The Dale Jr. Download - 562 - Donnie Rives: Dale Earnhardt's Best Friend Shares Stories You've Never Heard

Episode Date: July 24, 2024

Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down with Dale Earnhardt’s best friend, Donnie Rives. Donnie has kept these stories to himself, until today. It’s a heartfelt conversation swapping stories about the Intimidator from two people who knew him best. Donnie's first connection with the Earnhardt’s was through Ralph. Ralph’s signature “Earnhardt grin” left a lasting impression on those who knew him. Donnie shares moments of bird hunting with Ralph, along with the valuable racing advice he passed along to him. Both Dale Jr. and Donnie reminisced about hunting experiences with Sr. and came to an agreement that the Intimidator was an exceptional deer tracker, showcasing his skills in the great outdoors. With as strong of a friendship the two had, Rives shares why he turned down opportunities within the industry, particularly a position at DEI. The two finish off the conversation talking about Rives’ relationship with Teresa Earnhardt, where he details his respect for both her and Dale’s legacy. They discuss Dale Earnhardt’s passing and share heart-to-heart moments talking about what Dale Sr means to both of them. It’s an episode you won’t want to miss. 21+ and present in North Carolina. Opt in req. Wager requirements apply. Bonuses awarded as nonwithdrawable bonus bets or profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply including bonus expiration. See terms and conditions at fanduel.com/sportsbook. Gambling problem? Call 877-718-5543 or visit morethanagame.nc.gov. Check out Dirty Mo Media on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@DirtyMoMedia  Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey everybody, it's Dale Jr. back again for another episode of the Dale Jr. Download, and we've got a great guest for you this week. Donnie Reeves is coming on the show. Donnie is one of dad's best friends. All through the 70s and the 80s, the 90s. Donnie was there for a lot of things happening in my dad's life. He was the best man in his wedding. Can't wait to hear these stories. Donnie's never told him. Doesn't do interviews. Won't do interviews. But we convinced him to come today. Let's get started. The following is a production of Dirtymo Media. Back again for another episode of the Dale Jr. Download, ally guest segment today, Donnie Reeves. He was the best man in my dad's wedding with Teresa. A lot of the stories that he has, I've never heard. With Dale, it just, I think about him every day. I mean, I can be doing something and think, you better not be doing this.

You know? I pray that I get to see him again. that's what I do you know yeah all right we're back in the dirty mo studio and thank you ally for bringing us the guest segment each single week um allies supported us here at dirty mo media and at the dale junior download so well they do so much in our support and we're thankful for them and they brought us another ally this week for their for our guest donnie reeves why donnie reeves well donnie reeves is one of my dad's best friends it's time for an earnhard show all right and um I've wanted to have Donnie come on, but Donnie is reluctant

to do interviews. Doesn't feel like he needs to tell these stories. Doesn't want to tell these stories. He lived it. He's, you know, his friendship with my dad is a close one and he wants to protect my dad's legacy in those stories and

just isn't interested in going around and doing interviews about it. But I've talked to him and told him that I'd love to have him on my show, convinced him to be here, and can't wait to learn what we might learn. Certainly going to hear about some experiences that he had with Dad,

what that must have been like. This is somebody who, you know, would go out to dinner, go hunting. Not, you know, certainly was with Dad at the racetrack, but New Dad on a very personal level. There's just not a lot of people that were in Dad's inner circle. And Donnie was one of them. Donnie would be the kind of person that dad would call Sunday night after the race, multiple times during the week, asking for advice.

Really trusted Donnie. Donnie was very, I don't think you'll learn that Donnie was really convicted or headstrong or committed to his own path. and not swayed at all by dad, his, you know, his hard-headedness, his sternness, his strong opinion, or his celebrity and his success. Never changed Donnie in the way Johnny thought about his own decisions in life, and it never changed Donnie's reaction and engaged. with dad and i believe that that's why dad really truly valued donnie's relationship

because he knew he could call donnie and say what should i do and donnie would give him his truth his honest opinion and not alter what he would say or soften what he would say due to dad's stature or who dad had become in the you know in the eyes of all of all of the fans and so forth in nascar you know it's one there's only a few people in dad's life and that I think he truly believed, Saul, treated him the way he truly needed to be treated all the time, right? Honest, with honesty and true transparency. And Donnie's one of those people. And so, you know, you'll learn in the stories that Donnie had some several opportunities to be a bigger part of dad's career.

And this never was going to do it. He was committed to his own life, his own family history, his own family history, his own and family responsibilities, and it'll be great to talk about that. But let's just get him in the room so you can learn for yourself all about Donnie Reeves. All right, so sitting here with Donnie Reeves. Donnie Reeves is a great friend of my dad's. Donnie Reeves does not do interviews, do you, Donnie? No, I don't.

Yeah. So what brings you here today? Well, I made a deal of myself. he asked me one time he said if anything ever happens to me do not write a book and don't go telling everything we know yeah and but I figured that being how it was you that uh he would he would okay it he'd be all right with it yep do you ever watch our show it's okay to be honest the truth The truth is I've seen a little bit. Garrett had showed it to me with Hank.

Hank Parker Jr. and stuff. Yeah. Some of that stuff, yep. So Garrett, Barger, is your nephew. Right. And one of my very close friends, Garrett used to go with me to my late model races back in the 90s. Garrett became a highway state patrolman for North Carolina.

and he's near retirement at this point. Both of us. So a lot of time has passed. Donnie, you were dad's, I guess, to highlight or punctuate your relationship with my dad, you were his best man at his wedding with Teresa. Correct. But we want to know more. You're born and raised in ruin, County, North Carolina near Salisbury.

You're still there. You've been there your whole life. Yes, sir. What was your dad's business? He was in the used car business. Yep. And he expanded and got big enough to where we had a fairly big shop. Like a service department, body shop?

Yep. And up-postry shop. Oh, yeah. And so when I got out of high school, I didn't want to be a, car buyer or car salesman so i took over the shop okay running that running that and i was happy because that's that's what i'd been doing since i was about six years old was he had one mechanic then and i stuck with him yeah and uh enjoyed it so much that's all i wanted to do so you were you were very competent on automotives and working on cars.

Yes. You and your dad eventually, I think, would also build and develop a sporting goods store of some kind, right? Tell me about that. Well, we had a little piece of property there, and so Daddy decided he was going to build a strip mall. and at one end he made it right much bigger and asked me he said you want to run a sporting goods store which he knew what the answer was going to be because we were hunting and fishing all the time and so we did we opened that up in 84 wow okay I remember that being something that dad was always going to.

He called it to jot them down store. He called me up and ain't got anything new at the jot them down store. I said, you never know what we're going to have. And what was really funny was we'd go fishing and stuff. But he'd then Neil Bonnet, he'd call me up and he said, hey, me and Neil's coming down there. We need some stuff. And they'd come in and get a basket and bring it up there.

And I said, well, you got your stuff. I'm going to see if you can catch anything with it. Yeah. So you're a big car fan. Let's kind of connect you to motorsports. How do you end up getting involved in racing, which would eventually lead to the friendship you'd have my dad? Well, my daddy was a race fan, especially dirt tracks.

and NASCAR, but he started taking me when I was about seven because I just ragged him continuously. And my mother told him, he said, you have ruined that boy. Yeah. And we lived in an apartment until about 1960, which I was nine years old. And where we moved across, right on. on 52 as a man had a, me and another friend of mine, Lynn Sink, which I think you know, Lynn. We heard a race car one afternoon, and that was the start of it.

It was just, he didn't care. He wanted to run good, but it wasn't, it was beat up. I mean, you know, you know how we started. That's where I learned how to weld and everything else was on that car. Yep. So you heard a car down the street. Yep. Went down there to see what it was.

