“He’s the man”: When Dale Earnhardt Jr. commented on Daytona 500-Indy 500 winner Mario Andretti

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of the most famous race car drivers in history. The son of the late Dale Earnhardt won two Daytona 500s and was NASCAR's Most Popular Driver for 15 straight seasons.

Back in 2019, the 26-time Cup Series winner acknowledged another motorsports icon in Mario Andretti. The now-84-year-old from Italy found success in multiple types of motorsports, with some of his most notable accomplishments including four IndyCar National championships and the 1967 Daytona 500.

In the NBC Sports docuseries "Drive Like Andretti," Dale Earnhardt Jr. is featured in part six as they discuss Andretti's triumph in the Daytona 500. It was only Andretti's second start in the event, while Earnhardt Sr. failed to win the prestigious race until his 20th try. A Facebook post by NASCAR revealed the following:

"Dad was able to win it," Earnhardt Jr. said. "It took him his whole career, and when he finally won it, he felt complete. Mario came in, in only his second try and won the biggest race in our sport." (0:09 onwards)

The docuseries shows clips of Andretti's Daytona 500 victory. As the highlights are shown, Dale Earnhardt Jr. explained how he's amazed at what the racing legend accomplished, as almost no driver can say they ventured into NASCAR and quickly one of the sport's most iconic races.

"Stock car racing, at that time, not very open to outsiders coming in. Especially guys coming in and doing well. We've seen drivers jump in different types of cars and be fast, but do they jump in those cars and win the biggest events? He's the man, he's the man," he said (0:29 onwards).

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s recent reunion with the famed #8 Budweiser car

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (88) during the Food City 300 at Bristol Motor Speedway.- Source: Imagn

Through the early years of his career, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was synonymous with driving the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc., a team owned by his late father. A few weeks ago at the Florence Speedway, the North Carolina native took a trip down memory lane when he got behind the wheel of the iconic number-sponsor combination.

Earnhardt Jr. brought back the famed number and sponsor combo in a late model stock car race. While he drove the car up to as high as second place, his race prematurely ended after a fuel pump failure. In an interview after the race, the two-time Xfinity Series champion said he plans to bring the fan-favorite paint scheme back. In an X (formerly Twitter) post by racing journalist Peter Stratta, the American said:

"If I have anything to do with it, they will. They'll see that Bud car again. I hope Budweiser really enjoyed this. I'm thankful for them to allow us to do it and have some fun. ... Seemed like it was a great reaction on social media about it leading up to the race. Some great attendance from the fans here. They had people they had to turn away I guess because they didn't have room. Lot of folks around here with their old Bud gear on. The fans really supported it well and that would encourage I think Budweiser to consider allowing us to run it more." (3:21 onwards)

Earnhardt became a four-time champion owner in the Xfinity Series this season when Justin Allgaier drove the #7 Jr. Motorsports car to his first career championship. Next year, Earnhardt will join the TNT/Amazon broadcast team as a commentator.