The Dale Jr. Download - Becoming Earnhardt 1980 Vol. 3 - I Just Want to Win, Win, Win

Episode Date: December 22, 2025

It’s February of 1980, and Dale Earnhardt is hungry to return to victory lane. The Osterlund-2 car hasn't brought home a win since David Pearson filled in for Dale at the Southern 500 the previous year. Plus, with a new contract and sponsorship comes expectations, so needless to say, he’s eager to hold up his end of the bargain. Thankfully, he won’t have to wait long, as he overcomes adversity at Atlanta for his first speedway win and follows it up with a repeat at Bristol. He quickly goes from a potential flash-in-the-pan, one-time winner to etching his name into the NASCAR history books.But racing is a humbling sport, and his jubilation won’t last long. More engine problems and a lack of speed would relegate him back to the middle of the pack, and that pressure to perform would build up again. Unfortunately, this time, the pressure pushes Dale to make a blunderous mistake on the opening lap of the spring Martinsville event, and he has a run-in with a fella you never want to cross: King Richard Petty.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 Bass pro shops.

You know, running with these guys I run with, Kail and Richard and Don and these guys, you race with them, and, you know, if you're smart at all, you pick up on what they're doing and they'll use it against you and they'll beat you with it, but they're not going to beat me with it but a few times and I'm going to be using it against them. It's pretty remarkable to see the speed that the Australon team is able to find so early in their existence.

Earnhardt, right, tuck, on, tie. He's holding on to the back buber of Cale Yarbrose. They go into the third turn. They've got about four cars. We know Jake Elder, the crew chief, is bringing a lot of experience to the table, but these are some of the greatest teams and minds in history that they're going up against. We're talking about Junior Johnson. I've got to feel like we're the best prepared for this race.

We're definitely not going out there and wait for something to happen. Petty Enterprises, Bud Moore. Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt are side-by-side coming down. Aynardt leads buddy maker across the stripe. Bobby Allison is showing us the third place car. A lot of great teams. Had a couple things gone differently in the first two races of the 1980 season, Dad might be sitting with two strikes in the wind call.

Dale Earnhardt down the back straightaway, just exploding an engine as he works his way. Earnhardt, diving back on the pit road again, a lengthy stop for him a moment ago, over 24 seconds. Dad's eager to take the team back to Victory Lane, because we've got to remember last time that this team won, Dad wasn't. even driving the car. That was David Pearson behind the wheel at the Southern 500. Well, Dale Earnhardt out with the broken collarbone. David Pearson wins his third, Southern 500. They've been running well, leading the points, but NASCAR in 1980 didn't hand out job security for close enough. Nothing going through my mind but, you know, beating Bobby and what David

was planning. He was back there and I knew he was planning something. You know, I just got outsmarted a little bit, but one of the most competitive races I've ever been here. Something had to break loose, and it will. Gerald Walshup and Dale Earnhardt play hopscotch, leapfrog, and change places. Earnhardt is wedged into the middle of the veteran. Gerald Walter playing the roll of the rabbit, but closing down rapidly right up on his back deck lid. Now is that Dale Earnhardt. Number two, Dale Earnhardt is your new leader.

Earnhardt's really found a home with a rear buffer of Cail Yarbril. A young superstar from Codapolis, North Carolina. If I can lead, that's where I want to be. From Richmond, the capital city of Virginia, the Universal Racing Network, brings you the Richmond 400. The third event of this big 1980 season for Edge Lake Stock Car Racing. After the Daytona 500 and Speed Weeks, the series is headed to Richmond. And Dad's going to have a solid run there. He's going to run fifth in a chaos-filled race that included Dad's rookie of the year rival, Joe Milliken,

crashing out of the track. And action up in turn three, and we have a car up over the wall. The driver of the car that is upside down right over the guardrail is climbing out on top of the car. He's standing up on it and he's waving saying everything is A-OK. Mill can tag the third-turn guardrail, sells over the barrier, and landed on his side against the wooden fence beyond the track surface. It was a savage crash. But that's the first time he's ever used

The transmission as a staff ladder getting out of that race car Darrell Waltrip, he's going to go on to win the race The spectators are getting geared for a battle That they know is inevitable It's got to happen Waldrop down on the low side And Walterip is heading out of side by side

Darrell Waltrop wins the Richmond 400 And he's headed into victory lane In the next week at Rockingham Dad's going to have another solid run He's leading a few laps there and coming home in seventh place, and he now leads the point standings by 52 over Richard Petty. He's 177 points ahead of Kale Yarborough.

