The Dale Jr. Download - Becoming Earnhardt Vol. 3 - The Boy Has Arrived

Episode Date: December 18, 2025

In the aftermath of the 1979 Daytona 500, NASCAR found itself on an unimaginable trajectory to becoming the biggest form of motorsport in the country. Some 16-million viewers tuned in to watch the flag-to-flag coverage on CBS, and having witnessed the fight, the King and the rest of the action, they were hungry for more. The result was speedway box offices being flooded with ticket requests, and the largest crowds that had ever assembled to take in stock car racing. Rockingham, Richmond, Atlanta, North Wilkesboro and Bristol were next on the schedule to take a turn at entertaining the masses. And luckily, NASCAR had plenty of talent in the garage ready to seize the spotlight.One of these talents is the 28-year-old from Kannapolis, Dale Earnhardt. Dale established himself as the rising star to watch during his daring, yet calculated performance on the Daytona highbanks. With the press, fans and racing veterans all singing his praises, he seemed destined to find victory lane. But when would that happen? On this episode of Becoming Earnhardt, we tell the tale of the next five races of the 1979 season and explain how a 500-lap showdown at a bullring nestled in Thunder Valley would propel Dale towards super stardom.Real fans wear Dirty Mo. Hit the link and join the crew.👇shop.dirtymomedia.com/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 Dirty Mo Media. By the time the last campers pulled out of Daytona International Speedway, the tide and American motorsports had shifted. A fight between Kil Yarborough and the Allison brothers, mixed with Petty's sixth Daytona 500 victory, served as the epicenter of a storm that would shake the country to its core. When the weekend's television ratings came in, 16 million people witnessed NASCAR's ultimate showcase.

TV executives were elated in America, was hungry for more. An entire new generation of stock car fans were born. Here's David Hobbs, who saw it all unfold from the broadcast booth. It was the absolute turning point for NASCAR. All the TV networks are knocking themselves over to do NASCAR. It just put them right on the map. But lost in the commotion and celebration of this historic event was the arrival of Dale Earnhardt on NASCAR's biggest stage.

Through Daytona's Speed Weeks, the 28-year-old demonstrated a type of fearlessness and precision that was unlike any old rookie. Dad not only held his own against the sports best, but at times he passed them. If not for a faulty cylinder in the final 10 laps, who knows what would have happened. But from this point forward, Earnhardt was to be considered a legitimate contender. The question many wondered, how long before he would become a winner? I'm Dellenhart Jr. On this episode of Becoming Earnhardt, we ride the momentum of Daytona into the next five races of the 1979 season.

Rockingham, Richmond, Atlanta, North Wiltsboro, and Bristol. Now, the first race on the schedule is at Richmond. It's the 400 lapper, but it's snowed out. This snow that was all up and down the East Coast, troubling everybody during the 1979 Daytona 500 is still sticking around. They're going to postpone that Richmond race for two weeks. So the next date on the Cup Circuit becomes the Carolina 500 at Rockingham. This is on March 4th. The weather was the least of the storylines heading into Rockingham because there was a bigger storm.

You know, the aftermath of Kail Yarborough and the Allison brothers. Remember how NASCAR handed Bobby and Donner. 26 months probation for each of their roles in the Daytona 500 fight, Kail, he got nothing. Well, the Allison's appealed their penalty, and in a massive turn of events, NASCAR reduced their probation by three months, while awarding Kale three months for himself.

He wasn't even part of the appeal searing. The garage thought this was hilarious, but Kale, he was furious. If I'd been placed on probation after Daytona for the fight, I would not be complaining, but I'm going to appeal this. because it's not fair. Donnie wasn't happy either.

He was mad at his own car owner, Haas Ellington, because it came out in the newspapers that week that Haas had gave Kale a ride home from Daytona. Yes, the same Kale Yarbril that cost them $60,000 in winnings and a race car. Why would he do that? According to Haas, he was just keeping his word.

He had promised Kale on Saturday before the 500 that he'd give him a ride home because the snowstorm blanketing the East Coast had grounded all flights. Here's Donnie Allison. Naturally, it didn't sit with me too well. The biggest race of your lifetime, and he knocked you out in the end, and then I'll throw him home.

All of this turmoil was good for one thing. Ticket sales. The International Speedway Corporation reported ticket sales at an all-time high. Rockingham was a quick sellout, and many of the 16 million who watched the Daytona 500 broadcast, they were eager for more. The media promoted Rockingham as round two and the rematch.

