When Dale Earnhardt Jr. retires after this season, he’ll put the lid on a NASCAR career that’s full of iconic moments. His favorite moment, though, came all the way back in 2000 — his rookie season.
Earnhardt had three Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series race victories that year. One of those wins, though, didn’t earn the driver any points, yet it still stands out among all of his other triumphs.
“That win here in the All-Star Race was, and still is, the favorite moment of my career — being in Victory Lane with my dad,” Earnhardt recently said, via FOX Sports.
But it wasn’t just having his father, NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt Sr., in victory lane that made the win extra sweet for Earnhardt Jr. Rather, it was how long he stuck around.
“The wins that I had before, he would come in and shake everybody’s hand and take off,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “That was the only victory lane that he stood in the entire time-he was there for the whole half-hour, 45 minutes we were there, even as the car was taken off for inspection he continued to stay.”
This season’s All-Star Race surely will be memorable for both Earnhardt Jr. and his fans, as it’ll be the final one of the Hendrick Motorsports driver’s storied career.
Thumbnail photo via Randy Sartin/USA TODAY Sports Images
