With his larger-than-life personality, Dale Earnhardt Sr. was a hero to many in his prime. However, most idolized the Senior for his performance numbers and his appearances on camera. Only a select few lucky ones got to know what the NASCAR legend was like off the track.
While many stand-alone stories about him have shown different sides of his complex persona, few people knew the depth of Dale Sr.
Among them was Brad Means, son of former NASCAR driver Jimmy Means. A childhood friend of Dale Earnhardt Jr., Means, spent quite some time around the Earnhardt family. In a recent episode of Dale Jr. download, he narrated yet another intriguing story about Dale Sr.
Brad Means and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Talk about Dale Sr.
Having known each other for decades, Junior and Means touched on many subjects on ‘Dale Jr. Download‘ and recalled several hilarious incidents about growing up in the NASCAR world.
Means then spoke about the early chapters of his career in racing and the challenges that came with it. He then explained the transition from being a racer to moving to the technical aspects of the sport.
After a plethora of racetrack talks, Dale Jr. finally asked, “You got any other memories of us as kids at the racetrack that we haven’t touched on?”
Means replied, “We did uh we did get in a fight one time, remember that?”
Means narrated an incident from when they were 13-year-olds, and after getting aggravated, Junior hit him on the head with a roll of paper towels.
As the two burst out laughing, Means confirmed they had resolved and made up just a few hours after their tussle. Then Means recalled helping Junior with his late model car, which he wanted to take to Martinsville.
When the two were working in the ‘Deer Head Shop’, Dale Sr. walked in and asked Means for help with a car that Kerry Earnhardt had severely damaged. After Means had worked on the car for about six hours, Senior asked, “What are you gonna charge me?” Since he was already there working with Junior and hanging out, he replied, saying it was fine.
Senior, in a sterner tone, asked him the same question again, and when Means responded with, “Nothing, Dale. I’m already here. I’m here helping. We hang out and do stuff.”
After listening to this, in his typical ‘tough guy’ demeanor, Dale Sr. said, “Boy, you tell me what you’re going to charge me or you get in your truck and you go home.”
Means finally decided on $20 a day for his services and got the green signal from the Senior to continue his work. However, he said that this opened up a new door for him. Now, he could call DEI and get direct access to Dale Sr.
“I could call DEI, ask for your dad, they’d ask, ‘who’s calling?’ and I tell them. Then he’d answer the phone.”
He further added that Senior was his hero as a kid, apart from his father. “It was like John Wayne in real life,” he said.