The Dale Jr. Download

Dale Earnhardt and Cale Yarborough surely won’t be exchanging Christmas cards in 1980. The three-time champion has had quite enough of the overzealous sophomore from Kannapolis, but as the season comes to a close, he continues to stand in the way of crown number four for Cale and the Junior Johnson team. Dale and the Osterlund team are going to have a difficult day in Atlanta, and his late race effort to gain his lap back will bring his rivalry with Cale to its absolute breaking point. The two exchange blows in the media, and the points margin stands at 29 as they head to Ontario, California for the season finale. Before making the trip out west, Dale is going to ink a sponsorship deal that he will become synonymous with for most of the 1980s: Wrangler Jeans. With a major brand behind him and his future secured in a five-year deal with Osterlund, the sophomore needs to go into the last race of the season and perform. Wouldn't you know it, Dale and Cale lock up the front row for the race at Ontario, and the dash for the 1980 championship is on. Will it be four-time championship glory for Cale, or can Dale Earnhardt become the first driver in NASCAR history to win a championship in his sophomore season after being crowned Rookie of the Year?FanDuel: Must be 21+ and present in select states (for Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino) or 18+ and present in D.C. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets, which expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Dale Earnhardt has been leading the NASCAR Cup season points for most of 1980, but it hasn’t been smooth sailing. In fact, stock car legends Richard Petty, Bobby Allison, and Cale Yarborough have all been within striking distance at one point or another, but attrition has kept the field even. Engine failures, crashes, injuries, and team disharmony have plagued everyone in the Cup garage, and it appears the 1980 crown will come down to whoever can manage the chaos best. And thanks to Jake Elder’s untimely departure, Dale has to depend on a young, inexperienced, newly promoted Doug Richert to help keep things on track.As the season wages on, the championship contest really comes down to two: Dale and Cale. The two can’t stop finding each other on track, and things are getting tense. This will be Dale’s first real taste at a Cup series rivalry, and neither driver is willing to back down. Dale is going to again pick up back-to-back wins, including a triumphant hometown victory in Charlotte, but a disastrous showing in Rockingham allows Cale to close in as the season winds to a close.FanDuel: Must be 21+ and present in select states (for Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino) or 18+ and present in D.C. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets, which expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Imagine being a sophomore, leading the NASCAR points with Richard Petty, Darrell Waltrip and Cale Yarborough breathing down your neck. That was Dale Earnhardt’s reality in May of 1980. He and the Osterlund Team are fresh off back-to-back wins in hot pursuit of more trophies, but the competition is heating up. The young outfit gets a lesson in stock car excellence from Buddy Baker and Waddell Wilson, as Dale has a rematch with the Gray Ghost at Talladega. After a quiet race at Nashville and an engine failure at Dover, things begin boiling over in the 2-car’s garage.As the Cup Series returns home for World 600 weekend, there was a tension you could cut with a knife between team management and legendary crew chief Jake Elder. The decision is made to turn their focus away from their Cup program to run the Mello Yello 300 Late Model Sportsman race, and Jake declares he’s had enough. To make matters worse, the weekend proves disastrous when a cut tire dashes Dale’s hopes of a hometown victory and slashes his points lead in half. The next day, Dale and the Osterlund team get a harsh reminder of why they call Jake Elder: “Suitcase”.FanDuel: Must be 21+ and present in select states (for Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino) or 18+ and present in D.C. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets, which expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

It’s February of 1980, and Dale Earnhardt is hungry to return to victory lane. The Osterlund-2 car hasn't brought home a win since David Pearson filled in for Dale at the Southern 500 the previous year. Plus, with a new contract and sponsorship comes expectations, so needless to say, he’s eager to hold up his end of the bargain. Thankfully, he won’t have to wait long, as he overcomes adversity at Atlanta for his first speedway win and follows it up with a repeat at Bristol. He quickly goes from a potential flash-in-the-pan, one-time winner to etching his name into the NASCAR history books.But racing is a humbling sport, and his jubilation won’t last long. More engine problems and a lack of speed would relegate him back to the middle of the pack, and that pressure to perform would build up again. Unfortunately, this time, the pressure pushes Dale to make a blunderous mistake on the opening lap of the spring Martinsville event, and he has a run-in with a fella you never want to cross: King Richard Petty.FanDuel: Must be 21+ and present in select states (for Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino) or 18+ and present in D.C. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets which expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

With the scene set, it’s off to the races in 1980. The NASCAR Cup Series heads out to Riverside, California, to begin the season, and sophomore Dale Earnhardt is hoping to improve his road course performance. He will, in fact, finish runner-up to Darrell Waltrip, who, after a narrow loss in the 1979 points race, is regarded as a championship favorite for this year. Dale caps his successful West Coast trip off with a new season sponsor and a contract extension with Rod Osterlund, and he’s understandably feeling at the top of his game.He rolls that confidence into Daytona Beach, where he shows his first glimpses of supernatural ability on the superspeedway high banks. He makes a last lap pass on the outside of Darrell Waltrip to pick up his first victory at the track, the Busch Clash. But when all the marbles are on the line in the Daytona 500, he has to go toe to toe with Buddy Baker and the fastest stock car in the country: Waddell Wilson’s Gray Ghost.This episode of Becoming Earnhardt is brought to you by Bass Pro Shops. North America’s premier outdoor and conservation company. Plan your next adventure at a Bass Pro Shops near you, or online at BassPro.com. This project is in partnership with MRN, the Motor Racing Network, and the Appalachian State University Stock Car Collection.FanDuel: Must be 21+ and present in select states (for Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino) or 18+ and present in D.C. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets which expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York. Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.