Now, during the race at Rockingham, it was reported as many as 11 FBI agents were investigating LGD Whits team, driven by Joe Milliken, who started second. The car number 72, the DeWitt Chevrolet. Joe Milligan's going to establish himself early. Yes, and he's at his problem. of those couple of weeks ago at Richmond, he went out of the track there. During the race, an anonymous phone call was placed to Tom Higgins in the press box, saying the FBI was investigating the team for interstate traffic of stolen cars.

The FBI was looking into a theft-to-order ring where car thieves would find customers who wanted a cheap car, and they would go out and steal what the customer wanted. It was said that crew chief Bobby Hudson had bought a stolen Pontiac trance. Transam from someone he met at Talladega. Later this year in October, Bobby Hudson and two of his brothers were arrested on charges of receiving, concealing, and transporting stolen vehicles. When the Cup Series heads to Atlanta,

things get off to a shaky start for the Australon team. Greetings sports fans from the heart of Georgia and the 21st annual Atlanta 500 on a beautiful day at Atlanta International Raceway. Dad's going to have McCorm. mechanical problems in qualifying and settle for only a 31st starting position. On that grid Sunday morning, Dad says, I only got a few hours sleep last night. I think the team's morale is about as low as I've seen it.

We just couldn't get it running. Things sure turned around in the last 24 hours. We're going to get a green buddy maker, Neil Bonn and starts picking up the speed, and the Atlanta 500 is going to be underway. Dale Earnhardt, who started 31st in the first. The field is now running third after only 37 laps completed. A man on the move. We're going to get this race going, and Kell Yarbril's going to be dominant,

leading 183 laps before his engine goes south. Something evidently wrong with Kail Yarbrough's automobile as he backed way out of the carburetor. Dale Earnhardt looked like he was shot out of a gun as he guns by Kail Yarbara on pit road, with the hood up and the crew is under it. I feel like we won the race. We just didn't get paid for it. That's what Kel says. Dale Earnhard, Bobby Allison, side by side and three and four.

Dale Earnhard on the high side. Bobby Allison on the low side, and they come out of turn four, they'll be running side by side. Dale Earnhardt, shoot past Bobby Allison, and takes over the lead in the Atlanta of 500. In an article in the Stock Car Racing magazine, Goodyear engineers are telling Jake Elder

the tires on dad's car were so warned that there was no way he could finish the race without a pit stop. This is the time of the race where the drivers start hearing everything going on in a car. He feels every vibration. He hears every knock, and he just counts the laps off with the starter. Elder said after the race, If you want to be a superstar, sometimes you have to take chances. They were down to the fabric, but I figured those tires had another 10 laps in them. And he has a big water balance friend underneath that apple bar bus patched Dale Earnhardt. The rookie driver for just a few years back now becoming a very big, strong veteran and a force to be reckoned with.

Many of the fans on the bank down the back straightaway raising their mission to lose to Dale Earnhardt. Dad was able to charge to the front and lead the final 29 laps. And he's going to capture his first win of the season and the second of his cup career. The Los Angeles, North Carolina last year's rookie the year comes off of turn four. He's headed to the start-finish line and he gets the ticket flag. This 500-mile journey changed Dad's early morning demeanor once he pulls into Victory Lane. Dale, congratulations. A victory of second year on a super speedway here.

Boy, you did it. I ain't believing we did it, but, you know, this crew worked hard. And, you know, it just was a long day. We run hard all day. That good pit stop, you know, it's just a super day. Well, you sat back there, seemed to control yourself. You finally made your move, just moved right by Bobby Allison. Had you been holding back all day?

No, I was running hard as I could go. Bobby slowed down. He had problems, and luckily, Kail had problems too. It ended up, we're by herself at the end. He goes on to say, this I could get used to. This beats the heck out of any other feeling I've had recently. This is going to be Dad's first of nine total victories at Atlanta. Now that's a record

that still stands today for the most wins by a single driver at this track. Well, congratulations once again on the radio network and everybody's universal racing. The sweet taste of victory for Dale Earnhardt from Atlanta International Raceway at Hampton, Georgia. This is so long from now from the universal race. Now you'll remember back in

1979, Dad won his first cup race at Bristol in the Valleydale South Eastern 500. So fresh off this win at Atlanta, I'm sure he's pretty confident in defending his race win from the previous year. Every time a driver wins their first race at a particular track just seems like for whatever reason, every time they go back there, they always run good.

