Dale Earnhardt Jr. recalls when a hurricane hindered The Intimidator’s NASCAR qualifying session

Dale Earnhardt Jr. has looked back on a decades-old hurricane that flooded his father's lake house in North Carolina and resulted in the latter's absence from the 1989 Goody's 500 qualifying run. 'The Intimidator' was supposed to hit the Martinsville Speedway. Still, inclement weather conditions left his team, Richard Childress Racing, with no choice but to ask Jimmy Hensley to fill in the #3 Chevy.

To everyone's surprise, Hensley stood fastest in Senior's Chevy and sat on the pole with his best track time at 20.602 seconds. He was followed by Hendrick Motorsports duo Darrell Waltrip and Geoff Bodine in the second and third spots, respectively. From there, Dale Earnhardt took over his ride for the 500-lap dash and secured a ninth-place finish.

Junior recalled the 35-year-old occurrence when hurricane 'Hugo' struck his father's lake house. He also reminisced how the giant hurricane swallowed things that weren't properly tied to something strong, such as a pole, and swerved violently around the house, hindering his father's pursuit to make it to the Martinsville Speedway.

"It [Hurricane Hugo] was moving 50-150 feet. Dad's supposed to be in Martinsville to qualify, couldn't get on the road and Jimmy Hensley had to qualify his [Dale Sr.] car. Set it on pole, Jimmy Hensley was very good at Martinsville," Junior said via Dirty Mo Media on X (0:48).

Hugo damaged 'The Intimidator's' farm and the then-3x Cup Series champion had to set up fences before marching to the Martinsville Speedway. After clearing out the trees and passing through the destruction caused by the hurricane, Senior made it to the 0.526-mile asphalt. A few minutes after Senior's arrival, Jimmy Hensley clinched the pole in the famed #3 Chevy.

Richard Childress expressed his pleasure for Jimmy Hensley after the latter sealed the pole in Dale Earnhardt's high-octane ride

Hensley entered the NASCAR scene three years before Dale Earnhardt's debut run. The former's first race was marked at the 1972 Virginia 500 hosted by the Martinsville Speedway. However, he was restricted to a handful of races each season, and couldn't find a full-time seat with any garage.

In 1989, Hensley did 18 runs in six different cars and his replacement stint for 'The Intimidator' became his career-only Cup Series pole-sitting dash. Team owner, Richard Childress was impressed by the local driver's portrayal and praised the latter. He said (via Orlando Sentinel).

"We just felt that Jimmy could get around here real good. We felt he would do a good job, and he did," Childress said.

Hensley's qualifying run in Dale Earnhardt's ride paved the way for the latter's front-row start at the 1990 pre-season Busch Clash. However, due to mechanical issues, the Virginia native couldn't hold his lead and fell to a tenth-place finish.