup season. She cut out every article and everything. So right there in front of me, man, is basically this kind of book of, like, 'here's what happened to Dad.' "I just never really dove into that real deeply to get details about that particular couple of years when he drove for Rod Osterlund and landed his first full-time ride in NASCAR. "So we decided to make a series, Becoming Earnhardt, to detail what's in those scrapbooks and the things that we learned. It's pretty interesting."
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Earnhardt': Dale Jr. recounts valuable lesson from his father
Dale Jr. relives the lesson his dad taught him to start taking racing more seriously after his debut wreck in what was known as the Busch Grand National Series.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
'Earnhardt': Dale Jr.'s drive to race, receiving tough love from father early in career
'I wanted to race cars badly. Just as badly, I think, as my dad.' Episode 3 of the four-part 'Earnhardt' docuseries on Prime Video explores Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s start in racing and the challenges of earning his father's attention in the early portion of his career. Advertisement With racing constantly on his mind growing up, Earnhardt Jr. said he drew race cars often in school. However, his father and stepmother Teresa interpreted it as a different passion for Dale Jr. 'Dad and Teresa came home one day with a giant box of all these supplies, and they said, 'We thought maybe you'd want to go to art school. We were looking at this college down the road,' Earnhardt Jr. said. 'I was like, 'are you freaking out of your mind? I'm not going to art school.' What? Like, I'm not an art student. I'm not into art. I was so spun out. And I was like, 'damn it, you're Dale Earnhardt, and I want to race.' Help me race. What should I do in this moment to be getting closer to racing? Take all this art [expletive] out of here.' RELATED: Watch all four episodes of 'Earnhardt' on Prime Video As Earnhardt Jr. began racing late models locally, his father remained absent from the track with his son. Advertisement Dale Sr.'s friend, Hank Parker, revealed that Earnhardt said he didn't believe his son was cut out for racing. 'I was worried about Dale Jr. and he was green as grass,' Parker said. 'Didn't know a whole lot about racing. Dale Sr. told me one time. He said, 'I don't think that boy will ever be a race driver. He just ain't got it.\"' Earnhardt Jr.: 'If dad was sitting right here, one thing I'd want to ask him, did he ever see me race my late model car? I ran 159 races. I never saw him. He never said, 'Hey, I'm coming to your race this weekend.' He's never around the trailer. Never around the car. I don't know if he saw me.' As Dale Jr. made his way to the Xfinity Series, formerly known as the Busch Grand National Series, he had a rough few outings in his first starts. Advertisement After wrecking out in a race, Dale Jr. recalls an important moment in his relationship with his dad that stuck with him. 'The door flies open on this double-wide trailer I lived in. Boom, boom. I know immediately those are dad's footsteps,' Earnhardt Jr. said. 'He looks over at my buddies that are sitting over there, and he goes, 'get the [expletive] off my property. [They] ran out of the house and jumped in the cars and they drove out the driveway. The shoes are still sitting in the floor. 'He said, 'Come here.' And we walked out. I thought he was gonna whoop my ass. And he goes, 'Man, what are you doing?' I was like, 'I thought my racing career is over.' He's like, 'no, they're gonna fix that car. That's where you should be. You should be wanting to fix your car. Where is that? Where is that inside of you? What's missing in you that you thought to come over here and sit on your ass and feel sorry for yourself?' That was the one father-son talk that we had that sunk in.'
