“Do you and I have a problem?”: Budweiser chief recalls when ‘intimidator’ Dale Earnhardt’s finger-pointing silenced the room

NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt was known to be a fierce competitor on and off the track. Budweiser's chief Steve Uline has recalled a crucial moment while working with the late 'Ironhead.'

The Seven-time Cup Series champion had one of the most celebrated careers in the sport. Following his debut at Charlotte in 1975, he won 76 Cup races and 21 in the Xfinity Series. However, 'The Intimidator' met with an untimely death while doing what he loved in an accident in the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. His son is set to return to the iconic #8 Budweiser Chevrolet for JR Motorsports in the LMSC events of the zMAX CARS Tour.

Before Earnhardt Jr.'s return, Uline appeared in Dirty Mo Media's podcast episode with the driver's sister Kelley and recalled a tense moment with their father:

"So this is right in the beginning of the relationship. We haven't even got everything. So we had the deal done, but I couldn't get the merchandising deal done with you all. So we're at dinner one night and it's a long table and your dad's at one end of the table. So we're having dinner and everybody's having wine and beer. Everybody's happy.

At one point your dad says, 'Uline, do you and I have a problem?' And, you know, the whole room goes silent and your dad could be intimidating. There's no question, but I had built a relationship by then that, you know, I felt comfortable, even though we were still young in the relationship, that we were going to be good together. We were everything that won't be fun. I went back like this and I said, 'You and I don't have a problem.'"

Earnhardt Jr. followed in his father's footsteps and joined NASCAR. He secured two Xfininty Series titles, but couldn't get his hands on the coveted Cup Series tile like his father did seven times. Following his retirement, he co-owns JR Motorsports and the zMAX CARS Tour, where he will return in the historic #8 Budweiser Chevy.

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“Alive and well”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. expressing his excitement for the race ahead in iconic NASCAR look at Florence

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is set to compete in the South Carolina 400 at Florence Motor Speedway on November 23rd-24th. His team, JR Motorsports, has shared a look at the iconic #8 Bud Chevy, freshly wrapped in its flashy red branding. It tweeted:

"All wrapped and ready for Florence."

The 50-year-old shared some words of encouragement after looking at the numbers for the race week at Florence:

"Late Model Stock and short track racing is alive and well!! Great to see so many cars in each division this weekend!"

According to FloRacing, nearly 60 drivers, including Cup Series driver Josh Berry, have signed up for the 250-lap event.