That would be the case for Dad and Bristol Motor Speedway. As long as I can remember, I loved going to those races at Bristol, particularly the night race, so much cool energy at that one. But I always knew that Dad was always going to be running. for the win. We got just as good a shot at winning as anybody else far as compared to us and our luck's been running pretty good at this time too, so I feel like we can win it. After a rough practice session though, Jake Elder jokes, we were running so bad I could have

timed Dale with an alarm clock. They had quite a bit of concern about Earnhardt here. He likes his speedway. He feels more at home on it, I guess, than anywhere we go. But despite these struggles, Dad's going to go out and qualify in fourth position. The fourth starter is the Winston Cup point standing leader, Dale Earnhardt of Canapalus, North Carolina. Kale Yarborough wins the pole,

and he becomes the sentimental favorite for the race after he revealed that he spent the day with an 11-year-old Brian Howell, who was suffering from throat cancer. On poll for today's race. From Timmonsville, South Carolina, three-time Winston Cup champ, Kale Yarborough, in the junior Johnson-prepared Bush Oldsmobile. We talk about Dad being a strong contender at Bristol,

But anybody who drove for Junior Johnson at Bristol was always running for the win. Just door to door like a drag race, they ease off into the number one turn. Kale Yarborough has Daryl Waltrop working the outside as the club out of turn two. And as this race plays out, it looks like it's Kale's race to lose. Kale Yarborough, he's led this race five times for 187 laps, and now he's slowing on the race track. As he led most of the day, but then later he drops a cylinder. If you blow the engine, it's all over with. Kail's going to go on to say it was my race.

It was no contest. That's two races in a row I've lost because something happened in my car. If things turn around, the rest of them better look out. Dad's going to get by and lead the final 135 laps to win for the second consecutive week. Dale Earnhardt wins the Valley Nadea Southeastern 500 at Bristol for the second year in the row. He's going to finish 8.7 seconds ahead of second place Darrell Walter and in victory lane, Dad was thrilled. When I joined Austerlund, I really thought it would take a year to win my first race,

but then we won this race last year and we'll win our share this year. I don't see any reason why I can't win the Grand National Championship this year. I just want to win, win, win. A lot of predictions, Mike Joy, that this youngster was headed for stardom when he first came on the scene and that's coming through more every race for him. Well, he is certainly bold, Barney. He has the boldness of Adairal Waltrip and the foot-to-the-floor driving style of Buddy Baker.

He has learned a lot in one short year on the Winston Cup tour. Here's Deb Williams on the importance of dad winning back-to-back races. I don't know if this guy might be here to stay would be the right terminology. I think more of, oh, this is interesting, well, was the... this a fluke? What did he do to win this race? And, you know, after back to back, then it was more of, oh, this is going to be an interesting season. Are we seeing the starting of the changing of the guard? You know, are we seeing someone else come in now who can truly challenge these people that are established the way the season progressed from that point caused everyone to raise a little bit of

an eyebrow. After winning their first cup race together last year at Bristol, Jake Elder told the media that dad had some bad habits, and quote, he's got to learn to do as I say. Well, after this year's win, Jake says his bad habits are gone. He's taking my advice now and he's really listening. These little nuggets from Jake will be important as this story unfolds and we kind of understand the type of driver that Jake Elder liked to work with and what he expected from Dad as the season wore on. Not only would they leave Bristol with back-to-back wins, but now they also lead the Cup Point standings by 85 over Bobby Allison.

We'll be back with more becoming Earnhardt presented by Bass Pro Shops in just a bit. But before that, let's hear from my sister Kelly about Dad's closest friends and the relationships that meant the most to him. You know, throughout the years of being around dad, he had a lot of hunting buddies and hunting friends. It kind of started early in South Carolina when he had some hunting land there with Richard Childress and Hank Jones. I remember who on Sports Image. There was a couple guys from Atlanta Braves. I know Jody Davis was a really good friend of my dad's.

He was a catcher for the Braves, and they did a lot of hunting together. And then when Johnny Morris came on and sponsored my dad's car, and they developed that, relationship. You know, there was a lot of hunting. Mike Collier, my dad's pilot, did a lot of hunting with them. Hank Parker, Sr. Dad was good friends with Bill Jordan, who owns RealTree. So a lot of different people that came in and out of my dad's life from a hunting and outdoor perspective. You know, my dad was just a really personable, kind of caring individual when it came to making and other people feel valued and appreciated. You know, he liked to pick around with people,

and he always said if he was picking on you, then he liked you. Because sometimes, you know, people would get mad about that because he had this headlock that he would get you in, or he would, like, drive you really hard on the neck. I used to go to him with different stories like, Dad, people would call me a redneck at school, and he's like, honey, if they're talking about you,

then you got something good going on, you know? So he always felt like if that was what was happening, then things were good. And so I just think that, you know, he just made people feel comfortable. And, you know, whether it was meeting a fan or a business partner or going hunting with a friend or whatever it was, you know, he just made people feel comfortable and special and spending time with them. So he just had a really easy, magnetic kind of personality. We are all the time fighting a bass pro. There's a few that we go in regularly.

