Earnhardt Jr. finds innovative ways to pass a rain delay
JOLIET, Ill. – Got some time to kill? Dale Earnhardt Jr. has a few recommendations for you.
During a heavy thunderstorm Thursday at Chicagoland Speedway, NASCAR’s most popular driver was asked how he would spend his time if he was stuck inside.
His answers were iTunes, a couple racing simulation web sites and YouTube.
“I go on iTunes a lot,” he said. “Does everybody remember the mini-series 'Lonesome Dove'? That just came out on DVD, they just released it, and iTunes has released it, so I downloaded that.
“I’ve got it on VHS, but the picture is horrible because it’s so old. But I watch that, because I like [characters] Augustus McCrae and Woodrow Call – those are my two heroes.”
Earnhardt Jr., an avid online racer, names dmp-racing.com and iRacing.com as his two favorite sites for simulation racing.
He races every other Monday night on dmp-racing with fellow NASCAR driver AJ Allmendinger and spotter T.J. Majors, and he does some beta testing for iRacing, which was founded in part by Roush Fenway Racing co-owner John Henry.
And then there’s YouTube, where Earnhardt Jr. said he watches “a lot of crazy videos.”
“That’s pretty fun,” he said. “You can see a couple good quotes from 'Lonesome Dove' on YouTube.”
Some people chuckled at his second "Lonesome Dove" reference, but he explained by saying, “Pretty simple. I’m simple.”
His favorite YouTube video just so happens to be one he’s in.
“The best YouTube video? The IROC race from Michigan from 1999 – ‘Closest IROC Finish’ is the name of it,” he said, referring to a classic race in which he lost to his late father by .007 second. “I love watching that.”
