The NASCAR Cup Series is back at Pocono Raceway today, and as much as I enjoyed the race at the “Tricky Triangle,” all I could think about as I watched Denny Hamlin wreck Kyle Larson for the win was: I wonder if the sign is still there.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is obviously the most recognizable face in NASCAR, having been the sport’s most popular driver for 15 years straight and now serving as a member of the NBC broadcast team on race day.
But apparently none of that mattered to one security guard at Pocono Raceway a couple years ago.
On an episode of his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, after the Pocono race in 2021, Dale explained that he had some trouble getting onto the track because he didn’t have his credentials in hand.
You’d think Dale Jr.’s face would be credential enough, but I guess not…
According to Dale, he had just left the broadcast booth with a backpack containing his credentials on his shoulder, when he decided to walk down through the grandstands and across the track to get to the garage.
The fans in the stands, who had made their way to the access gate to see who would come through, obviously recognized Junior as he was making his way down the grandstands. And Junior, being the man of the people that he is, happily obliged when they asked for pictures and autographs right in front of the security guard who was watching the access gate.
But when Junior finished up with the fans and attempted to make his way across the track and into the garage, the security guard stopped him and asked to see Dale Jr.’s credentials before opening the gate for the NASCAR legend.
What?
Now, if there were ever a time to pull the “Don’t you know who I am?” card it would probably be here, when you have one of the most recognizable faces in NASCAR being blocked from the garage by some 25-year old security guard.
But according to Dale Jr., that’s not his style – and he didn’t have to say it anyway, because the fans did it for him:
“I have never in my life uttered the words, ‘Do you know who I am?’
I have never said that, I’d never take that stance, ever.
And I stood there and the people around me are doing that for me. They’re saying, ‘It’s Dale, it’s Dale.’ They’re laughing at the guy like, ‘Are you serious? You don’t know who this guy is?’
And I’m standing there and they’re doing it, right? I don’t even have to say a word. And the guy’s just got this shit-eatin’ grin on his face holdin’ that gate. He’s like, ‘I don’t care, I need to see your card.'”
Ok, so at this point the guy is either on a serious power trip or he’s just being a dick.
But Dale, who admits he was flustered by this point, puts his bag down and digs through it to finds his pass to prove that, yeah, Dale Earnhardt Jr. is allowed in the NASCAR garage.
Now, Dale admits that he was pissed by the entire encounter, and after passing through the gate he turned around to ask the security guard what the deal was:
“I said to the guy, ‘That was such a dickhead move.’
Like, I was astounded. Not ‘Hey you’re a dickhead,’ I was more like, questioning him. Like, man, that was such a dickhead thing to do, why?”
Well apparently when the folks at Pocono Raceway found out about the situation they decided to make sure it never happens again.
Hopefully Junior didn’t have any problem getting on to the track this past weekend.
