Originally posted Wednesday, October 24, 2018 by RODNEY HO/rho@ajc.com on his AJC Radio & TV Talk blog
Recently, NBC Sports provided me 15 minutes to talk to Dale Earnhardt Jr., the popular NASCAR driver who recently retired and is now an analyst and commentator for the network. He was super nice and professional.
Here is an edited version of our conversation:
Q: When you retired last year, were you prepared for what came next?
Earnhardt: Not entirely. We didn't plan ahead. My sister is my business manager. I have a brand manager, Mike Davis. They were helping me plan. Me? I had no real idea how I would occupy my time. We were thrilled when NBC expressed interest in me broadcasting races. That checked a very big box. It's a job that keeps me pretty busy.
Q: It’s not the entire year, is it?
Earnhardt: Fox does half the year. NBC gets the rest of the season... When we’re not covering races, NBC will send me and my booth mates to other events like the Kentucky Derby and the NHL finals where we can promote NASCAR during pre-game coverage. We went to South Korea for the Olympics and the Super Bowl. Those were great experiences. I got to really know the NBC family.
Q: Who helped you write your book ["Racing to the Finish" came out October 16]?
Earnhardt: A buddy of mine Ryan McGee works at ESPN. We'd talk about stuff and he'd run home and write. We'd read through chapters and make adjustments. We were already pretty good friends but we became even better friends through this. This book chronicles the process of retiring and why I retired and what went on behind the scenes dealing with injuries like concussions.
Credit: Blaine Ohigashi
Credit: Blaine Ohigashi
Q: How is that addressed in the book?
Earnhardt: I involved Micky Collins, an expert in concussions with the Pittsburgh Steelers and Penguins. He helped me through my issues from 2012 to 2016 and get me well. He is intertwined into my book to back up some of the things I'm talking about from a medical point of view. He also wrote the forward. It was important to have him involved because it adds credibility to my story. Even if you never had a concussion, you'll know people who have. This might help you get some understanding in how to be supportive, how to have compassion. It gives you a better understanding of what a person is dealing with and the day-to-day struggles. I get people on social media who say they're glad I'm speaking out, that they've dealt with issues all their life and still have problems today. This isn't necessarily something you have to live with. Research over the past five, six years has changed treatments dramatically. If you had a concussion 20 years ago and still have symptoms today, Micky more than likely can find treatment and fix the issues.
Q: So how are you feeling now?
Earnhardt: I’m great today. The problem I dealt with was my gaze stability. That’s my eyes’ ability to fix on an object and stay on that object while moving. Riding down the road, I’d see a road sign bouncing all over the place. It was frightening. Is this something I’ll have to deal with the rest of my life? There was also stability of balance. If I couldn’t see a horizon or flat surface, I couldn’t tell what was up and fall over. Micky was able to pinpoint them and give me exercises and therapy.
Q: How did you end up on DIY of all places? [The network aired a multi-episode special where he and his wife Amy renovated a home.]
Earnhardt: We bought this house four, five years ago and were thinking this would be a great place for me to retire. But I needed to do things to keep myself relevant and grow my brand. So we said, hey, let’s talk to HGTV. Let’s film this. It was four episodes, 30 minutes apiece. People get to see me and my wife in an environment they’d never thought they’d ever see us in. It was fun.
Credit: Jonathan Ferrey
Credit: Jonathan Ferrey
Q: What's it like being a daddy for the first time? [His daughter was born in May.]
Earnhardt: It’s awesome. The best thing about it is getting up in the morning. She wakes up at 6:30 and starts talking to herself. You can hear her cooing and talking. You’ll go in and she smiles and lights up. She’s so glad to see me. That’s the best part of waking up and going in and getting her out of her crib. She’s so happy. She does something different and new every day.
Q: What's it like being a team owner? [He owns a stock car racing team.]
Earnhardt: Being a team owner is tough. You’re responsible for your employees first and foremost. You want to go to the racetrack and win championships but the first priority is to the 150, 200 employees, keeping their livelihood going. They’re depending on you. Sometimes you have to make some very difficult decisions with employees.
Q: What can NASCAR do to get more fans?
Earnhardt: Ratings have been on the decline the last couple of years. But this half of the season this year we’ve seen some ratings improvement. I think it’s due to excitement on the race track. Racing has been real good. The drivers are putting on a show every single week. The racing seems way more intense the last three, four months than I’ve seen in years. A lot of drama and crazy finishes.
Q: What does you think about future lower horsepower cup cars, with less aero?
Earnhardt: I’m good with it because basically, we’ve got to use vehicles more in line with what you can buy off the showroom floor. That was the connection to the sport... We want to encourage more manufacturers to join the sport... The drivers aren’t all that thrilled about less power but for the health of the sport and the future of the sport, it will do some big things.
Q: What do you think are the biggest changes to the sport during since you started driving?
Earnhardt: Twenty years ago, 95 percent of the drivers were born in the Southeast, the mid-Atlantic. A majority of race were east of the Mississippi. Now we run races all over the country. A majority of the newer drivers are from the West coast now. A lot fewer come from North Carolina...
Credit: Jerry Markland
Credit: Jerry Markland
Q: Rising star Chase Elliott is from Dawsonville. You've mentored him, right?
Earnhardt: He’s a good kid. He has good lineage with his dad. He has a great history in the sport. A lot of hardcore fans connect with him. He’s a nod to the past. A lot of new fans connect with him because of his youth and his style. That’s a demographic we’re lacking now.
Q: And finally, were you sad that the band Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. changed its name to just Jr. Jr. a few years ago?
Earnhardt: When I first heard about them many years ago, we got in contact with each other. I told them they can use my name and I won’t come after them. I wished them luck. They finally changed the name because they were tired of the confusion, with fans coming to concerts thinking I might be there. I still support them. It was pretty cool to have a band named after you.
Q: Did you ever see then live?
Earnhardt: Unfortunately, I never did. I should have. They were really nice.
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