but I like to kind of go in. First thing I do is like when I go in is I kind of stop and get a lay of the land because they're all kind of laid out a little bit different and trying to figure out what in there are the things that you want to go look at, just look at, and then what do you want to go do for shopping-wise? So I usually head to the home and the decor part.

Then I head over to the ladies section and look at the clothes. And then I kind of go, I like going to the camping section and seeing what's about because we have a camper and, you know, I'm always interested in kind of the latest gadgets. And then kind of the food and snacks, and they got some amazing candy options in there and all the kind of old-timey candy that you can find in there

and the licorice and the caramel creams and all those kinds of things. And I like to check out the shoes section because you may not know it, but they have a lot of fashionable kind of shoes. It's not all just for, you know, hunting or hiking or anything like that. They've got some, they've got a lot of, lot of cool shoes. My husband heads straight to the hunting area and why it generally likes to find, the first thing he likes to find is if they have one of those shooting ranges because a lot of the

stores have the little shooting ranges that you can do and you can knock the things down and all that and then fishing. It's kind of hard to figure out maybe what you do first because there's so much that you want to do. 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 team 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. Let's step back for a second and try to see the full picture.

Dad just accomplished a really impressive feat winning back-to-back races in just his sophomore season. So as a driver who has the hot hand naturally, you're anxious to keep rolling at the top. But unfortunately for Dad, this next stretch of races would again be filled with attrition and disappointment. From Darlington International Raceway in South Carolina, the Universal Racing Network brings you the CRC Chemicals Rebel 500. At Darlington, a really tough, rugged racetrack. It kind of fits Dad's style. he's going to fall out with the engine problems on lap 104. His engine is gone, so Dale Earnhardt is through for the day,

and he led the race for a while. Right now, the race leader, Keel Yawbrough, and Kail's... Now, this is going to be Dad's third engine failure of the season, and we're only on race seven. He doesn't want to make a habit out of these engine problems. He had at Daytona and here, hopes to work those problems out. The perimeters of what you could do in the motor was also wide open, as far as some of the rules go.

Again, Doug Richard. So how far do you push making power and you hope it lasts? You could build a grenade, but a grenade could blow. A little bit of a history nugget for you. The race would be won by David Pearson in his first race with Hoss Ellington in that famous red number one. David Pearson driving car number one, the Silver Fox out of Spartanburg, South Carolina. Checkered flag goes out.

And David Pearson is. So back-to-back wins for David Pearson at Darlington in rides that he just hopped into. It would be the Silver Fox's 105th and final Cup victory in his incredible career. Some consider David Pearson to be the greatest driver ever in NASCAR. Of course, Dale right now is leading the Winston Cup standings and the money earnings for 1980. As we pick up the season again at North Wilkesboro, Dad's quietly going to come home with a sixth place finish after starting fourth. Dale Earnhardt is really getting a lot of acceleration off the corner.

And I believe this is part of Jake Ellers' plan on this car. He's going to be five laps down to none other than the king, Richard Petty, who brought home his first win of the season. Richard Petty still standing a blustering place. Richard Petty, a big smile on your face. The first victory in 1980. Also after the North Wilkesboro race, LG DeWitt announces that he's going to be shutting down his team

due to the lack of a big buck sponsor, high cost, and mediocre performance. Now, he emphasizes that the team closing down had nothing to do with the pending FBI investigation. One disappointed through down. Dear Barney is that of Joe Milliken, Bobby Hudson, and the boys had worked awfully hard. They had to replace the engine in that car. This is going to leave sophomore standout, Joe Milliken, without a ride.