Imagine the delight of everyone when qualifying results from Rockingham had Bobby Allison on the poll, Donnie Allison in second, and yes, Kell Yarborough starting third. You couldn't have scripted it any better. Universal Racing Network, and we're here to bring you the Carolina 500. This year's third of men for the Major League of Stockcom Racing. Before we throw the green flag, guess who is one of the Grand Marshals for this race? It's 18-year-old Kyle Petty, fresh off of winning his ARCA debut at Daytona the previous week. You got to love that.

Welcome to North Carolina Motor Speedway, the race is cut their way. The crowd threads, they wanted to get it started right in high noon. They dropped it. And pole position winner, Bobby Allison moved it right out front. At the drop of the green flag, Kale and Donnie have another run in. Kale would shoot in the first place. But while battling for the lead on lap 9, both Kail and Donnie would make contact, and they spin in turn three.

In the turn three, would you believe? Donnie Allison and Keill Yawba got sideways. Went up into the wall. Richard Petty got involved. Dale Earnhardt got involved. Here's Donnie Allison. Honestly, truthfully, we crashed because I tried not to hit him. What I should have done, and this was, I told Bill France after the race,

it's your fault because you put me on probation. If I hadn't been on probation, I'd just run into him, knocked him a hell out of the way. The wreck, it collects a total of eight of their fellow competitors. One of these competitors was Dad. He had qualified a respectable fifth place, and as Donnie is sliding down the banking, he slid right into Dad's path, and the resulting damage sent Dad to Pit Road for many laps of repairs.

Kail and Donnie, they swore that this racing accident was innocent, but the others collected they were upset. Here's Richard Petty. That's what happened over there in the third corner. the outside man was a little bit too slick, and he shouldn't have been going in quite that hard being. He was out in the slicks. You know, that's what happens.

Kind of a deal that, you know, one of them is still out there running, and the rest of us is sitting here just because that made the stupid mistake. NASCAR, though, they took Kail and Donnie's words for it, and they decided not to penalize them further. Donnie actually called up during the race to the NASCAR Tower to NASCAR's top official,

Bill Gasway, and he said there were no ill intentions. One driver involved in the accident who was a bit shaken up was Neil Bonnet, and he's driving a number five second entry by Haas Ellington, who is a teammate to Donna. Donnie Allison and Keoghawboro and Bobby Allison, the three Daytona combined got into it once again. Bobby came out of it without a scratch. Bobby Allison managed to shoot low under the wreck

and out battled David Pearson throughout the day to go on to victory. Bobby Allison takes it down on the low groove. Heizes up towards the wall in number four. coming Georgia and the checker flag is out and Bobby Allison Bobby Allison wins the 14th running of the big race at Rockingham and he takes it all away up to the wall that's off of the gas and Joe Milliken was relieved for 80 laps by Richard Petty who was taken out

during the crash earlier. A big surprise Richard Petty back in his uniform and he's trotting on down the Joe Milliken's pit. I guess the protege is going to have to have the chief come in and maybe help a little bit. bit. We got Petty down there with his helmet on, he's standing by, and we could possibly see a driver's change right now with Richard Petty going into Milliken's car. Petty actually turned the car back over to Milliken with 13 miles remaining, and he drove to a second-place finish in just his fourth career start. Miliken actually said the demands

of running these 500-mile races was more than he anticipated. The kid who grew up mowing the lawn at Petty Enterprises had been the top rookie in two of the three events. Dick Brooks would finish third. Ty Scott, now with veteran crew chief Harry Hyde, would run fourth. Richard Childress would round out the top five. Kell Yarbril would find his way back into the contest after the early crash. He then blew an engine and the junior Johnson crew managed to change it in 19 minutes. He would finish 80 laps down in 18th place.

Waltrip also managed to restart after the wreck and finish 17. taking a 28 point lead into Richmond over Yarborough. Dad, he would finish 12th. We mentioned the damage to the front of his car during the accident between Kail and Donnie, and after multiple stops and repairs, he'd finish many lapsed down to the leaders. But still, at this point in the season,

Bob Myers of Stock Car Racing is referring to Dad as the surprise of the circuit. So we leave Rockingham, and now we've got to go to Richmond to run the Richmond 400, which was postponed because of snow. And the date of the day. before the Richmond 400, Kell Yarborough and Donnie Allison, they have a meeting to discuss the, quote, restoration of peace in the sport. Everyone is talking about the feud. Is there if the drivers have gotten together?

