Dale Earnhardt insider makes a clear case of what Dale Jr. would’ve “regretted” at 2001 NASCAR Awards

Following Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s untimely demise, his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. was often needed to accept awards on his father’s behalf. During a recent episode of the Dale Jr. Download, former DEI team executive Ty Norris revealed a conversation with Dale Jr. back when his father was posthumously named the Most Popular Driver in 2001.

Ty Norris is currently employed as the Chief Business Officer for Kaulig Racing. One of his early gigs was getting hired as the executive vice president of motorsport for DEI in 1996. Over the next eight years, Norris got the team 65 wins and four championships. He left the team in 2004 after an argument with Teresa Earnhardt, the then-owner of DEI, who also happens to be Dale Jr.’s stepmother.

Dale Earnhardt had won several prestigious titles like the 1979 Winston Cup Series Rookie of the Year, besides getting named one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. However, he had never won the Most Popular Driver award until 2001.

Naturally, Dale Jr. was summoned to receive the award for his father at the 2001 NASCAR Awards banquet. However, he wasn’t ready to go this time and instead, he locked himself up in his room upstairs and dozed off exhausted. It was Norris who decided to try and convince Dale Jr.

“Your dad will only win this award one time,” Norris recalled telling Dale Earnhardt Jr while speaking on Dirty Mo Media. “There is only one person in the world...in this Earth that can accept that award. It's not me, it's not anybody else. It's you. You'll later regret it if you don't get out of this bed and go downstairs and accept this award.”(00:44)

Norris’ words were enough to change Dale Jr.’s mind. About twenty minutes later, Dale Jr. arrived in a suit paired with an unshaven beard and sleepy, bloodshot eyes.

“He goes up there and he had one of the most eloquent speeches. I swear to God; it was awesome. He spoke for like three minutes about the award,” Norris further recalled. (00:57)

Notably, Dale Earnhardt Jr. himself won the Most Popular Driver award 15 times and currently holds the record for the most number of consecutive wins between 2003 and 2017. The only driver to have won the award more times than him, i.e., 16 times, is Hall of Famer Bill Elliott.

Dale Jr. tops die-cast cars list following revival of Budweiser partnership

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 8 Budweiser Chevy (via NASCAR)

Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s No. 8 Budweiser Chevy came on top of the list of the most popular die-cast models of 2024. Just recently, the iconic car hit the track after a 17-year hiatus and it is now expected to run select late-model races through 2025.

On the list were other die-cast models like the one that Chase Elliott rode to the victory lane at Texas and the one that helped Brad Keselowski snap the 110-race winless streak and emerge victorious at Darlington Raceway. But Dale Jr.’s entry was hands down the most popular among the lot.

My years with Bud were amazing," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said in an older interview (via The Express). "They taught me so much and I cannot measure the impact they had on my professional career."

Dale Earnhardt Jr. delivered 17 of his 26 career victories at the Cup level with that car. He amassed 76 top fives as its driver and led over 5,000 laps. In 2007, Dale Jr. left Dale Earnhardt Inc. and joined Hendrick Motorsports, where he won nine more races with the No. 88 before retiring in 2017.