NASCAR legend and NBC Sports analyst Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks with The Post’s Justin Terranova about life after driving, the aftermath of Brian France’s arrest and his Super Bowl experience. Earnhardt, battling concussion issues, retired last season as by far the most popular driver in the sport.
Q: Is this what you expected broadcasting and retirement to be like?
A: I don’t think I had any idea what to expect. I didn’t know how much work would be involved. What preparation was like; what you would be doing on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday when you are not at the track. As soon as I got the job I went to Jeff Burton and Rick Allen and said tell me what y’all are doing. … I’ve just been watching them and trying to learn whatever I can from preparation. And I definitely don’t want to be a weak link, and you want everyone to appreciate your work ethic and know that you are focused and dedicated. It’s been a lot of fun and certainly doesn’t feel like work, but it’s a busy schedule. I don’t mind traveling as much as I used to when I was younger, and aside from being away from my family, it’s been a real blast.
Q: What do you miss most and least about being a driver?
A: I miss winning the most. When every week as a broadcaster you watch a driver win a race, you cannot help but think back to what that feeling is like or the last time you felt it or the last time you won at that particular track. You crave that emotion and you crave that celebration with all the people who are a part of that team. I miss the feeling of accomplishment, because it’s so darn hard to win those races. It’s such a release when you do. The thing that I miss the least is probably the pressure to perform. Week after week, lap after lap, just feels like it’s criticized. Maybe people aren’t paying attention as much as you think they are. If they are not then you’re putting that pressure on yourself. You can’t stop, you can’t help it. Every lap you run, every time you qualify, every time you suit up to race you feel this incredible pressure to perform, and nothing is good enough. I don’t care if you run second, fifth, nothing is good enough but winning. It is a hard way to go about living, it really is. You know you can’t approach it any other way, though, if you are going to be competitive. You would feel that if you don’t take it that seriously then I am not as dedicated as the next guy. You would push yourself and pressure yourself to these ridiculous measures, and it would make you miserable. It was a miserable, miserable existence when you weren’t winning.
Q: How was it adjusting to life outside the car?
A: I put pressure on myself to be good and I take mental notes when I screwed up or felt like I made a mistake or didn’t articulate as well as I should have and that happens often, but I won’t ever feel the pressure I did as a race car driver when it comes to broadcasting, and that’s a relief. There are wins in broadcasting and there’s not champagne being sprayed and confetti flying in the air, but when we do a show and we get done and the producer or your boothmates or whoever says, ‘Hey, we just kicked some ass up there.’ When you’re sitting there hearing that, you feel pride to be a part of that. When you get the ratings it’s positive and something to be proud of, and we are all trying to steer this ship and help this sport thrive like we know it can.
Q: You were at the Super Bowl, Olympics and Stanley Cup. Did you push to cover events outside of NASCAR?
A: I didn’t know those were going to be helpful to me. Personally, I am really shy and introverted, and if it were up to me I wouldn’t have done any of those things just cause I would have been too nervous and scared to do it. But taking on this job and trying to make [executive producer] Sam Flood happy that he hired me, I was like, ‘Full steam ahead, Sam.’ They are never going to put me in a situation that I am not prepared for, so I just trusted in that. When I was going to do the Super Bowl, I was probably way over my head and I felt the same way going to South Korea for the Olympics, but I trusted in them to make sure I was ready and do things that made sense, and I felt that’s what I got. It was a chance to work off some nerves and work with some people of incredible talent: Dan Patrick, Mike Tirico and those things have just helped build my confidence. Professionally, I respond to cheerleading and confidence. I have to have confidence I can do something or I will fail because I won’t believe in myself. That’s why Steve LeTarte was so good for me because he’d make me believe the car was capable of doing something and I would go try it. Without that cheerleading in the background, I would never have that belief in it.
Q: Your name was mentioned by writers as a possible replacement for CEO Brian France following his DUI arrest and leave of absence. How is it to see your name come up like that?
A: There is no denying that it’s a great and humbling feeling to have your name mentioned, but it’s really unrealistic. Jim France, who is taking over the position while Brian stepped away, was not a symbolic move. He will do the things that need to be done. He’s been a big part of stuff behind the scenes that people don’t know about. … It was a great feeling to see my name pop in there, but I think it’s more for comic relief than anything. I don’t know if it was for comic relief, but I don’t think that’s the best choice. There are definitely people better equipped to run billion-dollar businesses that have the experience and the education to do it. I told the folks at NASCAR that whatever they need me to help, I am always on board and I will always be there in that capacity to champion the sport and grow the sport. I feel very confident in the individuals that have been positioned to carry us on. I can’t mean that any more genuinely.
Q: Ratings and attendance are down. Do you have any concern for the future of the sport?
A: I have zero concern. I know that’s probably not a lot of fun to hear. I’ve been around NASCAR forever, just about as long as I’ve been alive. I’ve seen this sport in various level of popularities. I have seen this sport with various problems, issues, losses and tragedies, and nothing has rattled my faith and optimism in the sport. In the toughest of situations — I think back to the lowest, most challenging part for me was when we were trying to make the Car of Tomorrow work — and I’ve never once thought the sport is in trouble. I know the numbers are down. I believe in cycles, and I believe we are in position to turn the corner on regaining the trust of our fans and the excitement and passion that our fans have for this sport. As soon as I got out of the car this offseason, it’s like I took off the goggles and I saw the sport in a different way. I learned exactly what the networks are trying to achieve, how they are trying to achieve it, what challenges they are up against and seeing the efforts from the industry that I never saw as a driver. It’s given me confidence and calmed any anxiety I may have had as a driver about what direction we were going and decisions we were making in terms of competition and fans. I felt like this offseason, things were going to turn a corner and we were going to see some new personalities come into the sport, and the one thing I didn’t predict — the racing has been just incredible — since we took over in Chicago, the product on the track has been great. … If we keep that up for a good while, things are going to start to progress and those numbers will improve.
Q: Did you feel like you had to stay close to the sport for its own good, given your immense popularity?
A: I try not to really connect my popularity to anything. It’s just something I have never assumed to count on. I am getting in the weeds a little bit, but I’ve been going to races since I was a little boy. I begged my dad to go to the racetrack every opportunity I could. When I got out of the car I didn’t have a job, a purpose that would require me to be at the track. That would have been the weirdest thing to just go cold turkey without the races. That would have been terrible. This opportunity with NBC has been a savior. I have a reason and a responsibility to be at the track. I have a purpose, whatever size big and small it doesn’t matter. I want to be a part of trying to grow the sport, and this is such a great position for that. If it works and I can keep everyone happy and do a good job at it, I want to be around a long, long time. It keeps me at the track and plugged in and part of it. I was a fan before I became a driver, and now I am just going back to be a fan. I had zero freaking broadcasting experience, and they’ve been so helpful knowing that I am completely useless.
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