The Dale Jr. Download - Becoming Earnhardt 1980 Vol. 1 - A Rookie No More

Episode Date: December 21, 2025

Another year, another scrapbook. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is back on his quest to learn the origins of his father’s legendary NASCAR career, and in this season of Becoming Earnhardt, he is unpacking the 1980 season. With the help of some family scrapbooks and his personal collection of racing artifacts, Dale Jr. is seeking to gain a deeper understanding of who Dale Earnhardt was before his seven championships and numerous wins.In the first episode of this season, we set the scene of 1980, both in the world of motorsports and the world at large. The star of our story, Dale Earnhardt, is fresh off winning the NASCAR Cup Rookie of the Year in 1979, ready to take on the mainstays of stock car racing with his Osterlund Racing crew. His path to stardom goes through the legends of the day, such as Richard Petty, Cale Yarborough, and David Pearson, but with veteran crew chief Jake Elder atop the pit box, Dale is feeling confident in his chances. The goal is a season championship ring, but before he can get there, he will have to weather the storms of competition, attrition, and personality.This episode of Becoming Earnhardt is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops. North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Plan your next adventure at a Bass Pro Shops near you, or online at BassPro.com. This project is in partnership with MRN, the Motor Racing Network, and the Appalachian State University Stock Car Collection.FanDuel: Must be 21+ and present in select states (for Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino) or 18+ and present in D.C. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets which expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call [phone] for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.  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.

The following is a production of Dirtymoe Media. This episode of Becoming Earnhardt is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops, North America's premier outdoor and conservation company. Plan your next adventure at a Bass Pro Shops near you or online at BassPro.com. Later in the episode, my sister Kelly shares her unique perspective on life with dad away from the racetrack. Now buckle up. Here's a brand new episode of Becoming Earnhardt, presented by BassPers. Pro Shops.

You know, that's what I'm doing it for is enjoyment. I don't reckon I'd be doing it if I didn't enjoy it. I tried a few other things when I was coming up and trying to decide what I wanted to do in life. And I'm glad I made racing my career, you know, I really enjoy it. When you think of the time capsule, what do you imagine? Is it a box buried in the ground filled with relics of the past? Pieces of history that help people of today better understand what life used to be like?

Well, I think it's this old scrapbook that my aunt made 45 years ago, as she documented in real time my father's legendary NASCAR career. It holds the keys to the past, and more importantly, it tells the story of this 1980 championship season. And in the beginning, before the Intimidator, before the seven championships, there was just a humble short-track racer, chasing the dream of Stockton's, car glory. Earnhardt just thrives on this kind of competition. Dale Earnhardt

has more nerve than a sore tooth. To get there, he had to duke it out with the legends of the day, like King Richard Petty. Picked it in right behind Joe, and all of a sudden they'll come in and hit me pretty hard. Kale Yarbril, Darrell Walter. And I feel like if we can win the race,

pressure will really be on him. I kind of want to get him back for that Bush class here in February, but I guess I'll have to wait a while. And he had to do it with a rag-tag group of young mechanics. and a cantankerous veteran crew chief with the well-earned nickname Suitcase Jake. He says right now he ain't running out of Hart.

My name is Dellen Hart Jr., and I'm continuing my quest to learn more about my dad's seven-time NASCAR Cup winning career. Join me as we pick up in 1980, where dad is fresh off of his rookie of the year campaign and is soon to make NASCAR history. And he has a big watermelon friend underneath that apple, more of my side. Now, Tilly, Arbor, up in the Lee Dale, or not right behind him. There was the tail.

Okay, so when we left off in the last story, Dad had just been crowned the 1979 NASCAR rookie of the year. He didn't have an easy road, though. At one point, he broke his collarbones in a crash at Pocono. And had to sit out a couple of weeks while his rookie rival, Joe Milliken, kept racing and finishing well. Milliken, the first rookies to go over $200,000 in earnings in their rookie year.

Even though he missed out on some points in the final standings to Milliken, he picked up a win at Bristol and he looked like a natural behind the wheel. All this sealed the deal for him in the season-ending vote. King Richard Petty would pick up his seventh and final Cup championship beating out Darrell Waltrip by just a few points in the season finale. Many Parsons will win it. Richard will finish fifth, but it will clinch his seventh Winston Cup driving title. And with the end of the 1979 season,

came the end of an era in NASCAR. The 1970s had been dominated by Richard Petty and David Pearson. And Richard Petty will win the Daytona 500. Back in Victor Lane for the 187th time. David Pearson, he wins the 30th edition of the 7500. Dave, that's his third one. You may remember that David left the famous Woodbrothers ride after a bizarre pit road mix-up at Darlington.