And you hooked ever since. Ever since. So I know that you were devout churchgoers. So, you know, you had to work around your religion and your belief and, you know, your dedication to that. And racing sometimes fell around, you know, your responsibilities at church. Well, yeah. Yes, you know, when we were starting, it was all on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday nights. Right.

So I had no trouble with the church, which, in my opinion, that's, I mean, if you miss church or that's not what gets you to heaven anyway. is completely the Lord Jesus Christ. Completely. Nothing else. You can't work, you can't give enough money, you can't do anything to get there because you're not good enough. I mean, you just, you can't cover your sins, and he did.

And then when we started running, you know, I felt that I couldn't do it. And then it was like, yes, you can, because you can represent me at the racetrack. I got you. And so... You found a way to level with it. Yeah.

You know, it just, that's what I did. Yeah. And, of course, I didn't go every Sunday and every race and all that, but I had a good time, as Daddy said, I've never worked a day in my life, and I'm not going to start now. So, you know, You're going to these dirt races on, you know, helping me and a mechanic. Yeah, well, at 12, I was working on the car.

I helped working on the cars. And then I run into Troy Trexler and Butch Trexler. And we started bringing them to the shop at the mechanic shop. We'd work on them there. We built some cars there at night. What year is this, roughly? This is 72, 73 long in there. And I got to know you, Granddaddy real good.

How? Butch knew him, and then he would, I don't know, he and I just like me and Dale, we just hit it off. You'd see him at a racetrack? Oh, yeah. What racetracks were you going to? Concord, Metro. Lina and I got the hanging around at the truck. Yeah.

At Routh's truck? Yeah. Yeah. You remember the blue truck? Oh, yeah. I got it. You got it. Yeah, I found it.

Yeah. The one with the board side, flatbed. Well, I got to hang, doing that, and he'd tell me what, Reeves. That's what he called me all the time. Never called me, Donnie, just read. You need to go down there and do this to your car. so to run better. Yeah.

I'd do it, you know. Yeah. And no question. No questions, just do it. And what kind of person was Ralph? Super good. He and you and Dale all have got that Earnhardt grin. And when he grinned at you, you knew everything was going to be pretty good or it wasn't.

because I've been to the shop with him before, drive up to the shop. Over at Mamaw's house? Yeah. And go in the shop, and I don't know, go down there to ask him something or just general stuff. And he would just look at me,

and I'd go sit down in his chair. He might be working on somebody's car or he might be doing something he's, say, sit there for 45 minutes, never have a word, and then I'd get up, Reeves, sit down, I'll be down a minute. Really? Oh, yeah. Yeah.

Yeah, and I've had him to do that. And, but one of the best times with your granddaddy, I asked him one time, I said, Ra, you like to bird hunt? He said, man, I got bird dogs. So me and him got to go in bird hunting. Really? Oh, yeah, in that scout, you, do. You don't remember the scout.

Oh, my. It was like being at Concord, but it had a lot of hills in it, up and down. And we'd go bird hunting. Then I got a new bird dog one time. I told him, I said, Ralph, I got a new bird dog. I'm going to bring him down there. We're going to go bird hunting. He said, come on.

I went down there, put him in the back. And where Dale Earnhardt Boulevard is, it was a lot of fields around there and places that we could go. He knew the people. First thing he did was master wide open and went down through there and hit the bumps, and the truck come off the ground and hit back, and he stopped the truck, turned around and looked in the back. He said, your bird dog rode in the truck before. That's all he said.

I said, yeah, but I hadn't. So. But he was, he was to the point, but I mean, it was just, we just had a good time. Yeah. What is, where is dad during these, this time? Who knows? Yeah. He wasn't at the shop.

And I asked him, I said, why don't they'll go bird hunting with us? He said, he ain't going to go. You know, he said, I don't know where he's at. that, you know, just like that. Yeah. How old were you at this time? I was. You driving?

Oh, yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I was driving. So when do you and dad's friendship start, when do you and him become pals? When does dad finally start coming around? The first time was when we was running six owners. and me and him

I'd see him he'd be over to his daddy's truck and I'd see him say how you doing? She said doing good I'm going to outrun you tonight because I had a car but Butch was driving it and I said

maybe but this is a story most everybody doesn't know in very few people People now would probably remember, but one night we were at Concord. And Dale and Butch, when they dropped the flag at the main event, they just run off.

I mean, they were just together all around the track. And about five laps in, of course, they had a caution flag. And we stopped, and I saw your daddy, he motioned for me to come up to his car, because that's when we go out and wipe the windshield. And so I said, no, where else he won't? So I walked up there, and they stuck my head in the winter, they'll say, go back there and tell Butch that me and him is going to put on a show. We're going to take off.

And when we get like 10, 15 car lengths, he'll run on the outside of a while. And he said, then I'll drop down, and he can run on the inside a while. and he said just tell him we want to put on a show we will not spin each other out because both of them was bad to touch somebody i said okay so i went back there and told butch didn't tell anybody else they dropped the flag and for ten laps it was just side by side door they'd rub each other's doors going down the straight of ways one to duck on the inside and that's when john gaskey run the track and the old gas car yeah yeah wow I mean we was running I think he was driving I forgot what Dale was driving

but we was running that 40 Ford Coop and Troy trexler that we built the cars he said he said he's going to put him out he's going I said

Troy don't worry about it. He's not going to put him out. So on the last lap, they come off a four side by side, and you did he beat us by about a bumper. And I saw Ralph later on. He said, I almost got him. But that's about the time we started talking and just hanging, well, hanging out at the racetrack. Yeah. You were building your own cars and going to the racetrack, and did Dad ever drive your car? Yes, one time.

Yeah. Well, while me and Troy was building it, we built a late model sportsman car and put Coal Springs all around it. And we were at Metrolina testing. And Dale was, I think he was driving that kit car. Yep. and Larry Wallace, which works for Home and Moody,

then Cam Grindrinder, he was driving our car, and he came and we run a few laps and all. And I told Larry, I said, I'm going to go to get Dale. I want him to run this thing, see if he thinks it's any different between them two cars. He said, you think he'll run it? I said, just hold on. So I went down there, yes, he did it.

I said, Dale, I want you to come drive my car. He said, I can't drive that car. That's Larry's car. I said, Dale, that's my car. I want you to come drive it. It's fine with Larry. He said, okay. So he come and run it.

The second lap, he went into three and four of Metrolina and spun it out. I mean, and Larry, Wallace, it said, he spun the car out. I said, Wallace. he'd done it on purpose I said He said why He said he won't see how far he could drive that thing in there Wide open without ever

Before he spun out He went all the way through three And he was just in Just the loop of four And it spun out And he'd come back in He dropped the net And said

Looked at Larry and told him he said You ought to win every race you get in with this car He said, it is fast. And that's the only time he drove that one to he and I in 84 or 85 built a wedge car just to play with. You had that night where y'all were racing, you and Butch Trexler were racing with Dad. And then, you know, he shakes the cars, he shakes down your race car. What happened the night where dad told you he ain't got no friends at the end of Pitt Road?

What is all that about? We built it. We was continuously building cars, but we built a Nova. I think it was a Nova. And, I mean, it was pretty black and orange, and it was pretty, and Larry was driving. And so we went down there and we run, went out to practice and with the brand new car.

He took off. And so he was coming around there and Dale, he come out. And they went down the front straight away and just about the flag stand, he just laid on the driver's door on the inside and just put tire marks all the way down the side. when Larry come in, he said, I thought you and Dale was friends. Look what he'd done to your car. I told him, I said, Larry, in the pit road down there,

you ain't got any friends. And your daddy come walking up there. He said, well, that car looked too good. And he said, I figured it needed some tire marks on it before you got to racing it. Damn. And he did. That's crazy.

