Dale Earnhardt Jr. “excited” to sit down with NASCAR and IndyCar greats in the Fanzone before the Daytona 500

Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently expressed excitement about sitting down with various NASCAR and IndyCar legends for a major NASCAR event. The event is set to take place before the "Great American Race"- Daytona 500.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is a prominent figure in NASCAR as a third-generation driver, team owner (JR Motorsports), and broadcaster. Retiring from full-time Cup Series racing after 2017, Earnhardt Jr. is now an analyst and will be part of Amazon and TNT's NASCAR coverage beginning in 2025.

Driving full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series from 2000 to 2017, Earnhardt Jr. secured 26 wins. He also achieved significant success in the Xfinity Series, claiming consecutive championships in 1998 and 1999. His prowess at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway earned him the moniker "The Pied Piper".

Earnhardt Jr. is a two-time Daytona 500 winner (2004 and 2014) and holds a record of fifteen consecutive Most Popular Driver Awards (2003-2017). He hosts the popular "Dale Jr. Download" podcast and began his broadcasting career with NASCAR on NBC in 2018.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Dirty Mo Media are partnering with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio to host a live "Dale Jr. Download" show from the Hard Rock Bet Fan Zone at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday, February 13. Dale Jr. will be joined by Jeff Gluck, Jordan Bianchi from The Teardown, and his co-host Andrew Kurland. The show will feature appearances from Justin Allgaier, Hélio Castroneves, Martin Truex Jr., and Cole Pearn. The NASCAR legend expressed his excitement about the event:

"Hello there. I've never really gotten to sit down with those guys in that kind of a format. And they're excited. And I am too. I am too. Justin Allgaier is gonna drop by. Hélio Castroneves is coming by. Martin Truex Jr. and Cole Pearn. That's so exciting," Earnhardt Jr. announced on his Dale Jr. Podcast.

Following the "Dale Jr. Download" show, there will be a crossover show with SiriusXM NASCAR Radio hosts, including Denny Hamlin from Actions Detrimental, along with fun giveaways and a Q&A session with the crowd.

The 50-year-old is set for an active 2025 season in several areas of NASCAR. As a broadcaster, he'll join Amazon and TNT's new NASCAR coverage. In team ownership, JR Motorsports, which he co-owns, will attempt to make its Cup Series debut in the 2025 Daytona 500. JR Motorsports have partnered with Chris Stapleton for this historic entry.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed 'hotter than hell' moment with Richard Childress in 2024

Dale Earnhardt Jr. revealed a heated confrontation with Richard Childress following Dale Jr.'s public comments about the Martinsville race manipulation controversy in November 2024. NASCAR penalized several team members for manipulating the race outcome, including members of Richard Childress Racing's #3 team, who helped William Byron advance to the Championship 4 in Phoenix. Earnhardt Jr. discussed his views on the matter on his podcast, which prompted an angry reaction from Childress.

"We were at Phoenix, getting ready to run for the championship in the Xfinity race. And your car is on the grid with Austin Hill. My car is right behind yours, and you come walking through and as I would any weekend, I was like, 'Hey Richard!' Because I thought we were going to say, 'Hey man. Good luck. Have fun.' And you stopped and you basically chewed my a**. You were madder than hell. You grabbed me and walked me over away from everybody and said, 'I don't appreciate what you said about that Martinsville stuff,'" Dale Earnhardt Jr described. [15:50]

Childress didn't remember the event to which Dale replied:

"Dude I can't believe you don't remember that. You were hotter than hell!"

The conversation also touched on another NASCAR low point for Childress: the 2024 Richmond race where Austin Dillon's win, achieved through controversial contact with Joey Logano and Denny Hamlin, was allowed to stand, but Dillon was denied playoff eligibility. Childress told Earnhardt Jr. that the decision cost them over $3 million and that he would never get over it.