Two-time Daytona 500 winner Dale Earnhardt Jr. has crossed paths with several racing stars. Still, his recent meeting with Formula One champion Max Verstappen stood out for all obvious reasons.
The Miami International Autodrome set the stage for the long-awaited first meeting between the two racing icons last weekend. Yet, despite the memorable encounter, Earnhardt, in his latest podcast, admitted that he still has one lingering regret about their interaction.
Candid Confessions – Dale Earnhardt Jr. Reveals His Only Regret After Meeting Verstappen
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his beloved wife Amy Earnhardt were recently invited to Formula One’s Miami Grand Prix because of their new partner Hard Rock Cafe’s close tie-up with Red Bull. This was the NASCAR veteran’s first-ever visit to a Formula One race.
That’s when he met his favorite racing star, the four-time Formula One racing superstar Max Verstappen. Following the event, the 50-year-old spoke about his experience of meeting the Red Bull ace during the starting segment of his popular “Dale Jr. Download” podcast.
Before rising stars like William Byron broke into the NASCAR scene through sim racing, Earnhardt advocated for its popularization and application in real-time Stock Car Racing. But he was laughed at back then. The so-called industry experts belittled iRacing/sim racing and saw it as nothing more than “video games.”
Formula 1 🤜🤛 @NASCAR #F1 || #MiamiGP 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/LSiDqNe1U4
— Oracle Red Bull Racing (@redbullracing)
However, the scene has changed now thanks to racers like Byron and Verstappen, and nobody appreciates it more than Earnhardt. But the veteran couldn’t extend his gratitude to Verstappen when they met in Miami; instead, he talked about the weather.
Speaking his mind to co-host TJ Majors, the JRM co-owner said, “I wanted to tell Max (Verstappen) that I appreciate everything you do for the sim world, he legitimized it, he’s at the top or near the top, depending on where you’re in the fanbase of the F1 world.”
He continued, “I’ve one regret from that…Maybe I wasted my opportunity of conversation on something frivolous. Something he is amazing at. I did want to tell him how much I appreciate him and what he does for sim racing.”
Earnhardt went on to share details of his actual conversation with the Dutchman, who had been following the NASCAR icon on “X” for some time now. “I got to say hey to him… I was like, ‘Man, it might rain today, you know. How do you feel about the wet?’ And he was like, ‘Uh, I’ve been running in the rain all my life even when I was a little kid… I’m all good, if it rains, it rains,” relayed the veteran to Majors with a sheepish grin, reflecting on the moment as a lost opportunity.