Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s Priceless JV Basketball Photo Clearly Proves He Picked the Right Sport
The NASCAR Hall of Fame came calling for Dale Earnhardt Jr. He’s a member of the 2021 class after a stellar racing career. It’s quite evident Earnhardt Jr. made the right decision when it came to picking sports, judging by the photo of his high school JV basketball team.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. headed to the NASCAR Hall of Fame
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is one of the members set to be inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame as a member of the Class of 2021. He, along with Mike Stefanik and Red Farmer, got the call. Earnhardt Jr. was thrilled with the announcement back in June and received 76 percent of the votes in his first year up for induction.
“When that list of nominees came out, I was so honored to be on that sheet,’’ Earnhardt said, according to NASCAR.com. “I couldn’t believe my name was on that sheet, to be honest with you. I know those guys and their body of work, and I was good with just being on the sheet and was going to be happy with that. It’s such a great feeling that someone feels like I made an impact on the sport. And I know my numbers, the wins, the lack of a championship, I know what my numbers are. And I feel like I was chosen based on that but also based on the impact off the race track and being an ambassador for the sport.”
Earnhardt Jr. was the winner of two Daytona 500 races and won 26 races in his Cup Series career. Junior was named NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver 15 times. He was inducted into the Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2017.
Earnhardt Jr. has always been a big football fan
It’s widely known that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a big football fan. He’s always been a fan of the Washington Redskins, the team now known as the Washington Football Team. He’s always been a big supporter of the team and has been friends with several players.
Some might even say Earnhardt Jr.’s love of the Washington Football Team is a borderline obsession. Back in 2005, Earnhardt Jr. said he used to have the score of the football game relayed to him during races. He said he needed to know how Washington was doing.
“During the race season, I’m under caution. I’m getting stats and numbers told to me over the radio during the race,” Earnhardt Jr. said in 2005, according to ESPN. “I’ve got to know. I can’t concentrate on what I’m doing if I don’t know what the Redskins are doing. My fans tell me if I lose, it ruins their week. But if the Redskins lose, it ruins my week.”
Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s JV basketball photo is priceless
When he was in high school, Dale Earnhardt Jr. wanted to play football. The problem was, he wasn’t a whole lot bigger than the football. “So, when I went to Mooresville, I was going into the ninth grade, and the dean of the school or superintendent or whatever was showing us around a week before school started,” he said, according to USA Today.
“But they were showing us around the property, and I was 4-foot-10 inches tall at the time,” he said. “I think I was (5-foot-3) when I got my driver’s license, so I was real short. And we were driving by the football field, and they were out there practicing and I said, ‘I want to play football.’ And the guy said, ‘I’m going to take you down and introduce you to the soccer coach because I don’t think you need to be playing football.'”
That story might also explain why he never went very far in basketball, either. Earnhardt Jr. once tweeted a photo of himself as a member of his high school’s JV basketball team. He looked like nothing more than a ball boy. Earnhardt Jr. found the humor in the photo, adding the caption, “I wish I was a little bit taller. I wish I was a baller.”
