5 interesting facts about Dale Earnhardt Jr. that you should know

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the third generation of racing drivers from the Earnhardt family. He's the son of the joint most successful NASCAR driver Earnhardt Sr. who won seven championships. Earnhardt Jr. ran in the NASCAR Cup Series for close to two decades and won 26 races. Despite his long stock car career, he didn't win a championship in the Cup series.

The American retired from the Cup series at the end of the 2017 season and has been working as an analyst and presenter for the broadcast companies since then. Dale Earnhardt Jr. married his longtime girlfriend Amy Reimann in 2016. His first daughter, Isla Rose Earnhardt, was born in 2018, while his second daughter, Nicole Loraine Earnhardt, was born in 2020.

Mazda MX-5 Cup Test - Source: Getty

However, these are some very well-known facts about the former NASCAR driver. Let's have a look at five interesting and less-known facts about Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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Five interesting facts about Dale Earnhardt Jr.

#5 Video game and movie cameos

Dale Earnhardt Jr. voices a character in the early 2000s game Scarface: The World is Yours.

He later appeared on the cover of a couple of NASCAR games i.e. EA Sports' NASCAR Thunder 2003 and NASCAR The Game: Inside Line in 2012. Earnhardt is also an avid fan of the racing simulation game iRacing and became its executive director in 2020. Honoring Earnhardt's dedication to the game, the eNASCAR Coca-Cola 600 trophy on iRacing was named after him.

The former NASCAR driver played a cameo in the 2006 film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. His iconic No. 8 stock car also made appearances in multiple movies, including Herbie: Fully Loaded and Transformers: Dark of the Moon.

#4 Dale Earnhardt Jr. won his first race at Daytona International Speedway months after his father's tragic death at the same venue

NASCAR Xfinity: NASCAR Xfinity Series Championship - Source: Imagn

Earnhardt Sr. died on February 18, 2001, at the Daytona 500 race, following a three-car crash on the final lap of the race. The impact from the crash caused a fatal basilar skull fracture, which led to his tragic death.

Five months later, the Pepsi 400 took place at the Daytona International Speedway. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race after leading the most laps (116). The American took the lead back with five laps remaining and claimed victory.

#3 Dale Earnhardt Jr's bestseller book Driver #8

Driver #8 documented Dale Earnhardt Jr's rookie season in NASCAR. The 50-year-old shared his point of view on the highs and lows of a NASCAR season. The book was on the New York bestseller list for 17 weeks. Amazon named the book the top-selling Sports Book of the Year.

#2 Led the grid in the Pace Car at the 2019 Indy 500

Earnhardt Jr joined the NBC broadcast team as an analyst for the 2019 Indy 500. It was the first time that the former NASCAR driver was attending the marquee IndyCar event.

However, the American was also announced as the Indy 500 pace car driver. Al Roker was the first choice but was removed due to a conflict of schedule. Earnhardt Jr. was selected as his replacement.

#1 Dale Earnhardt drove the car in Bandages after the 2004 Sonoma crash

Earnhardt participated in the American Le Mans Series in 2004 and drove the Corvette. His car caught fire in the fourth round in Sonoma.

He got out of the car but was severely burnt. The former stock car driver started the next two races but was unable to finish. John Andretti and Martin Truex Jr. substituted the American driver.