Talking on the Dan Patrick Show, Dale Earnhardt Jr recalled the story of when he was fired from his father’s shop as a young kid. Before Earnhardt became the famous NASCAR champ, he worked for his dad’s dealership in North Carolina as a mechanic.
After high school, Earnhardt said he started working in his father’s dealership doing all sorts of jobs like changing oil and helping around with other things. He worked there for three to four years and even got promoted to ‘Assistant Engine Guy’. But the arrival of a new service manager changed things for him.
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Father Didn’t Come to His Rescue
Earnhardt explained on the show: “One day, we got a new service manager, and the guy was like, ‘We’re gonna stay after and we’re gonna have this meeting and I’m gonna change the service department and fix it.’ And I was like, ‘Well, I’m not staying if we can’t stay on the clock.’
“So he said, ‘Do whatever you think is right.’ So I went home because he wasn’t gonna let us stay on the clock. And so, I came back the next day and he goes, ‘Take a couple days off and see if this job matters to you.’”
Earnhardt said that he even tried to call up his dad to explain the new service manager’s actions and help sort things out, but the NASCAR legend just left the decision up to his son.
Earnhardt said, “I called Dad and said, ‘This guy’s sending me home to think about my job for a couple days and see if I’m really serious about it. I don’t want to drive all the way home and then you say ‘get your butt back to work.’ And nobody’s gonna front the bill on the gas this is gonna take, so he (father) said, ‘Actually go in there and tell the guy that you’re working or not working.’”
He added, “So I went back in there, didn’t tell him I called my dad and I said, ‘Listen, I’m gonna work or I’m not.’ And he (new service manager) said, ‘Find somebody to help you load your toolbox up. You’re outta here.’ And so, long story short, I ended up getting fired from the dealership.”