Kel explained. Two old friends got together for some conversation. Whatever has happened has happened. I'd like to see my fans forget it, and he'd like to see his fans to forget it. And let us get back to some clean racing, just like it's going to be. You want to write a book? Do you want to sing a song or what do you want to do about the weather? This morning, wake up call time? Snow. Heavy snow in Richmond, Virginia, continued up until about 11. A little after 11, the clouds broke, and the crowds are here.

Almost a full house and fans are still fighting their way. And the race is exciting NASCAR season. It's got everybody talking stock car racing. After experiencing snow flurries early in the morning, NASCAR finally managed. to get the once postponed Richmond 400 underway. 30 cars would start the event. That's a slight contrast from Daytona,

where we would see more than 30 cars not make the race. There were 21,000 fans in attendance, and reports are that fans had to be turned away as there were no seats left at race time. Base car getting ready to dive. Get together, keep it. And Bobby Allison. Mary Labani and Dale Earnhardt.

Get together, but it's Bobby Allison. The race only had three lead changes, and Kale Yarborough won by six seconds over pole sitter Bobby Allison. Bobby and Kale were the only drivers to lead laps the entire race, although in some articles, J.D. McDuffie is credited with leading a few laps mid-race. J.D. would have his best season in 1979. He would finish the year leading a total of 118 laps, and that's over 100 laps more than any other season in his career.

Darrell Walter, Benny Parsons, and Richard Petty, they would round out the top five and it would be Kale's 60th career win. Trouble able to avoid him. Rookie Dale Earnhardt would finish 10 laps down in 13th place. He qualified fourth, but Dad, he would have an early spin on lap two into the retaining wall. The spin bent the car up pretty good and he hustled at home slightly off-paced to the leaders all day long. Joe Milliken would soldier home in sixth place again taking top rookie honors. The true underdog of this year's rookie battle was the top performer week after week.

Speaking of rookies, suspiciously absent from the event was Harry Gant. The rumors were filtering out of Tennessee where his cars were maintained that some changes may be planned for the coal miner Kenny Childers-owned team. Gant's job might even be in jeopardy. Neil Bonnett's ride was so badly damaged at Rockingham it wasn't ready for the Richmond race, so he ran the USAC stock car date at Texas World Speedway for Bobby Allison instead. Dave Marcus, he had terrible luck leaving Richmond Sunday night after the race when his tow rig caught fire on 95 outside of Durham, North Carolina. Richard Petty's car looked a little bit different for this race.

A majority of the SCP Dayglow Red had been removed from the car, some thinking in protest of STP's reduction in financial support for 1979. The Petty's felt they weren't getting the leverage they needed to get STP to up their support for the 43. Now, SDP, they finally get the message. And things were worked out within the next race or so, and the full colors and decals returned. When the Petty Enterprise teams arrived in Richmond, they were also without the chief, Maurice Petty. For this race here at Richmond.

You see, the previous week at Rockingham, the 43 was one of the multiple casualties of yet another skirmus between Kell Yarborough and Donnie Allison. And the king was upset, as were many other drivers. Maurice was mad too, and he let his voice be heard to NASCAR officials Joe Gazzaway and Ray Hill. Gazzaway approached Maurice to have the conversation and maybe perhaps settle him down, but that's not Maurice's M-O. He shoved aside Gazzaway, helping get the car and the gear packed up to go home to level cross. He got a little push and shoving contest with one of the officials out of the wreck was at Rockingham, and they didn't think that he should be doing it.

He thought he should be, and they sort of said him down. for a couple weeks. Official Ray Hill then sent him a letter suspending him for the Richmond race and the upcoming Atlanta race. Dale Earnhardt in the Australand Chevrolet, quite excited about a new addition to his crew.

Jake Elder, Jake Elder will be the chassis man sending up that race car, and when it comes to sending up chassis for racetrack, Jake Elder is ranked right among the top. The week before teams would head to Atlanta for race number five of the season,

Jake Elder would leave Reneer Racing and driver Buddy Baker to join Austerlin Racing as crew chief for Dale Earnhardt. See, Jake was a bit of an advisor at Reneer. They had Herb Nab as their crew chief, but Jake, he was ready to be the sole voice in control of a team again, and he jumped at the request to come aboard with Austerlund. Roland Volatka, who is and would remain as Australin's business manager, had been handling the crew chief duties up until now, but Elder was an instant upgrade for the crew and everyone was excited. I just remember, you know, he'd been around the sport a long time, and we needed help.

