"He didn't care about damn money" - Former NASCAR crew chief Tim Brewer recalls Dale Earnhardt's relentless pursuit of victory over cash

Former NASCAR crew chief Tim Brewer told Dale Earnhardt Jr. how his father never changed despite making money. On the latest Dale Jr. Download episode, Brewer said Dale Earnhardt Sr. cared more about winning races than money.

Tim Brewer is a Winston-Salem native who won the NASCAR Cup Series championship in 1978 and 1981 under Junior Johnson’s team. His first title came with Cale Yarborough in 1978, followed by Darrell Waltrip in 1981. After retiring as a crew chief, he became a technical analyst for the sport.

The former crew chief said on the podcast that Earnhardt Sr. would race even for two cents only.

“You’re making a little bit of money and then that changes you a little bit. The only guy that never changed was your dad. He’d run for two cents if he knew he could win. He didn’t care about the damn money. He’d go and sell souvenirs to make his money.”

Tim Brewer also brought up Yarborough in the conversation, saying:

“Him and Cale Yarborough. I told Cale one time I said, ‘You won the race by seven laps. You won everything but the grandstands.’ ‘Well, I didn’t know they was up for grabs.’”

“You know, they wanted it all. They won’t argue about the money. They wanted it all and they would give it all to get it. And you don’t see many people like that anymore,” Brewer concluded.

Tim Brewer won 53 out of 708 races during his NASCAR Cup Series crew chief career. He also scored 55 poles, 188 top-5s, and 308 top-10s.

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Another former NASCAR crew chief shared a story about Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s good nature

Earlier this month, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was joined by former NASCAR crew chief Travis Carter, who also had kind words for his father. Carter shared a story on the podcast about how generous “The Intimidator” was despite being on top of the game.

Carter recalled the day at Daytona when Earnhardt Sr. slid a commemorative knife into his pocket as a present. He said small gestures like that made him a “great” and respectable man.

“I think he’s just a great guy. I always, you know, everybody respected him,” the former crew chief stated.

Carter continued by saying:

“Just stuff like that he did for people just because he was... either liked him or appreciated them or saying hello or whatever. But that’s part of Dale Earnhardt that people need to know existed."

“He appreciated what he had and what he had worked hard to earn. He didn’t want to flaunt it. He just appreciated being that fortunate and being in that position, I think,” Carter concluded.

Travis Carter was part of Junior Johnson's team when Yarborough won the championship in 1978, serving crew chief duties with Tim Brewer. His first championship was secured with Benny Parsons in 1973.

Dale Earnhardt Sr., meanwhile, is one of the most successful NASCAR drivers, having won the Cup championship seven times. The only other drivers in history to achieve the feat were Richard Petty and Jimmie Johnson.