"I got the laundry room out here": Dale Earnhardt Jr. podcast guest recalls Dale Sr.'s unconventional Daytona racing adventure

Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a recent conversation with his father's best friend, Donnie Rives, revisited unheard stories of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt. Rives on the Dirty Mo Media podcast shared an outlandish story of Dale Sr. during the latter's part-time run at Daytona Internation Speedway.

During the episode of Dale Jr. Download, Rives revealed how Dale Sr. and he ended up staying in a faraway motel's laundry room for the night. The 49-year-old Dale Jr. asked Rives about the time he helped Senior get ready for a race on the 4th of July in Daytona, to which Rives replied:

"He [Dale Sr.] went [for the Daytona race] and he didn't even tell me he was going. The phone rang, I picked it up and it was your daddy."

Dale Sr. and Rives then went into a dialogue asking each other's whereabouts. While Rives was getting ready for Sunday's church, Dale Sr. was in Daytona.

Rives then continued:

"I said, 'What in the world you doing at Daytona?'. He said, 'Cronkite's got his car down here and I'm gonna drive it for him. But I need some help...Can you come?'"

Before starting his rookie Cup Series season with Osterlund Racing, Dale Sr. competed for Will Cronkite Racing in 1978.

Rives was part of the crew and claimed that he was looking after the tires during that time and joined one of the greatest NASCAR drivers for his Daytona run.

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. then asked about the type of hotel reservation they made during the racing schedule. Rives was clueless about the location and mentioned that the motel they were supposed to stay in was 20 miles from the racetrack. He also added:

"So we got there about one thirty or two o'clock in the morning and couldn't find anywhere. Finally stopped at one motel and the man told us, 'Yeah, I got the laundry room out here I got two cuts in it and y'all stay in it tonight if you want to,' We were dead tired. I said, 'We'll take it.'"

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What made Donnie Rives, "Who doesn't do interviews", come up on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s podcast?

In addition to his NASCAR background, Donnie Rives had a personal relationship with NASCAR legend Dale Sr. Rives recently made an appearance for Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media episode and shared unheard stories of 'The Intimidator' Dale Sr.

Rives promised to keep some stories and information about Dale Sr. private. In response to Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s question of what made him finally appear for a conversation, Rives said:

"I felt like the only reason I've done it was Dale would approve of it. I mean, I hadn't gone and told anybody anything, and I know a lot of stuff I ain't gonna tell. And not necessarily bad; that's the way it is."

"Well, Dale and myself, he asked me one time, and he said if anything ever happens to me, do not write a book and don't go telling everything we know. But I figured that being how it was you, he would okay it." Rives added.

However, it is always a delight for the NASCAR community and the fans to learn new stories and information about the greatest driver of all time and the influence he had on the sport.