And none of us had any cup experience. This is Doug Reichert, who was a crew member for Australon Racing. You know, we definitely weren't in a position where we knew everything. So having somebody come in like that, obviously he knew his stuff. He'd been around a long time. And he was a big help. Let's learn some more about Jake Elder. He starts his career out as crew chief in 1966, and he had some good success, and he famously

crew chief Mario Andreddy to that 1967 Daytona 500 win. In 1968, he worked 47 races with David Pearson winning 16, and he found some stability with a five-year run with Darrell Waltrip, followed by a three-year span with Benny Parsons. His tenure with dad at Austerlund would be the... end of that consistency. After that, he bounced around from driver to driver and team to team until he was aptly named suitcase Jake until his last Cup crew chiefing role again with Darrell Waltrip in 1992. See, Jake, he was a very proud man, maybe a bit cantankerous, but his cars were fast and he knew it.

Greetings sports fans from Atlanta International Raceway at Hampton, Georgia. I'm Dick Jones here with the Universal Racing Network broadcast team to bring you major league stock car racing fifth big event of 1979 the Atlanta 500 at the time entering Atlanta dad is seventh in points and he's losing the rookie of the year championship to Joe Milliken practice for Atlanta began on Wednesday and first round qualifying was also held

dad he wasn't fast enough to make the top 12 positions that would be locked in during Wednesday's session for this Atlanta race the team had entered the Buick that they had raced at Daytona and it was an unpopular make, with most teams campaigning the Olds 442 or the Chevrolet Monte Carlo. Now, Jake wouldn't join the team until Thursday, and he helped Dad post the fifth fastest time of the day to nail down the 17th starting position. I think it came into effect immediately, you know, because he just had so much experience,

and that's what we needed. Now, dad's thrilled to hear about the opportunity to have Jake Elder as his crew chief. He says, even when I was watching Daddy Race, I used to hear a a lot about Jake Elder. I've always heard he can set up a car as good as anyone in the business. There's side by side. The green is out and Bobby Allison charges up next to the wall and takes the lead going into turn one. Bobby Allison will move into the field that messes up all your your, what's out and we have just had a gentleman hit. Dave Watson came in and fled. Dave Watson came in and slid. The race was overshadowed by the tragic death of 18-year-old crewman

Dennis Wade, who worked as a jackman for rookie driver Dave Watson. He was killed instantly when Watson lost control on pit road and crashed into Wade. Watson was actually leading the race at the time and explained, I was out of gas when I came onto the pits. I let the clutch out to try to restart it. When I did, the rear locked up. The car just took off like it was on a piece of ice. Watson would then withdraw from the race, and he never competed in another NASCAR Cup event.

David Pearson has just turned loose with an engine. Smoke coming out of the back of the purulator mercury, and David Pearson is battling the car. The Wood brothers, they would lose another power plant from the lead during the event. And Glenn Wood explained that they have to overstrain their engines just to keep up with the way the rules are today. He's referring to an aerodynamic advantage he claims that the GM-bodied cars have. It looks like Bobby dropped his cylinder.

It looks like he's running on seven cylinders. We get word from the pits over here. He sees the white. The checkers out and Buddy Baker. Buddy Baker out of Charlotte, North Carolina. The Spectra owes Wednesday, Atlanta, 500, and quite an exciting afternoon. In the final laps of the race, second place running Bobby Allison went down a cylinder, and this allowed Buddy Baker to win by 18 seconds.

Darrell, Walter, Kell Yarbril and Benny Parsons would round out the top five. So after not having won a race since 1970, at Talladega, Buddy Baker finally found Victory Lane at Atlanta. Dad's going to finish 12th. Now, Jake Elder, he would have some great praise for Dad and how he competed with the front runners at times during the race. Here's Doug Riker. So obviously, you know, had to work with Dale.

What's he like? You know, back in those days, we didn't even have power steering and stuff like that on the car. And castor selection, you know, how much castor could you run without wearing the driver out. And those were things that we had to consider. So I do remember about when we went to Atlanta, and he kept, oh, come on, I can run that caster.

I can run more, you know. He was a tough guy. And then after the race, he said, man, my arms wore out. Right about this time after the Atlanta race, Dad also starts something pretty unusual. He writes a bi-monthly article, and let's read it. Let's see what Dad has to say about this point in the season.

Let me tell you what happiness is. It's running right there in front in the Daytona 500. I was trying not to grin, but I couldn't stop myself. We all know I wasn't up there at the end, though. I wasn't grinning then either. But wait a minute, I'm getting ahead of myself. When the idea of me putting an article together every couple of weeks was first discussed last winter, I wasn't overjoyed.

