Dale Jr. drops raw details and real images for new ‘Becoming Earnhardt’ installment

Dale Jr. has shared exclusive images from the second season of 'Becoming Earnhardt', a podcast series based on Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s 1980 Cup Series season. The first installment debuted in 2023 and covered the 1979 season across eight episodes.

Earnhardt Jr. is well known for his collection of racing memorabilia, which includes his father's race suits, gloves, and many more personal items. He has even considered putting them up for public display. One among those collectibles is a set of photos and news clippings he found in his aunt's scrapbooks, all of which capture a vivid portrayal of his father's early cup series career.

On the heels of the recently concluded Earnhardt docuseries on Prime Video, Dale Jr. has begun production for the second installment of 'Becoming Earnhardt'. On Monday, July 14, he went down memory lane and shared stills from a Grand American Series event in 1980.

"1980 Mello Yello 300. Charlotte. Pole sitter David Pearson would win. Dad started 2nd but crashed after 60 laps. Harry Gant started 3rd but had engine problems. Bobby Alison started 4th and finished 2nd in my grandfather Robert's Gee's Camaro. Continued.....," he began.

The thread also featured an image of his grandfather, Robert Gee.

"Granddaddy Robert Gee with his Camaro and Bobby Allison at the wheel."

Earnhardt Jr. concluded with an image of Earnhardt Sr.'s No. 2 Osterlund Ventura.

Dale Jr. mentioned how his father's crew chief at the time, Jake Elder, was 'annoyed' by Osterlund's participation in the feeder series, instead of focusing on the main Cup Series championship. Notably, the Mello Yello 300 would prove to be Elder's last race with the team, while Earnhardt Sr. went on to win the Cup title that year.

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Dale Jr. shares a preview of 'Becoming Earnhardt'

Dale Jr. shared a preview of what's in store for Season 2 of Becoming Earnhardt. He opened up about various highlights of the 1980 season and how it shaped his experience reliving it.

“There is a high-profile split with crew chief Jake Elder. How Jake handles that in the media is wild. Jake goes off the rails, Jake comes back on the rails. It’s just wild. Dad and Cale (Yarborough) get nippy in the media late in the year. Cale actually is real critical of Dad on the racetrack,” he said, via Dale Jr. Download. “Just watching that, kind of reliving, putting yourself in the moment, going back through that particular year, I think it’s really fun for me," he added.

The podcast series aired on June 15 and is available to listen to on Apple Podcasts. The sixth episode of the series, called 'All or Nothing', was released on Sunday, July 13. The episode covers the season finale in Los Angeles, where Earnhardt Sr. became the first driver in history to win a Cup title in their sophomore season.

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Edited by Hitesh Nigam