Dale Earnhardt Jr., who was at the College Football Hall of Fame today to talk about his attempt to win at Talladega Superspeedway in the pivotal Oct. 25 CampingWorld.com 500, also experienced first-hand that life is full of pleasant surprises. He was on the giving end of one speechless encounter and then was the recipient who was taken back by another.
Earnhardt Jr., the most recent winner at NASCAR’s Most Competitive track, surprised life-long Dale Jr. fan, Austin Freeman, a 12-year-old from the Atlanta area who suffers from a rare form of pediatric bone cancer called Ewing’s Sarcoma. Later, the six-time Talladega winner was in disbelief when one of his childhood heroes – former Washington Redskin defensive end and 2014 College Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) inductee Dave Butz – surprisingly, tapped him on his shoulder. Both instances were first-time meetings.
“It was just an awesome, incredible day,” said Earnhardt Jr., who is one of 16 drivers currently battling it out for the 2015 Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup. “I got to meet two people who I now admire. Spending time with my new little buddy Austin was so rewarding because he is an amazing kid. Neither of us had been here before so we toured the Hall together and played interactives. It was a day I had hoped for and more. I really dig this kind of stuff.
“And, meeting Dave was unbelievable. He gave me his helmet he used the year of his retirement. Just in incredible gift for me since I am a huge Redskins fan and followed Dave in the late ‘70s and ‘80s. Can’t thank Talladega Superspeedway enough for putting this all together. I am almost speechless.”
Austin, a wonderful child from the CURE for Childhood Cancer Program, was at the CFHOF touring the facility with his family when Earnhardt Jr. suddenly appeared on The Playing Field.
“Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh,” exclaimed Austin just as he first saw Earnhardt Jr before shedding tears. “This is a dream come true for me. I literally can’t believe that Dale Jr. is sitting beside me. You have no idea what this means to me. It has touched me so. I just can’t believe it. He’s been my driver ever since I started loving NASCAR. I can’t wait to see Dale race in person at Talladega.”
After tossing the football to each other, Earnhardt Jr. asked Austin to play on his turf – a miniature Talladega race track lined off on the field. The duo then squared off on two electric “Cruzin Coolers” (cruzincooler.com) in a five-lap shootout. Sporting the Talladega Superspeedway colors on his cooler with wheels, Austin was victorious over NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver.
But, Earnhardt Jr. wasn’t done. He then challenged Austin to a remote control car race. This time, the six-time Talladega winner took the checkered flag in a photo finish and then presented Austin with the two Chevrolet cars – both specially autographed by Earnhardt Jr. As an added bonus, Earnhardt Jr. gave Austin a Hendrick Motorsports team pit crew shirt and hat (both autographed) while the Talladega Superspeedway Chairman Grant Lynch gave him and his family a VIP Day with tickets to the CampingWorld.com 500 at the biggest and baddest track on the planet on Sunday, Oct. 25.
“We’re going to put you on the pit box with (crew chief Greg Ives) when we go back to Talladega,” Earnhardt said to Austin. “You will be a part of the team. You are going to be our good luck charm, and if we win, we will have to take you to some more races.
“Talladega is a special place for me and Austin is a special person. Looking forward to seeing that pit crew shirt on him at Talladega.”
The CampingWorld.com 500 will feature 12 drivers eligible in the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup championship but will be trimmed to eight at the checkered flag. Earnhardt Jr., who won an emotional GEICO 500 at Talladega in May, is tied with teammate Jeff Gordon as the track’s active win leader with six victories, four shy of his father’s (Dale Earnhardt, Sr.) record mark of 10 wins. A win in the CampingWorld.com 500 would be his third triumph in the four “Super” Superspeedway races at Talladega and Daytona in 2015. He would join Dale Sr. (1990) and Pete Hamilton (1970) as the only two drivers in history to achieve the feat in a single season.
While Dale was having a great time fulfilling a dream for Austin, he later felt honored when he met Butz, a former Purdue graduate who would play 16 seasons (14 with Earnhardt’s heralded Redskins) in the NFL and winning two Super Bowls with Washington. The NFL’s “Ironman,” missed only four games in his career.
“I remember Dave playing in the Super Bowl against the (Miami) Dolphins (in Super Bowl XVII in 1983) and how good he was,” said Earnhardt Jr, who was like a kid in a candy store. “For him to give me this game-worn helmet is just crazy. Dave told me they sanded and painted it pretty much every week during a NFL season, and then put new decals on it. It is beaten, scratched and bruised, just awesome. I don’t want to put it down.”
Butz heard about Dale Earnhardt Jr. coming to the CFHOF and jumped at the chance to surprise the driver of the No. 88 Chevrolet.
“I have kept up some with Dale’s career,” said Butz, who played for Coach Joe Gibbs, now a prominent team owner in the NASCAR. “I thought for anyone who listens to their stats while they are driving, I have to meet this guy. We got to tell some old stories and I know he will take care of my old helmet. Was so glad to be here.”
It was a day full of surprises for three incredible people.
Will there be a surprise winner at Talladega Superspeedway in just over three weeks? Only time will tell. The CampingWorld.com 500 is part of a race weekend that will also include the fred’s 250 Powered by Coca-Cola NASCAR Camping World Truck Series (NCWTS) race. The CampingWorld.com 500 will be the sixth race in the 2015 installment of the Chase for the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the final race of the Contender Round. It gets a 1:30 p.m. CDT start on Sunday, Oct. 25.
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