Everyone was telling me it would be something new. and different and meaningful for the fans, but I wasn't hearing it. But then they said, you can tell it like it is, and that's what got me. I'm no Howard CoSell, but why wouldn't I tell it like it is? So I finally said, okay, let's do it. I'm glad I did. This is just the first one of these things, and I'm already having fun. Wait until later in the season, I might even write about some insight stuff,

maybe a little Grand National gossip. I'll even give some of those other rookies a plug in my column, if they're nice. First, I got to tell it like it is if this idea is going to work. Okay? Everybody wants to know why I ran so much higher than the others on the track during the Atlanta 500. I didn't qualify high, but there wasn't anybody else out there then, and it was only me. When the race started, I was in the groove with everybody else, but my car felt like it was getting loose. I went higher, and all of a sudden my lap times got faster and more consistent.

I caught up with Darrell Waltrop and was running the same lap speed as the leader Bobby Allison for a long time. The next question was what happened at Richmond? Now, I think he's probably talking about his spin at the beginning of the race. Now this is where the telling it like it is part gets tough. What happened at Richmond was that I ran the car too fast and too deep into the corner. Our team's captain made a mistake and it brought out the first yellow. After the spin, a problem developed with the chassis and we never did. did get the handling dialed back in. Now that's enough about Richmond until next time. Y'all want to

know about Rockingham? It was one heck of a wreck is what it was. There was nothing I could do but save what I could. Anyway, we got the car back in the race and wound up finishing 12. From what I read in the papers later, there were a lot of other guys who had plenty to say about Rockingham. I didn't see nothing but a big cloud of smoke. Not too much else to say about Daytona. We pitted at the wrong time once, but we developed rocker arm problems right after that, so finishing 8th wasn't too bad. It was just a great feeling to run at the front when we did. But let's get back to the Atlanta race. Jake Yelder joined us as crew chief there, and he's going to be a great asset to the Australian team, and to me. Jake's got a tremendous amount of experience as a car builder and as a

crew chief, and he's won so many races that losing just ain't his style. He's the help we needed, and With him just being here, Roland Velodka has already got things better organized and working efficiently. Hey, how about that crew we've got? I've never seen a bunch that wanted to win so bad. They're working great together and they're consistent. I think they've impressed Jake at Atlanta. It was the team driver, again, that messed up. I cost them some time by coming in too fast and I once got too close to pit wall.

Just a couple little errors on the driver's part, and Jake is helping me improve. I think the biggest thing I've learned so far is that this is a serious sport and that there's a lot more to it than just driving the race car. I'm beginning to see just how important public relations can be. You've really got to spend time with the fans, accessory reps, potential sponsors, and the press guys. If you don't, they'll soon forget who you are. I'm really enjoying everything about Grand National Racing. I honestly feel like it's what I'm supposed to be doing. Being in a competitive car with a great crew makes everything enjoyable.

now we just need to do something to change our luck, but the way things are going, we're getting closer and closer. We've got a chance to win soon. Oh well, if I had won a race by now, I'd have a lot more to talk about. Maybe next time. So it's pretty interesting to hear Dad talk a little bit about his season, and don't think he's going to win any awards for his columns. But hey, we'll see how the next one is.

He's going to write a few of those, as I said, bi-monthly throughout the season, and until the next one, we're headed to North Wilkesboro for the Northwestern Bank 400. Bobby coming off a four, coming down the front stretch, and Bobby Allison is your winner. And look at that. He blew his engine. Sparks coming out. That's a tire. That's a tire.

The tire came apart, and the wheel is scraping the track and throwing up a big shower sparks. Bobby Allison would break his 39 race drought on the short track circuit to win his second race of the year, all while breaking a suspension piece at the finish line. Allison would outdule Richard Petty on old tires to lead the final 46 laps, and he's going to win by three and a half seconds. And after taking the checker flag, Allison's car breaks the right front ball joint. And it could be a first in NASCAR. And Hank, you'll have to correct me on this, but we're going to have a driver escorted walking to Victory Lane. Dad would qualify fifth and

finish fourth. This is Dad's first top five finish of the year. Then he leads some laps, laps 314 to 322, and he likely raced in front of most of his family who would have been able to attend the race watching from the infield near the backstretch gate. J.D. McDuffie would have another strong showing for the Independence. He was running as high as third at one point, but he would finish sixth after a late pit stop. Rookie driver Harry Gant, who was considered a favorite for the rookie of the year title, had missed the last three events after parting with three. owner Kenny Childers number 12 team.

