Dale Earnhardt Jr. meets F1 superstar Max Verstappen at Miami GP

NASCAR team owner and former driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently attended an F1 race for the first time and met four-time champion Max Verstappen. Earnhardt Jr. and his wife Amy got an invitation for the F1 Grand Prix of Miami by Red Bull Racing and Hard Rock at Miami International Autodrome on May 04.

The JR Motorsports owner, who announced a new partnership with Hard Rock Cafe earlier this month, shared the brand's post featuring him and Verstappen in one of his latest stories on Instagram.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s story on May 5, 2025 - Source: via @dalejr on Instagram

Earnhardt Jr. also shared a picture of the track from the Hard Rock hospitality suite on May 4.

"Our first @F1 event. Thanks @HardRockBet @redbullracing," Earnhardt Jr. wrote on X.

Earnhardt Jr. was one of the most renowned drivers during his 19-year-long career, having won the Cup Series Most Popular Driver 15 times in a row. He retired from the NASCAR Cup Series in the late 2010s after collecting 26 wins.

Now, the 50-year-old owns a NASCAR Xfinity Series team and works as an analyst of the sport. His popularity has helped him in other ventures, including a vodka brand with his wife Amy. The couple, who have been married since 2016, launched High Rock Vodka in 2021 with the Tennessee-based Sugarlands Distilling Company.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares the source of his collaboration with Hard Rock

Dale Earnhardt Jr. also became a brand ambassador for Hard Rock International before he announced his new collaboration with the company. The partnership will promote Hard Rock's food, music, and culture. Earnhardt Jr. shared that the brand understands his goals and supports projects like his High Rock Vodka.

"Me and my wife Amy have High Rock Vodka, coincidentally, very similar in name. We were like, hey, you know, how can we work together? We can create some merch together, which would be a lot of fun. That's exclusive to their their merch store. We could do a vodka drink within their eateries and maybe do some other menu items," Dale Earnhardt Jr. said [via Newsweek].

"As I've made very clear in a lot of my content, I love Buffalo Buffalo chicken wings, so that was an easy way to sort of integrate things, working together and being a brand ambassador for them," he added.

As part of the partnership, Earnhardt Jr.'s favorite foods will be available at Hard Rock Cafes on race days. A new free game, Full Throttle with Dale Earnhardt Jr., will also launch on Hard Rock’s casino apps. The merchandise for the new collection will include hoodies, t-shirts, and hats, with the iconic No. 8 car. These will be available at Hard Rock Cafes and online.