You know, you were coming over to Ralph's shop every once in over by Mamaw's house and ended up helping Dad on some of his cars. Dad built a Chevelle for the Sportsman Series that he'd go race at Charlotte and so forth. So I've got some pictures of my own collection of him working on those cars in that shop. Not, I mean, just a dark, you know, Ralph been racing out of that place forever. And just a rough old race shop, you know, that, you know, dad was trying to make his way. You know, this is probably around 1978.

Ralph passed away. You know, I guess take us through that. When Ralph passed away, I've had the girls, Kathy and them come on the show and talk about that experience and vividly, the day that had happened. You know, what was that like for you, I guess, when you learned that Ralph passed away suddenly

and you had this friend that you were, you know, you were close with and you went hunting with, with and, you know, died relatively young and how that, you know, how that affected you. Well, it was a real shock, but when he passed away, that's the same time that the doctors had already told him he was going to have to lay off and stick ellet was driving. That's right. And during that time, I wasn't down there as much, but I really missed him, and I told, of course, I told Dell I did.

And your daddy, he was trying to get things lined up because he was here and there and everywhere. And I just told him then if he needed any help or anything, I'd be there for. him. And so that's when him and Hargit got together and started running. And we was running the dirt tracks, and then he wanted to start running like South Boston, which we went up there a couple times. but it was a big loss to both of us, you know, not being able to communicate with him. Yeah.

But it just come around and just finally just kept getting better and better. So are you helping Dad during the, like right after Ralph passes away in 73, dad goes and runs his sportsman car with Target and on his own. a little bit here and there. I mean, in 7080, kind of gets his break, but between Rouse passing in 73 and, you know, through 5, 76. Are you helping Dad?

Are you going to the racetrack with Dad? No. No. You're running your own cars still? I'm running my own cars. Yep. I'm still running my own car. So y'all are kind of in two different worlds because dad got on the asphalt.

That's right. And you're still racing dirt. And I'm still racing dirt. So we got separated there until he built. So he built that car the first time we went to Charlotte with the little sportsman car. Yeah, to run to 300. To run to 300. Now, he told me then, he said, I need you to help me on this car.

And so that was when they were just first coming out to where we put disc brakes on them all the way around. and dry sump pumps, and he was running on a budget big time. And I'd already worked on, I'd done head-disc brakes and this stuff. And so when they got ready to build that car, they brought the brakes in there. And he looked at me, he said, you know anything about these? I said, yeah, I put them on before. He said, you the brake man, put them on. So we all worked on it and got it to where I thought run pretty good.

Yeah. Went to Charlotte battling Bobby Allison? Correct. And one little story in there, they'll call my daddy, Daddy Jim. And so we were down at the shop, and he said, Donnie, oh, he got these tires. I think he hadn't agreed. had got him some tires that we could go run a little bit with. He said, I said, I know, we got to have some good tires.

And I knew Cliff Timberman with Goodyear. Me and him was real good friends. I said, let me see what we can do. So I said, come on, let's go to office and see Daddy. Maybe we can get a set of tires somewhere. And so we walked in the office And Daddy was in his office And we walked in there

And he looked up He said, I know you boys Is wanting something And so we put our Pitch to it That we needed some tires He said He told us

He said, I'm going to buy you one set And that's all Don't come in here with three or four sets Tires for that car Said, but I'm going to buy you one set And he looked and said, Dale and where you can put Reed's Motor Company on there?

Yes, sir, we'll put her on the trunk lid. Because I can't remember who was on the side. But it was Reeves Motor Company on the trunk lid. Daddy told him, he said, I'm going to find out because I'm going to be down there to see. That was kind of the race where, you know, Dad got recognized. You know, I think that run at Charlotte in seven. kind of piqued some people's interest. Dad would get an opportunity to drive Will Cronkite's car in 1978 for five races,

and you would help Daddard go get ready and go down to Daytona. Yeah, well, he went and he didn't even tell me he was going. And my cousin, Jackie, he was there, and Gail, she had got a trip with the, Dale's your wife. Yeah. Yep. Yeah. She'd got a trip to go to Hawaii, but I wouldn't go because they didn't have any race tracks over there.

And I didn't think they could race without me. So her and her girlfriends that were at the telephone office went to Hawaii, and I stayed home. Well, I think the race was on either Tuesday or Wednesday, 4th of July race. And on Sunday, the phone rang, and I picked it up, and it was your daddy. He said, Donnie, what's you doing? I said, getting ready to go to church. I said, me and Jackie, we run our car last night. They're done pretty good, but we're fixing to go to church now.

I said, where are you at? He said, I'm at the beach. I said, you locked up? You need me to come get you? That's the exact words I told him. He said, no, I'm at Daytona Beach. And I said, what the world are you doing at, Daytona, he said, well,

Clark's got his car down here, and I'm going to drive it for him. And he said, but I need some help. I said, you need some help? He said, yeah, can you come? I said, yeah, I can come. I said, I'm going to bring Jackie with me. He said, well, good, because he had been hunting at my cousin's place, too. So he knew him. He knew him. He said, well, bring him, too.

He can clean the windshield. And so we loaded up and went to Daytona and run that car. I don't know, started 20-ninth or 20-something. Yeah. Finished 7th. And I was looking after the tires and doing whatever needed to be done on the car. Where did y'all stay? What was a hotel reservation like?

I bet it was tight. It was very tight because I don't know where Dale was. He said, you can stay with me. I said, where are you staying? Well, they were staying like 20 miles from the racetrack. So we got there about, I don't know, 1.30 or 2 o'clock in the morning and couldn't find anywhere. So Jack and myself finally stopped at one motel.

And the man told us, said, yeah. He said, I got the laundry room out here. I got two cots in it, and y'all stay in it tonight. If you want to, we were dead. tired. I said, we'll take it. The mosquitoes like to eat us. No kidding. But we stayed there. Got up the next morning, Jackie Reeves, my cousin, he said, we better get over to the racetrack. I said, racetrack nothing. I'm going to have me air-conditioned room before I leave before I go to the racetrack. So we went around there and found somebody that finally caved in and give us

two nights instead of the whole week for the 4th of July. Oh, wow. And so that's what we did. Yep. You go over to the racetrack. I mean, Dad's, you know, this has got to be a big world. Dad's now small fish in a giant pond, you know, the St. Concord or Metrolina. That's the same thing he told me.

He was going to have me change the right rear tire. I was going to be the right rear tire changer. And before the race, he'd come over there. And as you know, he was bad to just grab a hold of you. He grabbed a hold of you. He said, Donnie, this is not Concord. Don't worry about being. You just make sure of them lug nuts is sight.

And I thought, I got you now. I had no buddy. He said, oh, don't do me like that. So you change tires? I've changed tires. and carried tires. Yeah. But during that race of Daytona,

you changed the right rear tires? The rear tires? Yeah, I changed. Damn. I changed. I think it was, I think I changed on one run. And then Gary Hargott,

he shows up. And I said, Gary, you changed the right rear. No shit. Oh, yeah. Damn. So Gary started changing. And I went back to Aaron

the tires and what tires should be on there and that kind of stuff. So I wonder is this race is going on. You know, trying to, I can't put myself in that environment. I wasn't there. I didn't live it, right? I try to watch the races and try to imagine what it might have been like to stand on Pet Road in a race in 1978 in Daytona, NASCAR, because it's not the way it was.

And it changed, you know, it got bigger. It got busier. But I'm trying to imagine y'all being down there and running that race and saying, you know, three-quarters of the way through the day you're sitting there going, dang, we might end up all right here. This is going to be pretty decent. Well, it's being racing anybody, you know, it's just like the first time you go to Concord or Metro Lina or a quarter-minute track. you know, it's just kind of overwhelming when you first go,

but then it's just a race car, and you want to make it go around that racetrack. And down there, like I told Hargit, we was coming up through the pack pretty good. I told him, I said, we're going to need another set of tires. And he told me, he said, If we don't finish into the top 10, I can't even pay the tire bill, you know. But we got another set of tires, and with about three laps to go, we didn't have radios.

