“He fell off the mountain”: NASCAR reminisces Dale Earnhardt Sr. illustrating his boss Richard Childress’ ‘sore’ aftermath

NASCAR has revisited a decades-old moment when Dale Earnhardt Sr. explained how he and his boss Richard Childress fell off a mountain in New Mexico. In 1994, at the Phoenix Raceway, the Inimitador a fresh seven-time Cup Series champion, was asked about his recent shenanigans with his boss.

Childress and Earnhardt were made for each other. After the latter took the #3 RCR Chevy baton in 1984, the sport witnessed a dominant union of the duo. The Intimidator would earn six of his seven Cup titles and 67 of his 76 race victories with Richard Childress.

Naturally, the bond among them became the one shared by families.

One day, Dale Sr. and Childress went on a hunting spree on their horses. However, the horses couldn't maintain a balance on the steep mountain climb and fell. Luckily, the trees prevented both legendary figures from falling down the cliff. Recalling the incident, Senior illustrated how things went haywire.

He said (via NASCAR Classics).

"We had a great time," Dale Earnhardt Sr. says with a grin. "Rode the horse quite a bit, had a little bit of horse wreckage, Childress fell off the mountain with the horse and went about 50 feet down." (3:38).

Senior mentioned that if the trees weren't there, Childress would've ended up worse.

"He fell off a big rock about 13 feet. You know he gotta a little bit of tough time, he's a little sore but still, we're in good shape, we had some fun," Senior added.

It's worth mentioning that the duo's Horse wreck was the memorable moment that prevented Childress from retiring the #3.

Richard Childress recalls when he and Dale Earnhardt Sr. made a promise to each other after the New Mexico incident

The near-death experience in New Mexico was a turning point for Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Richard Childress. They realized that a time could come when one of them might not be alive, and thus, they promised each other to continue racing even if another one died.

"We got back to camp that night, and naturally Dale blamed me for pulling his horse off the mountain, like I could physically. We were having a cocktail by the fireplace. I told him, 'You know, Dale, if I had gotten killed on that mountain today, you would have had to race Phoenix.' We looked at each other [and he said], 'If it ever happens to me, you better race,': Childress said via ESPN.

The horse wreck helped Childress when he was distraught by Earnhardt Sr.'s death at the 2001 Daytona 500. The former was ready to forfeit his racing empire and end his NASCAR career.

However, it was then that he remembered the promise to each other following their fatal crash in the mountains, which gave him the strength to continue racing without the seven-time Cup Series champion.

A decade later, in December 2013, Childress announced that his grandson Austin Dillon would register his rookie Cup Series season in 2014 with Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s iconic #3.