Earnhardt is one of the most recognizable names in the motorsport world. The Earnhardt name is basically NASCAR royalty, not that there is anything royal about NASCAR. Dale Earnhardt Sr, won the Winston Cup Series 7 times before his life ended tragically in 2001 at the Daytona 500. Dale Sr formed part of a long list or of Earnhardt race car drivers and Dale Earnhardt Jr has since kept the history going. Earnhardt Jr won 26 NASCAR Cup Series races and 24 NASCAR Xfinity Series races over the course of this career. Earnhardt Jr recently retired from racing NASCAR full time, he currently serves as a NASCAR analyst on NBC and he is also a NASCAR team owner.
Earnhardt Jr has never attended an Indy 500 race before and in a recent interview he stated just how excited he is to attend such a special race at one of the most historic tracks around the globe.
Earnhardt Jr is a familiar face at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway (IMS), he has been a feature attraction for many years at the Brickyard 400. Earnhardt Jr is set to return to the Brickyard again in 2019, but this time around it won’t be for the Brickyard 400, and he also won’t be a feature attraction either. All eyes will be focused on the track and on the 103rd running of the Indy 500.
Earnhardt plans to experience the Indy 500 from a fan’s perspective, hopefully, work doesn’t get in the way of this too much for Dale. One thing is for Sure Earnhardt Jr and hundreds of thousands of other fans will have their eyes locked onto the race track if Fernando Alonso is racing to see if he can join the record books as only the 2nd ever winner of the “triple crown” of racing. Alonso has won both the Monaco F1 Grand Prix and the 24 Hour Le Mans race, the only title he is missing to complete the triple crown is the Indy 500. Speculation around Alonso’s participation in the 103rd running of the Indy 500 has reached a peak with the recent announcement that he will not be returning to F1 in 2019. Talks about McLaren, Alonso’s F1 team, entering the IndyCar circuit have also gone back and forth and currently, there are many unanswered questions.
Earnhardt’s response as to what part he is most looking forward to was a bit of a surprise. As a NASCAR guy, the expected response will probably be high-speed crashes or last-minute passing, but Earnhardt is more fascinated about the pre-race events. In terms of pre-race events, Earnhardt is referring to driver responsibilities, driver’s meetings and the time on the grid before the start of the race. Earnhardt is just as excited about the energy from the fans, especially once the intensity levels rise the start to the race draws near.
His recent endeavor as NBC NASCAR analyst took many by surprise but Earnhardt is serious about his new gig. A guy like him could very easily retire somewhere far away from racing, but it is something that is in his blood and it will be interesting to hear more about his views and comments at the Indy 500 in 2019.
It is safe to say that the Indy 500 is one of the biggest races in the world, if a NASCAR legend is this excited about it then you should definitely also be. Earnhardt Jr will be there to see who kisses the bricks in May 2019, make sure that you are there to witness it as well.