It was beat on the door or beat on the fender. And he couldn't buy front straightway there, and he was beating on that. And the Hargitt said, the car is running hot. I said, no, it's not the car, it's the driver. Because the last pit stop, Dale had told. Jackie, my cousin, to bring a whole bag of ice so he could, and he undone his, took the seat belt, two shoulder harnesses loose, undone them, put them in there, zipped them up and pulled them. He said, I'll just keep pulling them.

He was hot, he was hot and tired. He drove all the way down there, worked on the car all week, and then had to drive the race. And he put that whole bag of ice in his driving seat. Damn. You know you're a real race fan when you get the diecast car of your favorite driver. A diecast, it's like the official jersey of our sport. It's the

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FanDuel, the official sports betting partner of Major League Baseball. 21 plus and present in North Carolina opt-in required. Wage of requirement supply bonuses awarded as non-withdrawable bonus bets or profit boost tokens. Restrictions apply, including bonus. expiration. See terms and conditions at fandul.com slash sportsbook. Gambling problem, call 87717-1-8-5-543 or visit more than a game.nc.gov. So, um, the ad ends up with a seventh place finish in the Firecracker 400. The whole experience that he had with Will was great. Those five races sort of got those five races and that, that run at Charlotte in his own car in

in a sports and race is kind of what got him, it's kind of what got him noticed by Rod Austerlund. But you were with dad, duck hunting, on the day that Rod Austerlin was trying to get a hold of him. I was. Yeah. We had run Concord. I mean, we'd hang out and go out to eat and stuff,

And I asked your dad, I said, Jackie and myself, we're going duck hunting. You don't go? He said, man, yeah, I'll go. So we go to Moorhead where we had a house at Moorhead City. And I knew a man that had some duck blinds on the new river. So we went down there and we was duck hunting before cell phones. And so we come in one afternoon and the phone. was running. It was Gail my wife.

She said, will you please tell Dale to call his mother? She said, Martha has called here eight or ten times, wanting to get a hold of him. And I said, sure. So I told him, and he called Martha. She said, some guy in California named Rod Austin is trying to get a hold of you and is going to be up here Wednesday and wants to meet with you. We used call him. And so my daddy was buying new trucks. We were selling new trucks at the used car place from Chivalay.

And from Curtis Chivalay. So I went over there and asked if they had a truck that I could buy for Daddy. And so the guy said, sure. He said, we got one out here just like he's been buying. And I said, I'll take it. And so that's when we got back, and I called Eddie and told him, I said, Daddy, I bought a new truck. He said, what did you do that for? And I said, well, Dale's got to come home.

And so me and Jackie wouldn't quitting duck hunting. We was staying. And so he said, let me talk to that boy. And so, Daddy, he got on the phone with Daddy. And your daddy got off and he looked at me. He said, hmm, Daddy Jean told me not to get a ticket and not to wreck his truck. Yeah. He said, and he told me I could drive it until I got back and got it from him.

Yeah. So that's what we did. And when I got home, he'd been calling the house, which I got home that weekend. and my wife told me, said, Carl Dale, so I called him up. I said, what's the deal? He said, we got a race car, and you know where that company was across the street

from Metro Lina Speedway, it was a manufacturing company. They had leased that building, and that's where the shop was that. And he told me, he said, I'm going to drive for Rod Ossalon, and we're going to have the cars there, and I told him you was coming with me. Oh.

And I said, well, that sounds good. What I'm going to do with all my stuff. So Daddy assumed that you were going to come work? Yeah. What do you think about that? Oh, man, I was in Hogg Heaven. Really? Yeah, well, sure.

Were you going to have to get rid of your race cars and all that? I did. You sold all your stuff. Yeah. You're done racing. for a bit. For a bit. Yeah.

So you went to work in the shop at Rod Austerlunds when dad was hired to drive full-time. So there's a lot of things that happen. Some you may be aware of or remember some maybe not, but Dave Marcus is the full-time driver for Rod. Dave doesn't want to be part of a 2-2 car operation. Dad ran Rod's car a couple times at the end of the 78 season. He drove Rod's car in a sportsroom race at Charlotte and then he'd go run top 10 or top 5 at Atlanta

and then he would then go and run at Ontario. Jim Insula would start the car, but dad would hop in on the first pit stop or maybe the first couple laps of the race and get to drive the car just to get experience. And then, but at Atlanta, end of the season, 1978, Marcus tells everybody he's not going to be part of this operation going forward. He's going to quit. And now dad goes from being the B driver to the A driver going into 79.

And yeah, you're going to go into that shop. You don't know any of them people? Do you know any of them people? You're familiar with the situation? How comfortable was it? It was a bunch of young ins having a good time. Yeah. That's what it was.

I mean, it just, I reckon the closest one I got closest to was Lou La Rosa. Really? Engine builder. Yeah. Me and I like Lou was good. And now I wasn't there all the time working on the car all the time because I still had a shop. You still had your family business. Yes, had that.

But every chance I got. I was there. It's another guy on the team named Dave. And then, Ricker? Doug. Doug. Yep. Doug.

Got to know Doug good. And then suitcase Jake come on. He did. And I like Jake, but man, it was tough handling his language. Really? Oh, my. Yeah. Well, when we took the car to Daytona, of course, everybody has them jacked up on the stands and all.

I hadn't really noticed it. I was under the car. I don't know what I was doing, changing a shock or something. Yeah, that's what I was doing. And I told Jake, I said, Jake, I said, man, it's not but a quarter inch difference between the shock and the, I forgot what it was, one of the bars or something. Yeah, he was real close. Jake, he looked at me, he said,

Johnny, this stuff is one in thousands, not inches. He said, it'll be fine. I said, okay. Yeah, I know Jake, Jake would be a part of Dad's team through the middle of 1980, famously kind of quitting on you know quitting the team after the Charlotte race in May or so forth of the 1980 season and dad would eventually bring Jake back to help on the Bush car in the mid-80s working on Dad's

Nova and so forth and I got a little glimpse into what that relationship was like dad and Jake Elder and it was a mess on the radio. It was a turp. I mean it was a mess. Well, before then, we were at North Wiltsburgh, and Dad was out there and he was running, and Jake was, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da, you know, continuously. About that time, I heard it go click,

and Jake turned around, looked at me, I, he turned the radio all. I said he got tired of listening to you. I said, he'll turn it back on by the time he gets ready to pit. I said, or we better get ready because he might just come in. Yeah. It was funny. How come your involvement was so brief?

In terms like you weren't there that long. I know you had the family business at home. Yeah. You had this avenue to be a part of this team, but you never were going to be the full-time guy. No. Why? I didn't need to be.

That's what it was. I mean, I just, you know, if they needed me or anything, they'd call me up. and like going to and I started going to more and more of them during the pit stops and all that and I'd go to the shop but I had enough to look after

that I didn't it wasn't in my best interest to be on the team all the time you know it just you weren't going to you weren't going to give up your family operation. That was far too important to you. That's exactly right.

Yeah. Nothing. Because, I mean, we can sit here today, me and people listen to this and go, man, wow, you know, you were right involved in all of that. You know, but you never were going to give up what your own family and the Reed family had built. Right. And, I mean, that didn't make, I mean, didn't make me and Dale any less close. I mean, he just, he'd call me all the time or I'd call him, you know, but I didn't see that, because I never did, I didn't do the racing for any of the money. and I got very little. All I've done it for was because I love working on that car.

Yeah. But I couldn't put myself to, that's all I wanted to do. Yeah. And, oh. Rod's going to sell the team in the middle of 81 to J.D. Stacey, Jim Stacey. You got, he's a coal miner, checkered past. you got a vibe about him which would prove out, but you got a vibe around who that guy was and decided maybe you're going to step back, take a break.

