$300M-worth Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares the lesser-known reality about a 1954 NASCAR ‘relic’ gifted by a friend

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Jr recently received a rare gift from a friend and brought it on the Dale Jr. Download podcast to share with his fans. While talking about the gift, the 50-year-old shared interesting and unknown facts about it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. carried on his father Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s legacy in NASCAR, making his Xfinity Series debut in 1996. He quickly made a name for himself, clinching back-to-back championships in 1998 and 1999. Over his career, Earnhardt Jr. amassed 50 victories across NASCAR’s top two divisions. However, while he never claimed a Cup Series title, his father cemented his status as a legend with seven championships.

The gift Dale Earnhardt Jr. received was a 1954 hat originally given to those in the pits at Darlington Raceway for sun protection. The $300-million-worth (as per Celebrity Net Worth) NASCAR icon revealed that the hat featured multiple signatures from legendary drivers who competed during NASCAR's early years, making it a priceless addition to his collection.

"When I was given this, I was like, holy crap, I've seen these in these old videos from Darlington and so forth. Racing at a Darlington-style racetrack on a black top in the heat of the summer was kind of a new thing. This thing has so many autographs on it. It's written in pencil right here. Fireball Roberts, Sarah Christian, there's Buck Baker. Fireball's wife even signed this. Lee Petty signed this. How many Fireball Roberts autographs are out there?" Dale Earnhardt Jr. said.

Meanwhile, Dale Earnhardt JR.'s NXS driver and rising star Connor Zilisch delivered a dominant performance at the Circuit of The Americas, securing his second Xfinity Series victory in just seven career starts. In the final 15 laps, Zilisch battled fiercely with teammate Carson Kvapil, who managed a mid-pack finish.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s team's protégé Connor Zilisch reflects on battling adversity for a stunning COTA win

Connor Zilisch, driver of the #88 Chevy, made his feelings known about his Focused Health 250 race performance at COTA. Zilisch expressed that while it was 'harder' than anticipated, he and the #88 team were able to 'fight back'

“That was way harder than I wanted it to be,” Connor Zilisch told CW Sports. “I did not drive a clean race at all. Sorry to everyone that I hit; I was kind of mentally fogged halfway through that race. Glad that we were able to fight back.”

Meanwhile, after JR Motorsports made its Cup Series debut in the Daytona 500, Connor Zilisch is set to take on another milestone. The youngster will make his highly anticipated Cup Series debut in Sunday's (March 2) race, scheduled at 3:30 PM ET.