Classic Dale Earnhardt Jr.
This week on his new podcast Bless Your Hardt with his wife, Amy, Dale told some great stories, including one about an interesting visit to the Oval Office you can read here. But another one he told Amy about his time talking to then-President George W. Bush after winning the Daytona 500 in 2004 is just as funny if you ask me.
It was obviously a big deal to speak to the President, and President Bush had attended that particular race, so he wanted to congratulate Dale on his big win, especially since this was the first time he’d won at Daytona, which is a bucket list race for any NASCAR driver. He remembered someone handing him a phone in the media center after the race, and the President telling he was an “awesome American”:
“So George W (Bush) came to Daytona in ’04, and I went on and won the race, the Daytona 500. I’m in the media center and they handed me a phone, it was George W. Bush. He was like, ‘Hey, it’s George W. Bush, President of the United States, man. Good job today. Appreciate you representing, being a great citizen, being an awesome American.'”
Amy asked the obvious question in wondering what Dale said to the President, because it’s not every day they call and congratulate you like that.
Dale being the casual, good ol’ boy that he is, he said he felt like he was talking to an Uncle or something because of how down-to-earth and kind the President was, and referred to him as “man” during the conversation, which is pretty informal compared to what most people would probably say. He said he also hilariously told the President to “take it easy,” which everybody in the room found particularly funny… like, who tells the President to “take it easy,” especially President Bush in 2004?
Dale said W. got a good laugh out of that one, obviously, considering we were in the thick of a bloody war in the Middle East at that time:
“I was like, ‘Thanks a lot, man, I appreciate it. It’s a dream come true.’ He’s like, ‘Alright, man, keep doing a great job.’ I said, Alright, take it easy man.’ And everybody in the room was like, ‘You told him to take it easy?’ and George chuckled… But I mean, that’s how I talk, so as soon as you start talking to him, you can’t help but feel like he’s just one of the guys.”
Hey, Dale is always himself, and I’m sure President Bush could appreciate that too.
It’s cool insight to the life of a very successful NASCAR driver, and a great story that I’ve never heard before:
You can watch the entire episode here:
The post Dale Earnhardt Jr. Recalls Funny Phone Call With President George W. Bush After Winning 2004 Daytona 500: “He’s Just One Of The Guys.” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.