He's rumored to have a new opportunity driving for the Race Hill Farms, Jack Beebe, on number 47 entry, starting at the next race at Bristol. Now, Jeff Budine had been driving the car for three of the first five events of this season. We're going to leave North Wilsonboro and we're going to another bull ring. It's the Southeastern 500 at Bristol. After qualifying in the ninth position on Friday for the Southeastern 500, that is going to to spend some time between practices chatting with the media. A reporter's going to ask Dad, most every good driver in racing has a nickname.

What would you like yours to be? Now, think about this. This is Dad who would become the intimidator, man in black, all sorts of things. But now he's a rookie. And his response? Darrell Waltrip, too. No, no, wait. Make that Jaws too.

So Darryl Waltrip had a really cool nickname given to him several months before by Kale Yarbrill. Daryl and Kale were going through a bit of a spat on the track and that spilled into the media. While Kale could hold his own and then some against Darrell Waltrop on the track, not many could match Waltrip's quick one-liners off the track. Kale called Darrell Waltrop Jolls because he was always running the mouth. Darrell would lean into the new persona and seem to enjoy the annoyance it caused for his competitors. here at Bristol International Raceway, the seventh race of the 1979

NASCAR Winston Cup season. It's April 1st, 1979, and it's race day at Bristol. Coming to the green flag, Buddy Baker set a new qualifying record on Friday. He and Darrell Walter will lead the field degree. Once the race gets underway, Dad, starting from ninth position,

is going to move steadily through the top ten. He's going to pass Benny Parsons and Bobby Allison, and he's running in sixth position by lap five. He then passes Donnie Allison and Kell Yarborough at lap 22 to move into fourth position. Earnhard is on the move again. He's passed Darrell Walters and J.D. McDuffie. He'll claim second place in the running order. J.D. McDuffie, the journeyman among the series privateers, is maintaining his own cars on very little financial support. Dad goes up to battle, Buddy Baker, when the first caution finally comes out for McDuffie who would spin and hit the inside wall. At this time, the only mistake of the race happens for Dad.

It's during those pit stops under this first yellow. There's a problem for the second place car. As Errnehart appears to get some water, he's slid through his pit box. It's like Chris Jake Elder will send him back out onto the track. He'll have to try that again. The next caution comes out at lap 212 when Baker and Kale Yarborough crash, and they both had different opinions on the accident. Baker says,

Kale cut down on me. And Kale says, Baker came up on me. Bonnie Allison continues to lead here at Bristol, but here comes Earnhard. Number two Chevrolet is beside Allison's Ford and he will take the lead for the second time today. Dad's finally going to work his way back to the front by lap 255. Waltrop's going to regain the lead around lap 389 when he passes dad during a long green flag run and he's going to hold that lead up until the end of the race. So Darrell's leading and Dad's running second, and there's less than 30 laps to go. It's been a battle royal this afternoon between defending race winner Daryl Walter, rookie

Dale Earnhardt, and two-time winner Bobby Allison. Walter believes that there's a spin on the backstretch. Johnson City's Mike Potter spins around as he and J.D. McDuffie got together. That'll bring out our sixth caution flag of the afternoon here on lap 473. Both drivers, Dad and Darrell, pipped for right-side tires, and Dad's crew, beats Daryl's crew out of the pits. And the next time by, both cars pit again for left side tires. Well, what would happen there is it was such a fast track.

And you didn't have a lot of time. And depending on where you were compared to the pace car, you could get down a lap very easy. So your safety mechanism was to do two tires, come back in, get two more, just so you wouldn't do that. Walter comes to end the leader, but Earnhardt's team gets back. Tim back on to the racetrack. First, Jake Elder and crew get the rookie out in front as we get set to restart here at Bristol.

Jake Elder, the crew chief for Australon said, I knew with so little distance left to go that the key was getting out of the pits first, and I told the crew we just had to do it. 10-Live 4-8, and the southeastern 500, Earnhard is trying to pull away from Wal-Rut. Earnhardt's car flies up the racetrack. He makes contact with a guardrail, but it looks like no real damage. The number two Chevrolet and Earnhardt will. continue on as he roars down the back stretch into turn three.

As dad crosses the finish line, his left arm extended hand out the window. His crew danced and embraced in the middle of Pitt Road as other rival crew members came by with bits of congratulations. As they come off turn four and back to the stride, rookie Dale Earnhardt, earned his first Dascar Winston Cup series win. The Southeastern 500 here in Bristol International. Crew Chief, Jake Elder, sat on pit wall, slumped over in a burst of emotion. here's Doug Reichert. Oh yeah.