David Pearson, coming out, pit road, lost both inside tires. And now the days of Richard and David dominating, week in and week out, are behind us. Kelly Yarborough, Daryl, Daryl Waltrip, and Bobby Allison are drivers who will bridge the gap between the old guard and the new superstars of the 80s. Drivers like my dad, Bill Elliott, and Terry Labani, just to name a few. In fact, Kale is going to be a big part of our story this season,

but we're going to get to more of that in a minute. Additionally, in 1980, rumors are. and speculation are going to fuel the wildest silly season NASCAR has ever experienced. There are a lot of things up in the air for next season. A lot of drivers without sponsors and a lot of drivers without rides. Now that we're all caught up, let's turn the page to 1980. The world, of course, is a very different place back then. The big movies of the time were Star Wars, Episode 5, The Empire Strikes Back,

Blues Brothers, and Smoking the Bandit, too. The Rubik's Cube was invented. Pac-Man was created. 1980 was also the year the U.S. hockey team performed the miracle on ice by defeating the Soviet Union in Lake Placin. The U.S. would boycott the Olympics being held in Moscow due to political frustrations between the United States and Russia. Ronald Reagan was elected president.

There were some interesting ties, actually, between the Reagan campaign and Dad's 1980 season that we're going to get into. Mount St. Helen. erupted. The Beatles, John Lennon, was assassinated in New York City in the archway of his apartment building. And future NASCAR stars, Casey Kane, Adam Petty, and Martin Trex Jr. were also born. Let's take a look at the world of motorsports in 1980. You know, NASCAR is coming off its biggest season to date. This thanks to the highly watched CBS broadcast of the Daytona 500. You know, the one with the fight. Daytona 500 has had it all.

And after that, NASCAR would attract 1.5 million spectators throughout the entire 1979 season. There are a few keys to NASCAR's rise at this point in time. You know, the money in NASCAR is growing rapidly, and the Cup Series is set to pay out over $6 million in the 1980 season. That's $24 million today. More networks are now lining up to air flash. The magna flag coverage, thanks again to that 1979 Daytona 500 Brock.

The National Speedway, this is MRN, the Motor Racing Network. It was a really big boom. It was like corporate America had discovered racing. That's Deb Williams. She will be a key voice throughout the series. She was boots on the ground during the 1980 season as a beat writer for UPI. It had not gone very national then. It was still regional at that time.

NASCAR would continue to follow the trend of the showroom floors of America. 1980 would be the final year for the bigger second generation of stock cars that had competed since 1967. The new cars of 1981 would have a shorter wheelbase similar to what was being commonly sold at the dealerships across the country. NASCAR was also gaining popularity with fans due to, to its relatable superstars. Nearly all of the drivers in the field came from working class backgrounds and humble beginnings.

More becoming Earnhardt up next. But first, here's my sister Kelly on Life with Dad. Brought to you by Bass Pro Shops. So when dad called out to me, it was usually Kelly King. So my middle name is King. And I'm named after my grandmother Martha. She was Martha King Coleman before she was married.

and so usually it was a quick, Kelly King, Kelly King! And he always told me that if I did something famous and I needed like a stage name, I could be Kelly King instead of Kelly Earnhardt. So I always remembered that. But yeah, it was just a quick, quick Kelly King. After the house fire that we had in the early 80s,

we immediately went to live with our dad like the same day. And so it was really a lot different. I mean, it was just getting used to. a different way of life, but lots of space, lots of different things. We had neighborhood kids that we grew close with right away and did a lot of, you know, playing outdoors and swimming in the lake and doing all kind of fun things like that. Right before Dad passed, I got everyone together. It was so funny because we actually met in the parking lot at Taylor's School to take this photograph.

