“Are you gonna give me some money?”: When a teenage Dale Jr. took a candid interview of his father Dale Earnhardt after a Superspeedway victory

After Dale Earnhardt won the Winston 500 at Talladega Superspeedway in 1990, he was interviewed by his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. In the candid interview, after the race, Dale Jr. asked his father multiple questions, including an interesting one, if the seven-time Cup Series driver would give him "some money."

The 1990 Winston 500 was the ninth race of the Winston Cup Series race. It was held on Sunday, May 6, 1990, in Lincoln, Alabama, at Talladega Superspeedway. Dale Jr. won the race ahead of Greg Sacks and Mark Martin.

After the race, Dale Jr. approached his father for an interview, and here's how their interaction went as per a recent post on X by NASCAR Classics:

Dale Jr. started off the interview with:

"I'm here with Dale Earnhardt after he just won the Die-Hard 500."

Replying to this, Earnhardt said:

"What's the question, dude?"

Following this, Dale Jr. asked:

"Well, how was your race?"

Earnhardt replied:

"It was hot, but it was fast. Just like you told me to go."

Dale Jr. further asked:

"Did you drift a lot? You didn't have to pass too many, did ya?"

Earnhardt then replied:

"Well yeah, we had pretty good there, and watched our gas mileage at the end, but we did exactly what you said."

Dale Jr. then asked his final question:

"Can you give me some money when you get home?"

Reluctant, and smiling Dale Earnhardt replied:

"I doubt it, you spent enough down here this week."

At the time of the interview, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 16 years old and was already racing in the junior stock car racing series. His father, Earnhardt, was 39 years old and was running in his 16th Cup Series season.

Earnhardt was racing for Richard Childress Racing that year and was competing for the championship. In the 1990 Winston 500 at Talladega, he qualified in fifth place behind Ernie Irvan of Morgan-McClure Motorsports.

Bill Elliott of Melling Racing was on the pole, and the Hendrick Motorsports duo of Ken Schrader and Darrell Waltrip started the race from second and third place. After the race started, Earnhardt claimed the lead after 81 laps, led the rest, and claimed victory.

Earnhardt claimed the 1990 NASCAR Winston Cup Series ahead of Mark Martin. Earnhardt claimed 4430 points, and defeated Martin (4404 points) by 26 points, to claim his fourth Cup Series title.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. once opened up about racing after his father, Dale Earnhardt's death

On February 18, 2001, Dale Earnhardt suffered a fatal crash during the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. The severity of the three-car crash (Earnhardt, Schrader, and Sterling Marlin) killed the seven-time Cup Series champion after he was taken to the medical center.

Dale Earnhardt, background, and his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., run side by side in turn 2 during the Budweiser Shootout at Daytona International Speedway, Sunday.

Earnhardt's son, Earnhardt Jr. was also racing in the same Daytona 500. He finished the race in second place, behind race winner Michael Waltrip. While this was a race he could never forget, returning to the racetrack had not been easy for him ever since.

Speaking about how he felt after he returned to race in the NASCAR Cup Series, Earnhardt Jr. opened up about it on the Dan Patrick Show in 2023. Here's what he said:

"Rockingham after my dad passed away — that was the next race we went to,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I didn’t wanna race, I didn’t wanna be there. But I mean, I didn’t wanna be anywhere else. It was kind of one of them situations where you didn’t want to be anywhere and you didn’t want to be doing nothing but you needed to be doing something. It was just a weird place to be emotionally and mentally."

Earnhardt left a long-lasting legacy in NASCAR. Besides the seven Cup Series championships, he also has 76 race wins, 22 pole positions, and 428 Top 10s under his belt. Tragically, his last race win also arrived at the same track — Talladega in 2000, where he appeared for a candid interview with his son 10 years ago.