Correct. Yep. Yep. Sure did. Because, Dale, he told me what was going on, and I knew all about it. And I said, well, you'll have to go. I mean, you're going to go drive for him. Yeah.

But I said, I'm not going to go work on the cars or go to the race or anything. Because I done met him. Yeah. And I'd looked in his eyes two or three times. I'd seen him at Charlotte in places. And I told Elle, I said, it ain't going to last, buddy. I can promise you. What was Rod Osterlin like?

I always heard good things about Rod. He was. He was down the earth, very good, very wise with his money. Yeah. And he knew when he was going to get needed to back out. Yeah. Because I don't think Rod, with all his success, I don't think he was ready to back out. I don't think he was ready to step up and put all the money in it that it was going to do.

Yeah. So, is, you know, one of the things that I always been curious about that I would love to ask Dad, Jim Stacy had always, Jim Stacy in previous years in the late 70s had owned a car that Neil Bonnet drove. He bought the Crenifist No. 71 operation and turned it into a car. that would be this white number five, Neil Bonda would race it for two or three years. I'm not really sure exactly in 1981 how close a friend's dad and Neil were yet had they become friends.

Had Neil tipped dad off on Jim Stacey because Neil had, Neil's deal with Jim ended poorly. And I had wondered all these years whether, you know, as dad begrudgingly went forward, for about four or five weeks until he finally just quit in the middle of season. But I wonder if Dad got tipped off a little bit too by some other people, mainly Neil Bonnet, that had been involved with Jim before.

I'm sure he did. Yeah. Eventually, Dad comes to you and says, hey, you were right about Jim. Well, he called me one day, him and Doug, and wanted to meet me at the shop because I was still at his shop and he'd come by there a lot and he said

I just need to come talk to you and so they both come up there Dad and Doug Rackard Yeah and he said He told me then he said He said that He was

Getting out and he was going to go Drive Richard's car a little bit And I said Well that's a good move He said, well, something will come up. I said, don't worry about it. I said, everything will be okay. And, but I didn't, I knew Richard, but I didn't, I wasn't over there when that took place.

Yep. But now, then later on, he called me before he ever done anything and asked me, he said, I got to offer to drive Bud Moore's car. Yep. And I told him, I said, you're talking about Bud Moore a 15 car? He said, yeah. He said, but Donnie, his words, he said, it's a Ford. I told him, and that's what I told him.

I said, Dale, I don't care if Bud Moore's running a stewed baker. I'll go with you with Bud Moore. I said, me and you both will learn a ton. and Doug was with him then too. And Doug said, well, what am I going to do? I said, you mean it hadn't anybody offered you? He said, yeah, Junior offered me a job. I said, go sign the papers.

I said, go work for Junior. I said, we're not, it's not that we know everything. We got a lot to learn. I mean, we just fell in to the, because of the, everything just works. so smooth in 79 and 80. I mean, it was just unbelievable

how good everything did. And I said, we weigh off base. You go to work for junior. And he did that. And your dad,

he signed with Bud and I told him, I said, don't sign over a one or two-year contract at the most. I said, that's all you

don't do no more. And he said, good idea. Was there other opportunities or other places that he could go? Well, if it was, he didn't tell me. I told him, and it may have been, I don't know, but we didn't discuss, you know, he didn't say anything about it. He just said, I said, you go to, you go drive for bud. I said, he'll be a lot better off. So you and.

you and dad are around this time doing a lot of hunting together still. Oh, yeah. One of the things about dad and hunting that I wanted to touch on, dad was putting on, you know, dad's putting his own stands in the tree. Dad's putting his own pegs in the tree. Dad did all his own stuff, right? Right. Y'all, when y'all would go hunt, you know, it wasn't like,

it wasn't like a guy to deal. Y'all did it all. Dad had this habit of putting himself ridiculously high in these trees. I mean, I've got some pictures of him, deer hunting. Stupid, stupid high. Not even necessary. The first time I went hunting with him in Alabama,

my very first hunt with him. He had to push my feet up on the peg. all the way to the top of this tree because I couldn't I didn't have the the length because he separated these pegs so far apart because he only wanted to put as many pegs as necessary yeah right yeah and um gets me up in this tree and we're it feels like it's 75 feet off the ground it's ridiculous it's ridiculous terrifying um you know why do you why was he did you You know, why was he that way? Because he wanted to push everybody to their limit as far as they could get.

I mean, he would push you to do better, everybody, me included. Because he took me to, we was in, I think we was in Alabama then too. Because we went with Neil and then me and him leased a bunch of land down there one time. but he went and put a stand up one evening and took me over that morning and said there's a stand I said well you go getting yours I hunted off the ground I wasn't I don't like hikes if it gets more than six foot step ladder I don't like it yeah and I hunted on the ground he come back he said what did you see I said them same three bushes out there I ain't climbing in that thing, you know.

But he would. And hang off for trees. I mean, I said, you're going to break your neck. He said, well, we're hunting. But he was some more

outdoorsman. Yeah. I shot a deer in Alabama one time, and I watched the deer. It laid down under an oak tree. And there were 10 minutes, I'd look over there. I mean, he just stretched out.

I looked over there one time that deer was gone. We tracked that deer for probably two and a half or three miles. And there, when we got to the property line, you're not supposed to take any guns over anybody else's property even for a deer. Well, we left all the guns beside a tree and kept tracking and found the deer. your daddy jumps on the deer and all he has is a knife and the deer is alive

that was a big rassal for all of us because we saw all on that and then we had to find our way out because I couldn't man it was had to go back and get the guns yeah and that was just laughing and cutting up eating pork and beans out of a can drinking a Coke

Yeah. Imagine, I mean, one of the things that I always really was impressed by was how well he tracked deer. There's been a couple times where I was lucky enough to be with him in the woods. And, I mean, a speck, a tiniest speck of blood, like 10 foot from the last speck of blood. And I mean, he could track it. He could see all that on the ground. And in a, you know, vivid, you know, the ground's full of color.

and he could see tiny detail, which always was impressive to me. Well, I'm going to tell you, and I told him, what made him so good, especially driving, was his eyesight. He had unbelievable eyesight. It's just like a fighter jet pilots. Those guys that could see the planes way out, you know, and everybody else is saying where and they're looking at it. That's the eyesight.

We could be driving down the road anywhere at Pocono or something at night. Look that deer over there. I said, I can't even see the woods. What are you talking about a deer? You know But his His eyesight was just uncanny I know

Yeah we would be sitting in a deer stand Or on the farm in a truck or whatever And he could see deer in the woods That man you know you're looking as hard as you can look And he's pointing to it And showing you exactly where it's at And you're like Yeah

I don't see it And then all of a sudden Five minutes later that deer will move a leg or something And you'll notice it And you're like how in the hell Did you see that? Exactly But he could see, I mean, it was like immediate to him.

Yeah. And well, I told him, I said, Dale, you don't understand. I can't see that good because I've had so many eye operations. Yeah. And you don't see that? I said, Dale, I don't see it. I said, that's just the way it is. But, you know, and I think he and I got along so good

because neither one of us would ever tell each other a lie. I'd tell it straight out to him. It didn't make no difference. Who, how, or whatever, hey, this is the way it is, you know. And he doesn't need the same way. Let's talk about this dirt car y'all built together to go race at 3-Eleven. Yeah, we decided with the bush racing and the cup racing, we needed a dirt. car too.

So we built a wedge car and we took it to Concord. What color was it? It was solid white, number 15. And that's all we had on it. We didn't have no names or anything on it. Yep. And one night at 3.11, we was on a break. and so we took it to 3-11

and he went out there and run and during the heat race him and I don't know who it was they kind of got together and hook wheels and I saw the right front hub wheel and everything go across the track

across the guardrail but he drove it in there and it was balanced pretty good because he didn't even though the right front was gone. He came in, I stuck my head in the window, and he asked me, he said, no, he just pinched the brake line off.

