Dale Earnhardt Jr’s race car graveyard features 60-80 mangled race cars; Dale Jr discusses his favorites
Ryan Blaney sat out on his own show this week. His sister was getting married. So, Blaney found a fill-in host for the podcast.
Bubba Wallace, who had a hard impact at Pocono Raceway was selected. Bubba Wallace became the host of the Glass Case of Emotion.
Wallace welcomed a phone call from Dale Earnhardt Jr during the show. The car that was mangled at Pocono Raceway will soon have a new home. It’s going to relocated to Dale Earnhardt Jr’s race car graveyard.
“I was calling in to see if Bubba would let me have that car for the graveyard,” Dale Earnhardt Jr called in to ask.
Bubba Wallace: “You know what’s funny? I have I kind of gathered my marbles and everything. I’m like, ‘This car would be awesome in the graveyard.’ ”
Dale Jr: “Did that really cross your mind?”
Bubba Wallace: “It really did.”
Dale Jr: “The funny this is… I’m getting less and less cars these days. I think the cars are getting a little more tricky. People are worried about their secrets getting out. Se we ain’t getting as many cars as we used to.”
Bubba Wallace: “You ain’t gotta worry about ours. We’re still trying to come up with them secrets.
Do drivers ever come visit their cars?
“No,” Dale Earnhardt Jr responds. “If somebody wanted to see something back there. I’d be happy to show them. I told Larson and all those guys if they wanted to bring their little boys over there and run them through on the golf cart, that’d be cool.”
“Clint lives kinda close by. The cars… We just kinda shove them out there in the woods and let the vines and weeds grow over them. They disappear in the summer time when the weeds grow up. Then they show back up in the wintertime when the leaves fall off everything.”
“It’s pretty cool. We’re at about 60 to 80 cars back there. I’m trying to get some more. We call around.”
What graveyard car is your favorite?
Juan Pablo Montoya:
hits the jet dryer in 2012
It’s possibly the oddest and most well known NASCAR crash of all time. It happened at Daytona International Speedway in February 2012.
Juan Pablo Montoya was involved in an incident and the crew was working to repair the car under caution. They sent the car back out on the track to avoid going a lap down. The plan was then to return to the pit area.
Juan Pablo Montoya never made it. Heading into turn 1, the car completely failed. A mechanical issue didn’t allow the car to turn. Instead, Montoya went up the hill and collided with a jet dryer.
The drama intensified after the impact. The damage to the jet dryer caused it to leak fuel. Jet fuel was ignited at Daytona International Speedway.
“My favorite is probably the car that crashed into the jet dryer. Yeah, I got that car. I called Chip [Ganassi] to get it. He said, ‘You can have it. As long as you don’t ever take any pictures or show it on video and show anybody you have it.’ But, I guess I’m able to talk about it.”
Michael McDowell:
2008 Texas Motor Speedway
“The other one I think I like is Michael McDowell’s car from Texas. When he was in that qualifying crash. Michael Waltrip kept that forever, in this container. Then, when Michael sold his team off and closed down his race team. He’s like, ‘Hey, you wanna come get this thing?’ ”
Michael McDowell’s rear end stepped out at 195 mph in turn 1 at Texas Motor Speedway. Ironically, this was directly after a radio call from the driver, “It’s way too tight!”
McDowell over corrected and went nose first into the outside wall. The impact was great enough to lift and turn the car in mid air. McDowell barrel rolled along the outside wall. Without the wheels, it rolled all the way to the exit of turn 4.
“It’s still got the motor in it and everything. Just like it came off the race track,” Dale Jr concludes.
Videos of both crashes can be seen below
Dale Earnhardt Jr talks about the graveyard
Michael McDowell – 2008
Texas Motor Speedway Crash
Juan Pablo Montoya – 2012
Jet Dryer Crash
More
Related: NASCAR reacts to the Bubba Wallace crash
Related: Watch the Bubba Wallace crash video here
Related: Pocono Race Results: July 29, 2018
Links
Dale Earnhardt Jr | Bubba Wallace | Juan Pablo Montoya | Michael McDowell | NASCAR
