NASCAR Legend Reveals $800 Secret About Dale Earnhardt Jr’s First Job, and the Intimidator Was Behind It All

The late 1990s was a time when spectators witnessed several father-son moments between the Intimidator and Dale Earnhardt Jr, and the fandom loves to go over those moments time and time again. From the countless races that Dale Jr observed his father dominate to the golden pieces of wisdom he left in his wake, Dale Jr and NASCAR fans have treasured them all.

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The Intimidator not only gave Dale Jr valuable lessons but also ensured that he had his first job with someone he trusted. In the latest episode of The Dale Jr. Download podcast, Dale Jr and two-time Talladega Superspeedway winner Donnie Allison took a walk down memory lane as they remembered how Dale Jr landed his first-ever job.

When Dale Earnhardt Jr received his first paycheck in print

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As a teenager foraging into the racing world, landing a job with the famed Alabama Gang must have been a dream come true. And Dale Earnhardt made this dream a reality for his son. Dale Sr had competed against the Alabama Gang in quite a few brutal races, and perhaps this was why the Alabama Gang was the perfect place for his son to start working.

“I still have my paycheck stubs and a printout of my first paychecks from them. Kenny (Allison) gave it to me in a frame,” said the NASCAR Hall Of Famer. His first paycheck amount? 800 dollars!

“It wasn’t much, but it was enough. It was more than I ever made,” he said further. However, the more detailed side of the story came from NASCAR veteran Donnie Allison.

“Let me tell you a little bit about that. Pat got that ready. We went down to Talladega and did the presentation. On the back straight away we gave Dale the canceled paycheck for six weeks and the total thing went with 800 or something dollars,” he reminisced. $800 dollars may not seem like a substantial amount, but Donnie doesn’t think so.

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Junior’s co-host Mike Davis chimed in, saying, “I tell you what though, that 800, I mean that’s more than what you would have had.”

How did Dale Jr land the job in the first place?

Donnie Allison revealed nothing more than the fact that Junior was an alright employee. Surprisingly, it was not Donnie Allison who had made the hire. It was his son Kenny Allison, and 7x Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt was the one pulling the strings of this hiring all along!

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“Dale Senior called Kenny and said, ‘Can you give Dale Jr a job? I can’t do nothing with him!’ Kenny said, ‘send him up,’ and that’s how he came up there,” reminisced Allison. This threw a lot of light on how Dale Jr came to work for the Allisons.

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It is clear that as a father, Dale Sr wanted his son to gain experience under the guidance of hard racers, and the Alabama Gang seemed to be a perfect fit. After all these years, watching Junior and Allison reminisce about old times was refreshing, and fans would hope Junior shares more such gems on social media.