This just paints the picture for you how competitive and unkind the Cup Garage could be at this point. Joe Milliken was viewed as Richard Petty's prodigy. For LG DeWitt to suddenly shut the team down and Joe be out without a ride and really never had one again. There was no stability in the teams like there is today. And I'm not talking about the charter system. I'm talking about benefits and salaries. You know, the only thing you got was what you won. It was a situation where if you were winning and performing,

you probably were going to keep your ride. But if you're not producing, then you're out the door. Joe Milliken, who lost the rookie of the year to Dad last year, but actually out pointed him during the season, is out of a ride and on the outside looking in. Joe's going to sit on the sideline for weeks until he finally teams up with Raymock for the final three races of this year. Dad had a lot of security, I think, due to his wins,

sponsorships, contracts. And after getting some momentum and leading the points, he may have been feeling a little pressure as the season rolls into Martinsville. Well, hello, everyone, for Martinsville, Virginia. I wish I could tell you the sun was shining here, but unfortunately it's overcast, still as it has been. This 25th annual Virginia 500, of course,

it's the premier short track event on the nation on the Winston Cup tour for these drivers. And it puts together the best Winston Cup drivers in the world. It draws them all here. The tranquility of the first. Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia, about set to be shattered here this afternoon. Ladies and gentlemen, they're getting ready to start to Virginia 500. That pressure is what possibly fueled a very strange move

dad makes on the opening lap. Well, it's going to be interesting to see who wants to set the pace. They come down, green flag, dive into the number one corner, Walter gets the jump. And Petty is out of control. Petty gets bang, two cars. He's going to dive bomb into the, the first corner, passing an entire

row of cars driving over the curb and into the left side of Richard Petty's Chevrolet, taking out several contenders. Six, seven cars are in it as it looked as if Dale Earnhardt piled into Richard Petty going into the first turn.

Now, this was basically the end of Dad's Day. He damaged the front suspension on the car would soldier home to a 13th place finish several laps down. Earnhardt reported to be about six or seven laps down. A moment ago, we'll keep tabs on his progress this afternoon,

very critical for Earnhardt for a good finish. He's leading the Winston Cup points chase. Now, Richard Petty, he's going to rebound and have a spirited battle at the front of the field for the win between he and Darrell Waltrick, who came from several laps down. Daryl got penalized due to a new tire-changing mandate, which simply states that if a driver changed tires under the caution, they're going to be penalized two laps.

None of the drivers will be allowed to change any tires under the caution. Of course, they can change them, but if they do, there will be a two-lap penalty for the race team. This is an effort to reduce tire usage and save the team's money. Probably a bad idea. But Darrell's going to go on and get the win at the end of this race and leads the series with three victories. Oh, Ned. Gee, biz, that was just, I got us in a bad situation,

and I didn't know if I could get us out or not, But everybody gave 100% As legend has it after the race, King Richard is going to track down dad and give him a stern talking to about his over-aggressive driving. What happened when the race started, he just turned left, went up across the grass,

and jumped the curb, and jumped right in the middle of that whole crowd. That was my introduction to Dale Earnhardt. After that, he'd just take one at the time. Now, this race is on NASCAR Class. And everyone should go watch it if you've got an opportunity. Fantastic stuff. Now, one of the things that's fascinating about this point in Dad's career is his lack of hesitation when it comes to going toe-to-to-to with the Cup veterans.

Dale Earnhardt, Jackie, you almost put them all into the wall there. The rear end of that car almost came around on him, and Richard Petty backed out of it and gave him a little room, breathing room, but it has allowed everybody to close up on the second place car like joy so dad may have three wins total in his career now but the respect in the garage area is kind of wearing thin Dale earnhard just put the move on neobony and they swapped a little paint little sheet metal earnhard trying to go downstairs as yawbril stays upstairs he changes his mind slams the door on it goes right back in a single five formation the veterans are fed up with his aggressive driving and carelessness yeah well everything went good i don't know what got into

Earnhardt, but, you know, I just made up my mind that I wasn't going to let him pass me, even though I knew it didn't make any difference. There was a stupid move on his part. And the tensions inside the Austerlund team are kind of starting to crack with blown engines. Smoke trailing from Earnhardt's machine. What a tough break for him as he heads down the backstretch. And Barney Hall, he must have had a premonition about the problems because Earnhardt was well off the pace as he entered turn number one.

Short tempers and misfires in communication. They only changed one time. They changed the right rear tire on it. For some reason, another, they went around with him. right front but they never did put it on everybody here wondering has something happened to the earnhard car now the question isn't just whether dad can keep winning it's whether this whole operation can hold together long enough to chase after this championship earnhard almost once has the weight caused you any anxieties well not yet it had so earnhardt is going to be called back

to pit road this could easily cost him the national driving title here this afternoon becoming Turnhart 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 Thames, production assistants, 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 Sirius XM, Silver Tribe Media, NASCAR Man, and Bob Ellis. For additional dirty-moe 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 Earnhardt. 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.