USA TODAY International Edition
Earnhardt reflects on busy life after racing
INDIANAPOLIS — Over the past two decades, Dale Earnhardt Jr. came to Indianapolis as one of the feature attractions on one of NASCAR’s grandest stages: the Brickyard 400.
This year will be no different. He returns as an icon and one of the series’ most popular personalities, even though he’s no longer behind the wheel of a Chevrolet. He is an NBC broadcaster and pace car driver, but also a first-time father, the author of a new book (”Racing to the Finish: My Story”) and a man who will shoulder much of the load to help reverse NASCAR’s recent slide.
He talked with IndyStar about how excited he is to attend next year’s Indianapolis 500, learning his new job on the fly and balancing a schedule that’s more chaotic than he ever imagined.
Q: You’ve said you’ve never been to an Indianapolis 500 and you’ve always wanted to. With your new role at NBC, do you plan to come in some some sort of official capacity and if not maybe just as a fan?
A: I think I will be going next year, and it will probably be both as a fan and probably through some responsibilities at NBC. They will want me to work a little while we’re there (laughs). Obviously, I’ll be geeking out. I’ve never been, but I obviously have a lot of appreciation for the history of the track and the history of that particular event, and I can’t wait to experience it for the first time.
Q: I understand that for the Brickyard 400 you’ll be all by yourself in Turn 3, as NBC tries a little something unique. Mike Bagley will be stationed in Turn 2, Jeff Burton near Turn 4 and Rick Allen and Steve Letarte in the normal broadcaster’s booth.
A: We did this at Watkins Glen. At it’s basically just a “radio style” broadcast. Just think of it as the booth having a baton and each analyst keeps passing it to the next guy as the cars going around the track, and you’re just reacting off of what you’re seeing and describing it the best you can. At Watkins Glen, it was amazing, because no matter what corner you were in, you were going to see excitement. Anytime they handed me the baton, I knew I’d have plenty of things to describe as the cars came through my area of the racetrack.
Indy is going to be tough. It is a big track, and the laps are long, but with it being an oval, I won’t have the content, as far as cars jumping off curbs and bouncing into each other and missing corners and sliding tires. I think it’ll be fun to see how it works at an oval. If it works well, we’ll think about other tracks we can do that at. It certainly has a different energy to it.
Q: You’re still so new to this, but are you starting to feel more comfortable in the booth? Or is it scary when NBC throws something new at you like this?
A: Every week has been a bit of a different combination and experience. I’m very intimidated by what we’re going to do this weekend. There’s no consistency or continuity. You kind of would like to have some of that so you can get into a groove. But at the same time, the different broadcast and combinations we have each week has, in a way, cut the learning curve in half and is ratcheting up how quickly I’m understanding what this job is all about. It’s kept me from maybe becoming too comfortable.
Q: Has it all been a bit of a whirlwind, even for someone who’s had the schedule you’ve had most of your life? You’re a new father. You’ve got a new job. You’ve got a new book out there. It’s a lot going on right now.
A: It is. I had no idea what my days and life would look like outside of racing. I had no clue what kind of schedule I’d have. I think I took on so many different projects out of fear of not having enough to do to keep me busy. And now I’m sitting here up to my neck in responsibilities. I put the NBC job at the top of the list. It’s the No. 1 thing I care about and what I want to work on and last for a long time. The book was cool, important and means a lot to me. But that’s got a year cycle, and it will be gone.
Being a father requires a set amount of time, and you can’t pick and choose when that is. We have dealerships in downtown Tallahassee (Florida) that we’re part of. We’re also trying to grow our restaurant business — Whiskey River, they’re called — that we’ve had for eight years. I’m on my feet all the time and going, going, going. I’d have never guessed I’d be this busy.
I think I’m genuinely more busy day to day than I was when I was racing. When I was racing, you could say to everyone, ‘Hey look, I have to focus on this race car, someone else is going to have to worry about this.’ I don’t have that excuse anymore. The phone is ringing all the time, someone needing something. I guess I’m complaining, and I shouldn’t be, because I was worried about not having enough.