I mean, coming to take the checker flag, and it was this like at that point, it's like we did it, right? It was our first win. In just his 16th Cup start to date, Dellenhart had stunned the stock car racing world by taking home his first victory and the first cup win for Rod Austerlund racing.

Dad would lead 164 laps on the day and he would take home a check for $19,800 for first prize. This win will put the Austerlund team on the Winter Circle program. This is worth about $200,000 over the next two years. The win boosted Dad into fifth place in the season points championship. Now let's get back to the winning team, specifically Jake Elder. He's a 42-year-old crew chief who had just joined the team only three races ago. He's quoted as saying in the media,

I saw how the boy ran at Daytona and I was impressed. We ran our first race together at Atlanta and the boy impressed me even more. I said, hey, we're going to win some races this year with the way he can drive as long as something doesn't hit us like the boy getting hurt. You know, Darrell Waltrip is a friend of mine. We worked hard together and all that, but at the same age, I'd have to say the boy has more potential. Since joining the race team, Jake has helped the Oswald's group with finishes of 12th, 4th, and now first. Darrell Waltrip's thoughts? Dale ran good, really good.

He was the only one to beat. Dale has done something I couldn't do, when a race is a rookie, and that's good no matter what the circumstances are. Richard Petty would say, Dale did a hell of a job, ran hard all day. It didn't surprise me he won here. It's a survival deal more than a racetrack, but I don't want to take anything away from him. Kale Yarborough would say Dale has about as much potential as anybody I've ever seen come into the circuit in a long time. If he doesn't rush it, you'll make it big. On all of this praise from all these cup stars,

Dad's thoughts were, I feel like the frontrunners believe that I'm not a wild and crazy kid and that if I'm doing something wrong, they'll come and tell me. I'm new, and they've been doing this for years, but I'm trying to beat them. When I'm in the same lap, I'm going to race them. I owe my best to myself, the crew, and everyone else involved. This win is going to put a great deal of pressure on the other rookie competitors, especially Joe Milliken. A win weighed heavy on the voting for the end of year. year honor of top rookie.

Even though Milliken had consistently finished better, he almost needed a win now at some point in the season to have a shot at the award. One fan would note he's a real up-and-comer. Osterlin crew member Doug Reichard was only 18 years old when he's standing in Victory Lane at Bristol. At his feet was a torn-up pack of cigarettes. Prior to that, at the shop, you know, we always talk to the guys. It's not like I was 100 years old or anything, but I had.

smoked like any young teenager guy got to be cool so it helped too we had Winston for a sponsor so but I was smoking and I told the guys that shop I said look first race we win I'm gonna quit smoking and that is one thing to this day I can say since that day in the victory lane I tore up to cigarettes. And I've never had another cigarette since then. So right after this win, Dad's going to produce installment number two of his bi-monthly articles. So let's read that. And the title for that is Earnhardt still rides on cloud nine. By Dale Earnhardt. So the first word is, huh? Huh. Earnhardt wins Bristol Race. Now, that is something to write about. I mean, we're not out there running to lose. Our whole crew has a lot of

confidence, and I'm confident too, but I've got to be honest. I didn't think our first victory would come this early in the season. It's incredible, and I'm so pumped. It's unbelievable. I can't even sleep late anymore, and I love to sleep late. Hey, I wish I'd have known that when he was complaining about how late I slept. The other morning, I jumped out of bed, ran two miles, what? And he rode my bike, he rode his bike another mile, and then spent almost an hour on the team's court, on the tennis court, practicing his serve all before it was time for breakfast. This is BS. What a difference a wind makes.

The week before, I was on a mower, aerating my mother's lawn, sewing fescue grass seed, and spreading 150 pounds of fertilizer. I even ran her a new drain line from the washing machine. Now I'm so pumped, all I can think about is getting to Darlington for the next race. I'm serious. Winning at Bristol is something I don't even think I can describe. I just talk about it, but I still can't express myself when it comes to how it really felt.

The feeling's just there. I was in the lead during the next to last caution, and when the green flag dropped, Darrell Waltrop shot past like a bullet. Jake, the new crew chief on the Austerlund team, he gets on the radio and said, hey man, are you tired? And I said, no, I'm not tired. Are you? Then he about cracked me up.

He got back on the radio and said, listen, I'm not tired, but I'm about as nervous as anyone you'll ever know. I told him a few laps later that I was going to drive our race, just like we planned. Hey, everything was working. I wasn't about to get that close and then start changing things. I had borrowed a neck strap from Richard Petty the morning of the race because Jake was worried about me getting tired. The tracks banked very steep at Bristol and the weight of the helmet can wear your neck muscles down late in the race.

