As popular as Dale Earnhardt Sr. was for his achievements on the racetrack, he was equally well-known for his personality off the track. Several stories over the years from his contemporaries, junior drivers, and his family have shown shades of his larger-than-life persona.
In a recent episode of Dirty Mo Media’s “Door, Bumper, Clear” podcast, former driver Steve Park candidly chatted with Freddie Kraft, Tommy Baldwin, and Karsyn Elledge. On the show, Park opened up about his beginnings in the sport and a hilarious instance with Earnhardt that had everyone at the table cracking up.
Steve Park’s Hilarious Incident With Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Park started the show by recalling the old days of NASCAR, where initial contract deals were often handshake deals that were verbal or were sometimes penned on napkins. Adding to it, Kraft prompted him to narrate the story of how he came to drive for Earnhardt’s team, DEI (Dale Earnhardt, Inc.), in the NASCAR Xfinity Series.
Before joining DEI in 1996, Park was already making a name for himself in the Xfinity Series. Popular in the Northeast region, he wanted to make his leap down South. While he was getting calls from several big teams in NASCAR at the time, he was weighing out his options before saying the final word.
While Park was in the process of choosing a new team, one of the team owners in the sport had made Earnhardt aware of a “kid from New Hampshire.” A few weeks later, Park suddenly had a polite message on his answering machine that said:
“Steve Park, this is Dale Earnhardt. You need to give me a call, I want to talk to you.”
Park had only seen Senior on TV till then, and he was under the impression that the NASCAR legend was “not that nice.” This led him to assume that it was perhaps a prank played by someone who knew him, so he didn’t call back.
A week later, Park had another message from Earnhardt, which was a tad more aggressive. When he played the message to his mother, she confirmed that it was indeed Senior and that he should return his call. When he actually called back, one of the executives at DEI informed Park that they would send an airplane to Hartford, Conn., to pick him up and fly him to Richmond, Va.
When Park narrated the incident to his then spotter Randy Smith, he laughed and replied, “He ain’t coming. He ain’t sending you no plane or nothing.” Despite this, he convinced Smith to give him a ride to the airport the next day. After waiting for 20 minutes, when the plane arrived, the two were in shock.
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Park said shortly after he boarded the flight, he and Smith waved at each other like little kids who were never going to see each other again.
When he arrived at Richmond, Park said, “The door opens up, and he comes in like Elvis, and he’s like, ‘Park, come on, let’s go!'”
When Park sat with Earnhardt at the back of his plane, the young racer was tensed about pitching himself to him. However, Earnhardt began the conversation by asking him, “So tell me about how you grew up. What did your dad do? What did your mom do?”
After the two spoke about Park’s personal life, he asked Earnhardt, “Do you wanna know a little bit about my racing career?” To which he replied, “No, I know all about your racing career, I want to know more about you personally.”
Park said Earnhardt wanted to know more about him as a person before signing him as a driver for DEI. He eventually signed with DEI in 1996 and drove for them for about seven years in the Xfinity and Cup Series.
NASCAR has gone gay , why do you think Stewart left, look at his women
Thats a true story…Steve thought it was Mike H.from Bradys modified team. He also hung up on Sr on a phone call because he thought it was Mike. I was told this back as the deal was being put together.
That’s Dale Earnhardt.
NOT Dale Earnhardt Sr.
There is a difference.
Awfully deceiving headline but that’s the internet these days.
Nobody like Earnhardt! Never will be!