And it was Carrie Dale, his two boys, Bobby and Jeffrey, me, Carson, Taylor, and Dale Jr. And so we're standing in the parking lot and we had a photographer take this picture because Sam Bass, who has since passed on, which did a ton of drawings of my dad and Dale Jr. And so he drew this picture of us and we gave it to Dad and Teresa for Christmas. We were adults and all that, but just with having Carson and the new baby and, you know, you're trying to think of something that would be meaningful. And so that's what we did. But I'll never forget just showing up in that parking lot. And like, we're at Taylor's school like of all places of us trying to figure out to meet. The Earnhardt family has always relied

on Bass Pro shops for our outdoor adventures and that tradition continues with me today. I grew up shopping there and now it's a place I love sharing with my own family. Gearing up together for everything from weekend getaways to fishing in the pond. I'm also incredibly grateful for the support Johnny Morris and the entire Bass Pro team have shown across our business ventures from the race team to Dirty Mo Media. They believe in what we're building and they've stood behind us. every step of the way. They're not just great partners, they're great people. I also admire Bass Pro's unwavering commitment to those who serve our country. Their legendary salute program is one of the many ways they show support, offering a 10% everyday discount to active duty military, veterans,

and first responders. It's their way of saying thank you to the heroes who protect our freedom and way of life. To learn more and see full details, visit BassPro.com backslash legendary salute. Now that we have the story set in time, let's talk about the major characters of our season. Obviously, you have Dad, Dale Earnhardt, the star of our story. You can't say enough about this young driver, Annapolis, North Carolina, and Lake Norman, North Carolina. As we mentioned earlier, he's fresh off of winning that rookie of the year title and has one-cup victory at Bristol under his belt. If I could, I'd like to say hi to everybody back home and my two kids, Kelly and Dale Jr., hope they're doing fine. or listening to race.

He's been regarded as the next big thing in motorsports in the off season. Dad is super confident, in fact, that Charlotte Motor Speedway, at a luncheon they had before the season, he said this. We're going to win the championship in 1980. I have the confidence as a driver, and we have the team to do it. Now, that quotes from a February issue of Stock Car Racing Magazine. He also told the Florence Morning News in January of 1980, I see Richard Petty as the biggest threat to my winning title.

Darrell Waltrop is a threat, but I believe we are a better team than his. Of course, Bobby Allison, Benny Parsons, and Kil Yarbrowler threats that I don't think they'll be able to do it this year. Now we have Jake Elder. Jake, are you giving you many instructions now in the closing stages? No, not right now. We're just sort of sitting here behind Buddy and just sort of riding out right now. He's a big part of Dad's story in 1980.

and of course also Australand racing as a whole, Jake proves to be a major source of adversity for the team when things go south mid-season. Sometimes he seems like he's a volcano about ready to go off. Jake had quite a pedigree. He had history at petty enterprises and championship rings with David Pearson at Holman Moody, and he was by far the most experienced crew member on the team

and was very much the leader that everyone looked to. I think they view Jake as someone that could talk Dale's language that maybe Dale respected that could help develop his town. And a savvy pit stop a moment ago by crew chief Jake Elder. Jake's been with the team since early in the 1979 campaign. Austerlund, they have a lot of great things going with a proven young talented driver and arguably one of the best crew chiefs in the garage. We will also spend a lot of time talking about 20-year-old Doug Richard.

Richard has got to be the most mature 20-year-old I've ever seen. At the beginning of the year, he is the front tire-changer and a chassis man for the team. But when things go south with Jake, Doug gets thrown into the limelight in a way he never imagined. Basically, they all, everybody knew was who's this young kid from California that suddenly is Dale Earnhardt's crew chief. His personality was so opposite from Jake's. And his ability to step up to the plate under all of that pressure will prove crucial to Dad's championship efforts. Right now, let's talk to 20-year-old Doug Rockert, who has done a beautiful job, Doug, congratulations.

He's the crew chief on this car. Hang you, Ned. Still drove one heck of a race, and I just things couldn't have went better for us all day. Dad's main rival and competition in 1980 won't be Richard Petty. It's going to be Kale Yarborough. Well, Kail was always considered to be a championship favorite, particularly after he won three consecutive championships. He's arguably still regarded as the hottest driver in the Cup Garage.

He and that are going to have some on-track run-ins this year, as well as a few jabs in the media. Earnhardt just keeps hammering away on Kale-Yarbow. Side by side with Earnhardt. Here comes Kale dropping down low. Earnhardt stays right with him. These two lead cars are playing Camar. Matt and mouse through traffic.

