“I’m still collecting stuff!”: Dale Earnhardt Jr. hints at growing his NASCAR diecast treasure

Former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently joked about not getting older as his hobby of collecting diecast cars is still going strong.

Earnhardt Jr., who is the son of seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt, started racing in NASCAR in the late 1990s and is now a team owner and broadcaster. The 15-time Most Popular Driver award winner reacted to the latest episode of the "Coffee with Kenny" podcast on X, where Kenny Wallace discussed the diecast industry.

“I must not be getting old (yet). Cause I’m still collecting stuff! Hallelujah,” tweeted Dale Earnhardt Jr.

In the video, Wallace talked about how the diecast market declined over the years.

“Those days are gone because the souvenir industry themselves, they got greedy, and they killed it. It wasn't NASCAR; that was not NASCAR's fault,” Wallace said (05:30)

"As people get older, they start getting rid of their collection and they want to send it to me. Well, you know what? I'm older now, and I don't collect nothing. I don't want anything. Don't send me anything. I have three girls, and they don't want none of it," he added (06:50)

Wallace blamed companies for mass-producing cars and pointed out that fans thought they were buying “one of 10,000” but later found out there were tens of thousands more. Among these manufactured miniature cars was Earnhardt Jr.'s iconic No. 88 Hendrick Motorsport Chevrolet.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. retired from full-time racing in 2017 and during the last season, his "Final Ride" car became the top-selling diecast in Lionel Racing’s history. Earnhardt Jr.'s cars took six of the top 10 spots on the 2017 NASCAR diecast series sales list.

"They seemed really bonded and in sync" - Dale Earnhardt Jr. on Denny Hamlin's crew chief change

Dale Earnhardt Jr. during the NASCAR Awards Banquet at Charlotte Convention Center. - Source: Imagn

In an episode of "Dale Jr. Download," Earnhardt Jr. talked about the change in Denny Hamlin's crew chief at Joe Gibbs Racing.

It was announced late last month, that Chris Gayle will replace Chris Gabehart as Hamlin's crew chief in 2025. Gayle, who worked the No. 11 team for five years, moved to a new position as competition director at the team. Dale Earnhardt Jr. responded to the news and said:

"I guess the Gabehart-Denny Hamlin change was a big surprise. They seemed really bonded and in sync. Denny is in a really good position to compete for championships. This year wasn’t one of those years where we felt like he was a contender for the title, but it’s been pretty much every year he’s been one of the guys we thought could have a shot at it."

Hamlin finished the 2024 season in eighth place with three wins and 18 top-10 finishes. He has 54 Cup wins in 20 years but no championship title yet.