Kenny Wallace shared his take on Dale Earnhardt Sr. after Ken Schrader recalled a lunch story with the NASCAR legend. The two former drivers, Wallace and Schrader, traded Earnhardt stories on their podcast show, Herm & Schrader.
At one point in the conversation, Schrader recalled when Earnhardt asked whether he wanted lunch. Schrader agreed and they went to a place that was busy and full of people. This led to the seven-time Cup champion asking Schrader whether he liked seafood, to which Schrader said he did.
Afterward, Earnhardt and Schrader walked a few paces from Earnhardt's office and headed into an old convenience store. And what Earnhardt bought from there as lunch surprised Schrader. He said:
"He brought crackers and sardines. That was the seafood. I didn't partake in lunch. That was his lunch. Lunch is seafood lunch." [2:10]
This led to Wallace giving his assessment of Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s personality, which was a big factor behind his popularity and stardom in NASCAR on top of his on-track success:
"He was every man's man, everybody wanted to be him. But boy, he was country as country could be. Literally wore those cowboy boots, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, I don't think I ever watched Dale Earnhardt Sr. be wealthy. I mean, he was always just as country could be." [2:30]
It's worth mentioning that even though Wallace said he never saw Earnhardt as wealthy because of his personality, the seven-time Cup champion had quite a fortune. Reportedly, his net worth at the time of his tragic death in 2001 was around $70 million, which in today's money is close to $122 million.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the time he found Dale Earnhardt Sr. cooking frog legs in the middle of the night
During an episode of "Sports & Forks" in 2024, Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalled when he woke up in the middle of the night to find his father cooking something peculiar. He said that he was around 10 or 12 years old at that time, and upon hearing "some sizzling" in the kitchen around 3 a.m., he woke up:
"I go into the kitchen and dad was standing there in his PJs, cooking frog legs in a frying pan. I've never seen this before, and I had never seen it since. And, but for whatever reason he wanted to get up eat frog legs."
Earnhardt Jr. claimed that while he didn't eat one himself, he confirmed that what Dale Earnhardt Sr. was cooking were frog legs. Seeing his father, the world-famous NASCAR legend who everyone wanted to have a few moments with, cook frog legs for about 15 minutes, was something he said he'll never forget. He added that even though it was an unforgettable memory, he would never try to eat frog legs.