The strap was attached to my shoulder harness, but we never had to use it. I was so psyched during the last 50 laps of that race that the blisters on my hands quit hurting. it was like they almost disappeared. Right there at the end, I didn't want to think about nothing breaking. I didn't want to see no fingers from the starter telling me that there was five laps to go. I was just looking for the checkered flag. When I got the white flag, I looked in the mirror and there was nobody behind me. And I guess that's when I started feeling it.

I concentrated on that last lap like it was in the middle of the race. I might have backed off just a little bit, but I mean I had to force myself to do it. I never felt like that before. I got the checker flag, and when I got around to turn two, I just let off the gas. I started crying, and then I was laughing at the same time. I thought about a million different things. They were just flashing through my head. I was crying and laughing and doing a lot of thinking, and there's just no way to describe it.

No matter what happens, I'll always savor every inch of that last lap at Bristol. Wasn't nobody in that car but me, and I'll have that feeling forever. Now, Victory Lane was unbelievable. I thought the guys in the crew were going to get in the car with me. They worked hard and they deserved that win as much as anybody, maybe even more. Now they're really keeping me up. They want to win the pole and the race. I drove back home with Jake and we both talk about 90 miles an hour for a few minutes

and then we wouldn't say anything for a while, just glance at each other and grin, giggle and laugh like little kids. So many people helped me to get to get. started and everything. And I just don't know what to say, where to start. I can't leave anybody out. Rod Australin gave me something that no other rookie ever got, and there were a thousand other people. All the guys I beat at Bristol, they're the ones who helped this Earnhardt kid win that race. I'm just going to use one of those columns to thank everyone later, after things are back to normal. Right now, I just want to say, thanks, Daddy, we did it. That's a cool article. You know, the

first one I think he did seemed like a big old soup of thoughts, but this one was really cool, especially learning that he bars the neck brace from Richard Petty and the chat with his crew chief on the way home, and him also being pretty honest about his feelings. And what he was doing at Mamaw's house, spreading fertilizer and cleaning up early lawn for the week before the race. Just some really cool stuff. After the Bristol win, another funny thing happened. Dad would make a slight misjudgment while trying to shave and he would nick his soon-to-be trademark mustache. So he had to shave the whole thing off. Jake Elder joked that after the Bristol win, Dad was smiling so big

that the mustache was everywhere. He couldn't miss it. Another thing that's very, very cool about this Bristol win is that I had the uniform dad wore in that race. And there's a really neat story about that. I found it by accident. Somebody had given this uniform to me in a bag. and it was actually in a black trash bag,

and I put it in storage not knowing what was in it. I would discover it years later, and when I pull it out, I recognize it immediately as one of Dad's uniforms from 1979 or 1980, and when I got the uniform laid out and started comparing it to photos from Victory Lane in this Bristol race, I easily recognize that it's the exact same uniform. Oddly enough, they would take this uniform,

and at some point in the 1980 season, There's some ink marks on it as they're trying to decide the new design for the uniform in 1981. But I have that uniform and is one of my favorite, favorite pieces of memorabilia. Next time on Becoming Earnhardt, Dad basks in the glory of his first cup career victory and sets out to capitalize on the momentum his triumph has brought him. But his quest to stay on top would be challenged by the Lady in Black. A big one at Talladega And a toe-to-to-battle

With the King in front of a hometown crowd The Coming Earnhardt is a podcast series by Dirtymo Media It is written and produced by myself, Dale Earnhardt Jr. With Bobby Marcos and Mike Davis Sound Design by Ben Potts Production Assistance by Tiff Powers Michael Caldwell

Dustin Lee James Brossan, Andrew Curlin and Alex Thames This project is in partnership with NASCAR NASCAR Productions and the Motor Racing Network. For full replays of classic races,

visit the Motor Racing Network's website at mrn.com. Race broadcast audio you heard in this episode was brought to you by the Universal Racing Network, and it was made available to us by the Appalachian State Library Stockcar Racing Collection. Special thanks to David McGee, Becky Cox, Drew Bedard of Bristol Motor Speedway, Doug Rice of Performance Racing Network, Chris Swartz of Motor Racing Network,

Eli Gold, Deb Williams, Doug Reichert, Kathy Earnhardt Watkins, and Kay Earnhardt Snipes. Special thanks to Cadence 13 and Silver Tribe Media. For additional content on Becoming Earnhardt, including exclusive videos, visit Dirtymo Media's YouTube page and follow us on all major social media platforms.