And he said, we can still run it. I said, hell, there's no right front on it, none. It's gone. And we run that car several times. And then he saw somebody, and he decided he was going to sell it. Is this your car? Yep. Yeah, there's Troy in front of it

Yeah Yeah Who Daddy drove that car Uh He His names I got the roof of that car

Oh, have you? I do His name's on it Yeah He drove it And so did So did Ernie

Ernie Irving Yeah That's right Ernie drove it Teep Yep So is that the car That y'all built

Yeah That's the car we built I'd always wonder. So that's you right here. I think you're in this picture. I know I saw Troy. I see Mike Herman Sr. Yeah.

And Darrell Cruz. So I've seen pictures of that car and somebody told me that that was your car. You own that car. And I ended up finding the roof. somebody sold it to me. Where did you find it at? You know, eBay. eBay, yeah.

Somewhere, some guy walks up, says he has it or whatever, and it's a reasonable price. And I knew it's a rare part, you know, and I couldn't believe it lasted as long as it did or that it's still around, you know. Yeah. Now, when we run the car at 311, it was solid white. That's where we put any, it had the blue 15 on it. Wow Yeah there's I've never found

Like I'm I scounds the Internet for For everything See here's another picture of it This is just That's the same color Yeah Mm-hmm

Yeah I see it So I've never seen any pictures of that car Just all white I mean there's I found a couple With that paint scheme on it I've got one at the house

Do you do With it with it all, when it's all white. Yeah. And the top's a lot lower on it, on the first car. Oh, I mean, the window's not about this high. Yeah. And that's when he had hurt his knee when him and Richmond got together,

Pocono. Yep. And then when he, we had the car over at your granddad's play. and we was working on it over there. Robert G's or Rouse? No. Ralph's. Okay. Ralph's shot. And he come over there with the cast on his leg.

I got to get in there. I got to hear it run. You know, he crawled in. I told him, I said, we're going to have to cut the roll bars out to get you out. He liked to never got it out of it. Because he couldn't, he just had it operated on. Jesus. So y'all went to 3-Eleven and crashed a car.

the next week you decided you's going to let Ernie drive the car. Ernie's running good on the short tracks around Concord, dirt tracking, around this time. This is before Ervin's made it to the Cup Series at that point. Daddy didn't think that was a good idea to put Ernie in there. He told me, he called me because he had a meeting in Michigan, somewhere up there in Detroit. it. And he asked me before he left, he said, you're going to fix the car? I said, man, I'd already got it about fixed. I said, I'm going to run it this weekend. You're going to run our car this weekend? I said, yeah. He said, who are you going to get to drive it? I said, I'm going to get

Ernie to drive it. He said, Ernie Irvin? I said, yeah, Ernie, he's pretty good shoe. I said, I'm going to, He said, Ernie will knock I'm not going there because I'd have knocked the wheels off of it. That's what he said. That's what he said. How'd Ernie do?

We finished. Either second or third. Yeah. Did Dad drive the car again? It seems like we went to Concord one other time or something. Yeah. And every time we'd go somewhere

the promoters would have a fit. Why don't you let us? know you coming. Yeah. That's the reason we show up. We don't know we're coming. Yeah, that's kind of the way I feel sometimes about my late model stock racing these days. Sometimes you just want to show up.

You just show up. Yeah. Yeah. That was fun. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, we had a good time. Dad goes to drive for RCR again in 1984.

You ended up being a fixture from that point on. on dad's bush cars. Yeah. You and, you know, Tony Sr. All dad's buddies, his brother, Danny. Yeah. Hal Houston, Trees's dad. Yeah.

Think back to those years about, you know, how much fun that must have been going up, down. Dad run a limited schedule, building his own cars, and, you know, you guys will just go have so much fun on the weekends. It was right in our... our wheelhouse. I mean, you couldn't, you couldn't get much better. Now, I mean, it just, everybody, we just, I mean, we just had a good time. Yep. It, it, we were at, uh, Dover. And so

we went to eat. It was a nice steakhouse. Dale didn't go. Just the crew went. He had something else he had to do. Y'all going over there. And so we got ready to go. Lee, Rick had the credit card. Rick Bosses.

Rick Bosses. He had a credit card. And, and, Rusty he'd come in and here we all were I mean the stakes the whole deal and Rusty said

any one thing I'm going to go to work for y'all said y'all come eat all this high dollar food old Rick Turrell looked at him he said we get paid nothing but we eat good you ended up messing with the bush car but richard trilderson those guys would have you come help every now and then on the cup side as well yeah i'd go over and and help them some uh he'd ask me to stay to you know move tires or because me and me and um i knew the good year guys real good yeah and so a lot of times

I could get matching numbers. Getting the good tires. You know. And that's one reason I kind of quit. Buster wouldn't let me do it no more. Why? Well, he kept thinking I was doing something to the tires. I told you daddy, I said, I ain't doing this no more.

They're getting too picky. So you ended up quitting in Atlanta? Yep. Yep. And that was why? That. I was gone. I mean, I got to where I was gone most of the time.

And I was missing being home with my wife and going to church on Sundays. Yeah. You know. And so I just kind of said, that's it. But, I mean, we kept, they on myself kept doing everything. I mean, you know, going to eat and fishing and everything else. outside of racing so that was kind of the end of your experience just working at a racetrack I imagine right you went you went to a simpler life but you and dad remained close very close

all these years you and dad were friends y'all went on dates you know date night with the wives what's date night with the wives would dad like What kind of places did y'all go to? Well, we went to the Red Barn. We'd go to Little's Kitchen. Little's Kitchen. I remember that. And we'd go to...

Every Sunday night we'd get home from a race if we were traveling with Dad and Teresa. Every Sunday night, the races started at lunch. Sometimes we could get home and it still would be daylight. Yeah. Which was amazing. That's why I want the one o'clock noon starts. back. But we'd go to that Little's kitchen or the steakhouse and eat a prime rib.

Oh yeah, they had prime rib. They did. Surf and turf. So, you know, one of the things that, you know, one of the things that I always appreciated about you was your loyalty and protection. of dad's legacy and Teresa even you know you

I think out of I think you'll agree that you don't do interviews or hadn't all these years right you hadn't told these stories you hadn't done these things out of respect for dad and for Teresa

correct you're a loyal friend to both you know I'd love to hear your, I'd love to hear your, your thoughts on Teresa. You know, we, we've all had our, we've all said what we've said. We've all had different opinions from time to time. And I had a, you know, hot and cold relationship with Teresa over the years.

But I've always said at this table, she's fair. As she's as straight and fair as can be. And there's been some moments where she's proved to me, that she's got, you know, she's done some things that have impressed me or surprised me. And so I know that you hold her in high regard, and she's done a really good job protecting dad's legacy and taking care of that over the years, and you've wanted to honor that, right? Yes, sir. Yeah.

Yeah, I guarantee you. Yeah. Now, Teresa is very fair, in my opinion. I mean, she is, I have high respect because she had even before Dale's passing. She had a lot on her. and as Dale said, it might take her a while to get it done, but when it's done, it's right. And he had, as husband and wife, he really loved her first class. He'd put her first, you know, and I respected him for that because he, he,

And her, they just, they jailed like mine and his friendship. There was no, the whole time I've been, there was no big rouse. I mean, everybody has a little disagreement on stuff. But when it come down to it, that Teresa was really, good at managing Dale, period. I mean, and not just me, but I've heard him tell lots of people. If it wasn't for that lady right there, I wouldn't have nothing, you know. She knew when to put the brakes on, just like I, just like he had put the breaks on me on doing something or me on him.

Yeah. You know, when he had asked. about it or before we would ask. I mean, we just had that we're, but I think I still hold Teresa in high regards and thank the world of her. And, you know, it's just, she's really kept everything mostly low-key, you know, and not went out and tried to do anything under Earnhardt name. Yeah. You know.

Yeah. It's very gratifying for me. Yeah, I think she's handled it, handled the legacy and, you know, the brand of dad really well. Protected it. I mean, there's moments, you know, when the autopsy photo stuff was going on right after is death. I mean, she fought that as hard as she could. It consumed her every single day. And I appreciate her conviction to making sure that that was handled the way she wanted it to be handled. I don't, you know, I was really grateful for what she was willing to do to, you know,

to protect Dad in that moment, you know. Right. And, you know, she's, uh, like you say, I mean, sometimes it's tough but it's fair always fair yeah I appreciate you sharing that um I know that there were um you know even though you ended up getting out of racing around 98 or so dad still asked you for advice and so forth about maybe even helping operate the program the DI B busker national program right around the time when I'm starting to get in there and drive the car. Yes, sir. He sure did.

We were in Catula, Texas, hunting, as usual. And everybody else had gone. We and him was around the campfire out there. And he asked me, he talked, well, he said, Donnie, I got a plan. Here's what I want you to do. I said, what's that? He said, I want you to come to DEI and take over the Bush program.

Really? Everything. I'm out. He said, I'm not running no more. You hire the drivers. You run it. You look after it. You, whatever, that's your end.

I'm going to turn it over to you. He said, you get the cars built, and you hire and fire the drivers, and I'm with you. Yeah. And my words were, Dale, I'm not going to do it. And he said, what? I said, I'm not going to do it. I said, me and you have had as good a friendship and close as any two people can do. And I said, I know how you are and you know how I am.

And how long you think that would last with me at DEI, telling you what we was going to do. And he said, no words, you ain't going to do it. I said, nope, because I said, me and you want to stay friends. I said, in a race car or money or nothing else, it's worth splitting that up.

Yeah. I said, when you see eye to eye on most things, but I said, when you get into that, I said, it's not going to work. I said, number two is you already got a driver. He said, well, you may. I ain't already got a driver. I said, put Dale Jr. in the car.

And he said, not now. I ain't going to put Dale Jr. I said, Dale, it's no different than me and you and Ralph and anybody else. I said, if you're going to find out if the boy can drive, put him in the car. I said, matter of fact, if you tell me to go up there and take over, I'm hiring Dale Jr. be my driver. And that's exactly what I told him. And he said, well, I'll think about it.

And so I don't know he'd come home, and I reckon he told you and him up there that you was going to be the driver. I was at the sporting goods store then, and he called, I don't know, next day or Monday or something. Donnie, I said, yeah. He said, can you come? to the shop. I said, yeah, I ain't got anything going on. I can come to the shop.

He said, Tony and Tony Sr., I don't think they like putting Dale Jr. in the car. He said, would you come up here? I said, yeah. So I drove around to the back, right, walked in the door. And Tony and Tony Jr. met me when I walked in the back door. And he said, you know who he's putting in the car? I said, yeah, Dale Jr., because I told him to him. And after that, I went up and saw Dale, we went up to the office, and I never heard any more. Was it any more said?

No, I don't reckon. I remember going, so I hadn't heard that story. I remember going into the shop. Somehow or another, I got called up to the, over to the bush shop, which was down by the chicken farms at that time. And I don't know why they wanted. me to come in there but I walk in the door and Tony Jr. and Tony Jr. standing there and they just grinning and I don't I'm standing there like wondering why they're grinning at me and

what I'm doing there and Tony Jr. told me to look at the roof of the car and I turned around and looked at the roof of car and my name was on it. And I said damn is this some kind of joke. This ain't funny because I didn't know what I was going to be doing. I didn't have much going on with my driving and Tony Jr. said no, ain't no joke. You drive her. And I was like, really? They were like, yep, we're going on racing. I was like, I couldn't believe it.

Yeah. I'd always kind of wondered how all of that went down because dad never told me. I saw him, I guess, I don't even remember when I saw him next. Yeah. But it wasn't like I went, you know, he called me up in his office or anything and said, hey, I want to do this. I walked into that bush shop and your name was on the car. I'm like, holy cow. Yeah.

All I know is he taught, after we left Texas out there, me and him never said any more about it. And he called me at the office. He told me, he said, and he just come up here. I told him, Dale Jr. was going to, he said, I went out there and told him Dale Jr. was going to drive the car. He said, you know, can you come up here? I said, yeah, I can come up here. So I just went up there and that's what happened. Yeah, I believe it.

Let's talk about dad's death, his passing. Where were you that day? Sitting on the television looking, watching it. You know, did you get a phone call? Did you get a text message from somebody? Do you remember how you learned the news? Well, after the wreck, I told Dale, I said, Dale is bad.

I said real bad. I just knew it. Yeah. And about 30 minutes, I got a call from Daytona that they said he didn't make it. Yeah. And I already had that feeling. I mean, it just come over me. And that was about one.

one sad moment. Oh, yeah. How did you manage to process that grief? I mean, did you, you know, what is a guy at your age losing his best friend? What is your, what did you do to manage the grief and the loss? And, you know, what would you do anything different or, you know, everybody handles those type of thing as different? differently. I was his son, I was young, had a whole life in front of me. I wasn't, you know, not many people were in your position. He didn't have, he had a close group of friends,

but a small circle. You know, how do you manage losing your best friend, you know, at that part of your life? Well, it's like if you lose anybody, and I've never, you know, been, as Dale told me, he said, you just don't get emotional about nothing. Neither did he. Huh? Neither did he. He got mad if that's the only emotion I ever saw out of him.

He was neutral or very angry. Well, I've seen him on all of them. Yeah, all right. But he, I just, it's going to happen to everybody. And the only way to handle it is if you know the Lord Jesus Christ is your personal Savior. I mean, that's the only thing. And through him, I can handle that. I just handled the death of my wife.

And that's the worst thing that can happen to anyone that's got a spouse that we'd been together from Dayton until marriage 54 years. And we didn't do anything without each other, you know. I mean, you know. Sure. But, and we're doing. Dale, it just, I think about him every day. I mean, I can be doing something and think,

you better not be doing this, you know. Don't do this. Don't do it that way. Don't do it that way. Because I asked you one time, I said, you're out there driving. I said, because I do. I said, you're out there driving. And no matter where you at, do you ever say, ask yourself,

Dale don't do this again, he said, more than once. Why did you do that? Yeah. You know. Yeah. Oh. But I just handled it as I pray that I get to see him again. Yeah.

That's what I do. You know. Yeah. Oh. And it'll be totally different, but, you know. That'll be better, I hope. Oh, it's. eyes not seen and ear has not heard the things I've got for you.

This down here is just something little the Lord put together. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, I think that's what I believe myself. You know, when I, when Dad was gone, it was a gut punch, you know, and you didn't know what to do next or how you could go. You didn't know how you could do anything next. Exactly.

And the only way you could pull yourself together and be able to move forward and carry on in this life is the believe that you would see them again. Right. And that that's what's in store. And I think that really helped me. Yeah. I feel like he and you both are on the same page as when he lost Ralph. Mm-hmm. because it was it it was I mean it didn't happen the same but it's dead yeah I wonder um I've also I've often wondered

donnie that you know when dad when I lost dad I had a I had a life in front of me that was I had a comfortable existence I had a race I had a job and an amazing race team around me and I had everything right right when he lost his dad he had nothing he yeah he was working a job at great dane or whatever right i mean he had nothing barely enough food in the fridge to eat no racing job and how and he was not making all the right decisions you know he was he had a lot of um, routing, turmoil,

routiness, anger, frustration. Yeah. I am so, I think it's so incredible that he made it out of sheer determination.

And, and, uh, but, you know, I made it because I had so much supporting me in that moment. I had a lot of support around me.

He made it. I mean, and there were, you know, 72, or I mean, 74, 77, 75,

76. 77, he's just making it up, trying his hardest every day. That's right. I don't know how in the hell he did it. Yeah, well. How did he not, how, it could have failed even without fault, his fault, right? Well, sure. There were so many things that could have maybe not going the right way.

Opportunities that he might not have been given. But, yale, it's insane what he accomplished. You're right. Put in that position, losing his dad, his direction and his guidance, and being just left like a vessel out in the open sea to figure out his way home. That's right. Incredible.

It's amazing. Not only him, but how many stories it is like that, it's amazing what man can do if he has to do it. I mean, if he has to do it I mean, what else do you do? Yeah. I mean, what if it just jerked everything away from you today? What are you going to do?

You're not going to quit eating, you're not going to quit breathing. Yeah. Yeah. You know, you're going to figure out something. And the amazing thing is, just like, they'll, back then. I ain't going to say now, but back then. he would have drove a race car if they didn't even pay him. Yeah.

Because he just, that was him. He was married to that race car. And when they offered Ernie to a 28 car, me and him was standing on the back of the trailer, as we were picking and joking, and doing this and what you're going to do about that, you know. And Ernie come up there, and Ernie said, Dale.

And I was standing there, but he said, Dale, you know how much they're going to pay me to drive that 28 car? Ernie had never, I mean, he didn't, money. There again, he grabbed Ernie, pulled him right up there to him. Ernie, keep your mouth shut and go drive the car because people like you and myself, we'd drive them for nothing, but they don't know that and don't tell them.

Yeah. Yeah. And he would. But he knew what he was going to do. And he went for it and earned every bit of respect and everything he got. because he was one of a kind

he sure was you are too buddy I I want to thank you for coming today I know again like you don't you're not one that wants to sit down and talk about it you lived it and that was enough

for you you're a unique kind of guy you got really cool qualities in terms of your you know your commitment and loyalty to your own family business and your friendship to my father your uh your you know your relationship with teresa and and uh respect for her uh your stand up no BS um you've been you've been a you've been a you were you were a great friend for my dad I'm thankful that he had you in his life and um he

benefited from that many, many times. And I'm thankful that you are comfortable to come here today and share with us. You know, we we hear a lot of stories and talk a lot of stories about Dad on my show. And it's a lot of his, you know, friends from time to time, but it's mostly this, you know, the industry and the people that he worked with within the industry. but we don't there won't be many opportunities for somebody to hear from one of his best friends and and I love that you're protective of that of that story and as you should be but I'm thankful you wanted to share it with us today Donnie so I appreciate you well I appreciate you having me and I felt like the only reason I've done it was Dale would approve of it I mean

because I hadn't went and told anybody anything because that was between me and him. Yeah. And I know a lot of stuff I ain't going to tell. Yeah. And not necessarily bad. Right. But I just, it just, that's the way it is. Yeah.

I believe it. Well, that's why y'all are great friends. You know, there's some stories that are between you and him alone, and I can appreciate and honor that as well. Well, I certainly appreciate you. Yes, sir. Thinking about me. I love you.

I love you, too, Donnie. Yes, sir. All right. Donnie Reeves on the Dale Jr. Download. All right, so a great conversation with Donnie Reeves. 73 years old, years young, however you want to look at it. Great friend of my dad's. And just some cool stories.

I felt like, you know, trying to dip back into that memory bank and going way, way back 50, 60 years can be a challenge at times. I really liked the, you know, the finish of the conversation. But, you know, there were some things that I wanted to touch on. One of them being his relationship with Teresa, you know, we've had a lot of conversations on this show. about Teresa in the past and everybody shares their truth when they come in this room. I know Donnie has a lot of respect for her and out of that respect has always kind of kept his personal stories about dad and with dad to himself because Teresa is very private and Donnie is as well and so, you know, I, you know, I wanted him to share.

you know, his opinions and thoughts about that. Because I thought that, you know, people should hear it. And so there are, you know, there are some things. The conversation around Teresa is complex and but there were a lot of moments and a lot of times in my life when there were some great memories and great moments that involved her. And Donny has a great, you know, appreciation for her. And I wanted him to have that opportunity to share.

So that was pretty important. There, you know, there's some other great moments there as well around. I like talking to him about how he dealt with the dad, you know, losing dad. I'm curious, his, you know, how people view that moment for themselves and and um i thought what he shared was was helpful and good for people who might go through loss or deal with loss um you know a lot of times we take these stories or take these opinions and thoughts of somebody that's got so much wisdom and experience and try to apply uh you know apply them to our own lives and moments in our own lives but um just cool he was you know he was kind

of somebody from a part of dad's life that rarely gets shared. And that, you know, that's the person that's going to, you know, that's the person that goes on double dates with dad. Like, you know, who else does that? Who else do we know has done that? He's dad's best man at his wedding. He is, you know, he's going hunting and racing the short tracks with dad. And there's not a lot of people around that can tell.

their lives or dad's life from that perspective. So I hope you appreciated it. I certainly enjoyed it. I was going to have Donnie on at some point and knew he was kind of reluctant to do this, but I was going to get him on the show at some point. So I'm glad we got that done. And it was a lot of fun for me. So I appreciate you guys tuning in and listening to Donnie.

Yeah. So thank you, Ally, for everything you do as well. Alli, do it right. They do. They bring us a great guest segment every single week, and they brought us another ally again in Donnie Reeves. And if you're, you know, saving up for something like race tickets to the next race or a brand new car or maybe a new house, we're all better off with an ally. So choose ally to support you in those efforts. It's time for the white flag.

The tear down with Jeff Gluck and Jordan Mionke dropped last Sunday night. They covered everything from Indianapolis right after. The checker flag fell, get their immediate reaction to what they saw on Sunday. You can also listen in to actions detrimental from Denny Hamlin behind the driver's seat or behind the wheel of one of the next-gen cars. It was out there competing at Indianapolis, his point of view of how the race went down. All the spotters got together on door bumper clear this week to discuss their opinions about the race, the decisions for how the race unfolded late, are very colorful and all over the board.

Dirty Air, our show dropped yesterday as we too touched on Indianapolis and my opinions about the race, maybe a little bit different than others. And then today, Speed Street with Conner Daly and Chase Holden will come out, which will be great because Connor is, you know, fresh off of 14th place finish in the Xfinity race at Indy. He also racing the Truck Series race over at IRP on Friday night. So a lot to listen to there with Connor and his experience driving stock cars and trucks in the NASCAR series. Tomorrow, DJD Reloaded, where we'll cover the experience at Langley I had, racing my late model stock cars.

Should be a lot of fun. Might bring in a few people to join in on that conversation for DJD Reloaded. Then Dirty Modeo is off this week. They won't be dropping a show. Going to give those guys a break. But starting live next week, you'll be. be able to tune in to our YouTube channel. We'll be doing some live shows with Tim's covering some of the best bets to make

or some of the more fun bets that those guys may be making as we go into the Olympic coverage on NBC. Don't forget about the Dirty Moe Summer Games. They're coming. Andrew, give us a little taste of what the Dirty Moe Summer Games are all about. Yeah, we've got the summer games in Paris that are going on. So Dirty Mo Media, we had to have our own. version of the summer games. You know, we did scavenger hunts in the race car graveyard,

a Hot Wings Challenge bus races at Charlotte Motor Speedway. So it's exciting. There's some controversy. There's some heated moments. There's some clutch moments. So that'll be coming soon. Absolutely. And we got an Apple review from Bald Tommy. As a newer fan of NASCAR, I've learned so much through this show. You will have guest on who I've never heard of or would normally skip. But I find out they are amazing people with great stories. That is this week, Bald Tommy. That is this week's show. You've already listened to it because we have just had Donnie in the room,

but he would be a great example of that type of a guest. Hope you enjoyed it. We'll see you guys tomorrow. Check out Dirty Mo Media on Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, and Instagram.