This will really be Dad's first taste of a rivalry in the Cup series. He'll determine the outcome because we came wrong hard, and I just hope we can do what we came here to do. Cale shuts the door on Dale. Earnhardt is wedged into the middle of the veteran. And halfway through the season, Cale is going to make a decision for his future that will not only rock the NASCAR world,

but it will put extra importance on him capturing a fourth championship crown with his junior Johnson team. It was going to be a sad day for me. And, you know, a lot of unexpected things happened during that era. That was one thing that called everybody off guard. Everybody's mouths dropped open. There'll be a lot of mixed emotions,

no matter what the outcome of this race will be. We will also spend a lot of time talking about Darrow. Looks like you've given it up. You've gotten out of the car. Yeah, it's a severe problem. I don't know what it is. I'm in the Val train, I reckon. Darrell, that's got to be tremendously disappointing.

At this point in time, Darrell is a championship contender, as he nearly won it in 1979. He and Darrell Walter, two of the sensational youngsters to come on the scene and Wednesday Cup racing in the last few years, the talent that they have just seems to be in-board. But dysfunction at the DiGuard team is taking its toll.

The DiGuard team added a second car. Darryl Walter was openly unhappy about it. Daryl Waltrip, as they have pushed his car back to the garage area, he has not been happy here all week. The car has not performed to expectations. You're trying on you right now. What are you feeling? Well, I'm really disappointed. I think there's a lot of reasons why we've been off this week.

And losing the championship in such a narrow fashion has really run its course. A real tough break for Daryl Waltrip. He has an awful lot of critics in this business, but he has a lot of fans. He is an exciting driver to watch. Darrell Walchop's popularity or disdain from the fans was starting at that particular time. In fact, in November of 79, two days after the season finale, crew chief Buddy Parrott was fired as a scapegoat for the loss. But then he gets rehired a few months later in January.

Darrell instrumented all of that. Darrell was not a happy camper. That's Buddy Parrott. We're going to hear more from Buddy. later on in this series. Darrell himself is under contract with the team through 1983, but he's in a legal dispute to avoid it. DiGuard was the first team that ever had a driver sign of contract.

Driver deals had always been done on the handshakes. Yeah, there was not any love loss between Daggard and Darrell Walchup during that time. He has openly admitted his dislike for the team management. Here's Daryl Waltrop talking about his contract with Dygard. I had this contract. It was irrevocable when I would try to find out what do I got to do to get out of this contract? You can't get out of this contract. Gardner was shrewd.

I mean, he was just, he was a business man. He was shrewd. I never had to deal with somebody like that. And it was, it was a tumultuous time. Man, Daryl and this team have to figure out this toxic relationship before it tanks another season. Right, so let's dig into the pages of my aunt's, scrapbook and see how the 1980 season unfolds. I've got to admit that I learned things that I never

knew while putting these episodes together. That's the fun part for me, is that I'm truly doing all this to try to learn just a little bit more, dig into the layers that made all this stuff come together. And I'm excited to share it with you. On this season of Becoming Earnhardt, Dad begins to make a name for himself. He's put on some moves down in that first turn that's had 20,000 people jumping to their feet all afternoon. As one tough customer develops, he creates rivals

with the sport's biggest stars. It is just phenomenal when Erhurt tries, and you kind of hold your breath because you know he is not content to run in second place. But a shocking crew chief shakeup would rock the young Osterlin team. He has Jake Elder who formerly turned the wrenches on Dale Earnhardt's car

in the pits with him today. Leading is the Earnhardt crew, headed by 20-year-old Doug Richard, a relative newcomer to the racing circuit. And one of the tightest points battles in NASCAR history comes down to the very last race. 29 points is not very much. It looks like one car that's so close. Dale Earnhardt is off the pace. The drama continues to build for Dale Earnhardt could be the most important day in both their racing career. Becoming Earnhardt is a Dirtymo Media original podcast series.

It is written and produced by me. Dellenhart Jr. with Bobby Marcos and Colby Bass. Sound design by Alex Timms. Production Assistance, Tiff Powers, Mike Davis, Michael Codwell, and Evan Vecchio. This project is in partnership with MRN, the Motor Racing Network, and the Appalachian State University Stock Car Collection. Special thanks to SiriusXM, Silver Tribe Media, NASCAR Man, and Bob Ellis. For additional Dirtymo Media content, visit our YouTube page and follow us on all major social

media platforms. Thank you to Johnny Morris and Bass Pro Shops for bringing us another episode of Becoming Earned Heart. They are such a great friend and supporter of everything we do. So remember to gear up for all your adventures at Bass Pro Shops, North America's premier outdoor and conservation company.