Inside Dale Earnhardt Jr's wrecked car collection reserved for family & close friends

NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s private estate is home to a unique car collection, with each car in the graveyard bearing its own story, serving as a reminder of the numerous memorable crashes.

Nestled in the backwoods of the Dirty Mo Acres, in North Carolina, Dale Jr. has built a "Racecar Graveyard" featuring over 75 cars. These are bruised and battered NASCAR machinery from the Cup, Xfinity, Truck and other series. However, the collection is not open to the public.

The project began when Dale Earnhardt Jr. started collecting wrecked race cars from his racing outfit, JR Motorsports, as he couldn't bear to see them sent to the scrapyard. Dale Jr. has mentioned that he doesn't pay for these wrecked cars, instead, most of them are offered for free.

"When JR Motorsports first started with Pro Cup and Late Model, we put so much money into building those cars and when we tear them up, I just couldn't see throwing them away or scrapping them. So we stick them in the woods," he said in a press conference aired on WCNC (2018).

Soon after starting the collection, he received a wrecked Xfinity car from his neighbor Brad Keselowski. He then received junked race cars from Hendrick Motorsports and later crew chiefs and acquaintances began offering their cars to his graveyard.

The collection includes a couple of cars driven by Brad Keselowski, Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Xfinity and Cup machinery, and Mark Martins's #5 Chevy. The graveyard is also home to cars driven by Chase Elliott, Danica Patrick, Jeff Gordon and Jimmie Johnson, among several other notable drivers.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also managed to get hold of the #42 Chevy driven by Juan Pablo Montoya, which gained infamy after colliding with a jet dryer during the 2012 Daytona 500.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. explains the reason behind collecting wrecked race cars

The JR Motorsports co-owner aims to leave behind his mark with his wrecked car collection, intending that it will serve as his legacy for the next generation.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. hopes that someday a stranger stumbles upon the estate and is intrigued by the wrecked race cars scattered in the forest. He hopes the estate will serve as a reminder of his days in NASCAR.

"Hopefully after I'm gone, somebody will walk back there and go 'What the hell is this doing here, and who put it here?'" and then my name will come up and they will remember me," he said in the press conference.

Visit Dalejr.com for more information about the Racecar Graveyard, including memoirs of the wrecked cars and their history.