Dale Earnhardt Jr. was destined to be in broadcasting.
Back in 1990 after his dad, Dale Earnhardt, won the DieHard 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, he took over the job as pit reporter to talk to the big winner.
NBC shared the vintage video on their Instagram page earlier as a nostalgic way to look back on races past since the Cup Series is headed to Dega this week for the YellaWood 500.
It was a really cute exchange between father and son that definitely showed off the softer side of the Intimidator, with Jr. starting off with a pretty easy question, asking his dad how the race was:
“Well, it was hot but it was fast. Just like you told me to go… yeah, drafted just like you told me.”
Sr. goes on to explain how he had to conserve fuel towards the end and pass a few other drivers, following direct instruction and advice from his son (which is adorable), though the most hilarious part came when Jr. asked his dad if he was going to get a cut of the winnings:
“Are you gonna give me some money when we get home?”
As the pit crew and some of his team laughed behind him, with Sr. cracking a smile himself, he shut that down pretty quick, saying:
“I doubt it. You’ve spent enough down here this week.”
An all-time classic dad response if I’ve ever heard one…
Of course, these days, Dale Jr. is in the broadcast booth weekly as part of the NBC sports team, and he does a great job and is still a very beloved figure in the NASCAR community, even though he no longer races full-time himself.
Definitely make sure you check out the video for yourself, though, it’s really cute to see this dynamic and lighter part of their relationship:
