Dale Earnhardt Jr. once traded his driver’s seat for a spotter’s headset, which ended in disaster. The NASCAR legend revealed the cringeworthy tale on his “Dale Jr. Download” podcast, detailing how a well-intentioned favor for childhood friend Brad Means spiraled into a wrecked race car.
The incident, which occurred years ago at Tri-County Motor Speedway, left Earnhardt swearing off spotting for good.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Spotter Blunder Leads to Chaotic Wreck
Earnhardt volunteered to spot for Means during a race after learning his friend lacked support. Perched atop Means’ hauler, he misjudged a critical early lap.
“We’re down in one and two. Green flag comes out. You’re starting on the outside pole, and the green flag comes out. I don’t know if y’all ran a lap or two or whatever, but going down into turn one, you were clear by about a couple of feet and I cleared you,” Earnhardt recalled.
“The guy on the inside did not want [to yield].”
That was the first and the last time Dale Jr. ever spotted a race. 😅@DaleJr | @_bradmeans pic.twitter.com/cpvOC1UxEF
— Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) May 3, 2025
The result? A three-car collision that launched one driver over Means’ hood. “He drove on down in there and took me out and the guy in front of me out,” Means said.
“I never forget him hitting me, climbing over the A-post over the windshield. I remember the drive shaft turning as he went over the top of me and took out the guy on the outside of me. It was nuts.”
“He destroyed the car. And I felt terrible about that,” Earnhardt admitted.
“We were going to kick their ass that night,” he lamented. Instead, Means’ car was destroyed, a humbling moment for the two-time Daytona 500 winner.
Earnhardt’s Spotter Stint Ends With a Lesson & a Free Hood
The mishap cost Means his car but earned him a consolation prize: a replacement hood from Earnhardt. “You gave me a free hood,” Means joked, downplaying the chaos.
For Earnhardt, the lesson stuck. “I never spotted since. I’ve been asked to spot since, and I’m not going to do it. That’s too much responsibility,” he said. “It’s a lot of pressure.”
Means, now a veteran fabricator, disagreed lightly: “It’s fun though… in the right situation.”
The friends, who met as kids at NASCAR tracks in the 1980s, laughed off the memory. Means, son of racer Jimmy Means, briefly pursued racing before shifting to fabrication. Earnhardt, meanwhile, added spotting to his list of “retired” roles alongside racing in stock cars.
As for that free hood? It’s a relic of a night when goodwill outpaced spotter skills and a reminder that even legends falter off their turf. As Means said, “You never forget certain things, right?”