Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently shared an entertaining tale from his younger years, recounting the time he hatched a scheme involving his father’s rare business cards—an incident that promptly backfired and became a family legend. The revelation came on his Bless Your ’Hardt podcast, where the Dale Earnhardt Jr. business card story brought out laughter, nostalgia, and a glimpse into his relationship with the Earnhardt family legacy.
Well before he claimed Daytona 500 victories or became a NASCAR icon, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was a curious teenager seeking any chance to get closer to his father, Dale Earnhardt Sr. The elder Earnhardt, a formidable seven-time Cup Series champion, was known for his intensity and single-minded dedication to racing, which often led to emotional distance inside the family home. Amidst this backdrop, Junior’s inquisitiveness and desire to connect set the stage for some memorable mischief.
A Sneaky Plan Set in Motion
Reflecting on his teenage years, Dale Earnhardt Jr. recounted how he discovered a trove of his father’s vintage business cards while rummaging through the family house. This unexpected find came after he spotted a magazine featuring what was supposedly one of Dale Sr.’s first-ever business cards. Dale Jr., realizing he knew the exact location of more cards like it, took action.
“I was 16, 17 years old. So, I’m looking in this magazine, and in this magazine, it said this. It showed a business card of Dad’s, and it said, ‘This is believed to be Dale Earnhardt’s very first business card from 1976.’ And I said, ‘I know where a bunch of those are. Right out here in this little closet.’ So, I go out there and I grabbed a handful of them,”
recalled Dale Jr. (22:46 onwards) —Dale Earnhardt Jr., Former NASCAR Driver
With his father and stepmother Teresa away for the weekend, Dale Jr. packed up approximately 40 to 50 of these business cards and drove to the home of Hank Parker Jr. in Denver, North Carolina. Joined by Hank’s twin brothers, Ben and Bill, he set out to transform the memorabilia into quick spending money, envisioning a weekend filled with teenage hijinks fueled by candy and eggs.
A Weekend of Mischief and Sudden Consequences
After hatching the plan, Dale Jr. brought one of the prized business cards to a collectible shop in Kannapolis. The shop owner bought the card for a significant sum, funding the group’s spree of junk food purchases and mild vandalism, as they gleefully threw eggs and made the most of their escapade.
“So, I take this card… to a card shop in Kannapolis. And I sold it. Sold one of them for 100 bucks. And we went and bought candy and eggs and all kinds of stuff. We had a blast all weekend. And we threw some eggs,”
he added (23:57 onwards). —Dale Earnhardt Jr., Former NASCAR Driver
The aftermath of their fun arrived swiftly. Rick Boss, a long-serving employee of Dale Earnhardt Sr., happened to visit the same card shop days later. Recognizing the memorabilia, Boss quickly traced the transaction back to Dale Jr. The shop owner freely described how the business card ended up there, which led to immediate trouble for the teenage Earnhardt.
“The guy that owned the card shop that bought the card from me told him (Rick Boss) that I went there and sold it and I got big time punishment,”
Dale Jr. added. (24:56 onwards) —Dale Earnhardt Jr., Former NASCAR Driver
Although the punishment at home was severe, Dale Jr. now looks back on the misadventure with a sense of humor. He revealed he had kept some cards for himself, eventually returning a few to his father and handing others out as mementos to close friends like Rick Hendrick and Kenny Schrader. However, after the incident, locks were installed on every closet, abruptly ending any further secret raids for memorabilia.
Growing Up Earnhardt: Strict Rules and the Value of Independence
The business card caper occurred against a backdrop of strict family rules and a disciplined household. After spending his early years with his mother Brenda Jackson and his grandmother Martha Earnhardt, Dale Jr. moved in with his father and Teresa in 1981. In this environment, discipline took precedence over affection, as Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s racing career demanded his focus and left little room for traditional parenting.
Those on the outside might have assumed that the Earnhardt household meant luxury and financial ease. However, Junior made it clear that this was far from reality:
“Dad didn’t give us money. I don’t know what people think about our lives or what it must have been like. But he never was like, you know, here’s 20 bucks or here’s an allowance. We didn’t have any of that.”
(26:41 onwards) —Dale Earnhardt Jr., Former NASCAR Driver
Co-host Amy Earnhardt’s experience in her own family was similar, saying,
“I didn’t get an allowance either, but I just asked if I wanted to go do something. I didn’t start stealing s**t.”
—Amy Earnhardt, Podcast Co-host
Junior also fondly remembered how, in the absence of any allowance, he once used a makeshift tool to retrieve coins from Dale Sr.’s water jug, successfully extracting enough quarters to buy a Game Boy. The success was fleeting, since his father’s discovery of the new device quickly resulted in greater security—and more locks—throughout the house.
The Legacy of Lessons Learned
While these episodes are recounted with humor today, they reflect a formative period in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s life. Growing up divided between Brenda Jackson, his grandmother Martha Earnhardt, and his father’s strict household, Dale Jr. developed a resilient sense of independence. Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s hard-edged style—punctuated by military school for persistent misbehavior—taught Junior hard lessons about family, consequences, and resourcefulness.
The Dale Earnhardt Jr. business card story is more than a mischievous anecdote; it illuminates the unique pressures and complexities that shaped him, highlighting the tension between fame and ordinary family life. Decades later, this infamous caper stands as a symbol of both the wild creativity of youth—and the family bonds that endure through all of life’s unexpected turns.
