“If dad says that, it’s true” - When Dale Earnhardt Jr. approved Dale Sr.’s uncanny ‘$50 bill’ race day superstition 

Dale Earnhardt Jr. once addressed his superstitions before a race and highlighted how his father was headstrong about a unique $50 bill superstition on a race day.

In a 2023 Ask Jr. segment of the Dale Jr. Download podcast, the NASCAR Hall of Famer opened up on the 'traditional' superstitions during his two-decade-long NASCAR career. While several athletes in various fields have certain kinds of superstitions, so do a few drivers of NASCAR.

In response to a fan's question on his show, the owner of JR Motorsports said:

"My superstitions were traditional. You know, I didn't want to eat peanuts around the race car, apparently, that's bad luck and I tried not to do it.. wasn't really a problem. $50 bills are bad luck. Look I love money but my dad was like $50 bills are bad luck. If Dad says that, it's true. So if you're gonna, you know, if you're carrying a $50 bill in your pocket you're not gonna win really a race. Yeah, you're getting a bad luck." [11:52]

Moreover, Dale Earnhardt Jr. mentioned the 'green' color as having bad luck, despite him having several green-colored paint schemes during his time with Hendrick Motorsports. He also added:

"My grandfather, Ralph, I heard was particular about the color[Green] of the car, yeah. And um the peanuts, he didn't like people eating peanuts in the shop, stuff like that." [13:24]

Although, the two-time Daytona 500 winner claimed to not be "super duper religious" but at times says a prayer to keep him safe whenever he gets inside his racecar.

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"He had a panicked look on his face" - Tony Stewart once shared a $50 bill story of Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Dale Earnhardt, Sr. during testing at the Daytona International Speedway - Source: Imagn

During a February 2023 conversation, NASCAR Hall of Famer Tony Stewart recalled a story with seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and how the latter was left with a stricken face after seeing a $50 bill on the race day.

Speaking on TheBubbaArmy podcast, the former champion said:

"Dale Sr was real superstitious about $50 bills and we had Ronny Crooks was my shots guy and we were at Martinsville and they were lining the cars up on the racetrack, he goes, ‘After the national anthem, you take this $50 bill to Dale…wait till he gets in the car, don’t do it when he’s outside the car.'” [33:59]

Stewart then continued:

"So I went to hand that thing inside and Richard Childress clotheslined me and Dale Sr couldn’t suck back in the seat any further than he already was. He had a panicked look on his face. And that is the same day Kenny Irwin, and I had our big scrap, and that changed everything for me as well, not in a great way."

Tony Stewart also revealed how he almost got a woman fired from Joe Gibbs Racing for putting a $50 bill in his per-day allowance. Additionally, he also mentioned how he refrains from staying in a room number that is 13 or equal to 13.