While so many of his motorsports roots are firmly rooted in North and South Carolina, 2021 NASCAR Hall of Fame stock car driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent Thursday night in Bakersfield as the latest high-profile guest to appear at the signature fundraising event by Kern County’s Hoffman Hospice, the 28th annual Voices of Inspiration.
And he quickly made friends with the entire banquet room at the Dignity Health Theatre and Convention Center by addressing the 800-pound gorilla in the room.
“I know I’m in Kevin Harvick country right now,” Earnhardt said of Bakersfield’s most successful NASCAR star driver and North High graduate.
He then used his cell phone to show that the bond between himself and Harvick is much stronger these days after some past instances where their differences caused friction on the race track.
“I texted Kevin as we were landing in Bakersfield and he replied, ‘Go to El Sombrero.'”
Earnhardt then took an interactive approach with the audience. He scanned the room with his phone to do a quick video of the crowd saying “Hello, Kevin!”
The two-time Daytona 500 winner (2004, 2014) and back-to-back 1998 and 1999 NASCAR Busch Series (now Xfinity Series) champion answered questions from ABC 23 KERO-TV morning show anchor Mike Hart for about an hour.
Topics ranged from his thoughts about growing up in a sport with arguably the best NASCAR driver as a father, Dale Earnhardt Sr., to sharing how he struggled early and had serious doubts about his future career as a race car driver and the distinct possibility of having a Plan B career fixing transmissions and changing oil in cars in a 9-to-5 job in a repair shop. He spoke about a heart-to-heart talk with his father that turned his whole attitude and approach to race car driving. Questions also centered on the importance of family and loving his life with his wife, Amy, and their two daughters, Isla and Nicole.
This night also gave Earnhardt a chance to show his respect for hospice services such as those offered by Hoffman Hospice, which is in its 30th year of operation. He spoke passionately about the importance of hospice care when both his mother, Brenda, and later, his grandmother, Martha, needed it. In particular, he shared his respect through the work and actions of a hospice nurse in the Carolinas who cared for both matriarch Earnhardt family members.
“I know there are a lot of people in this room who are very educated in this field, but I’m going to speak about it as a family member. It happened four years ago when my mom got sick. We needed hospice. It is a scary thing when you hear that because it is definitely a choice. You’ve done everything you can do. We made that decision. It’s a hard decision to make. But the individual at the hospice center near us, who was sent to us, was literally an angel on Earth,” he said.
“This lady who was there for us was dealing with tougher things than we were, but to her it was like a breeze, like it was her mission, her purpose. I can’t tell you how impressive she was. This lady just seemed to know what to do, all the time. She had a ton of experience, but it was just so amazing to see her do her job, every day, unbothered, and she was there again the next day. … Having someone there with their experience and knowledge, they know what’s coming and know how to handle everything that’s coming. It gives you so much peace of mind.”
When his grandmother became ill a few years later, Earnhardt’s family went back to the hospice center and, again, the same nurse was there to help.
“This person has seen our family in some very tough spots and she never flinched,” he said. “It was awesome. I knew before what hospice was, but I guess I didn’t know the heart that’s behind it.”
Earnhardt’s involvement in motor sports has given him personal and financial success, even though he’s experienced his share of personal tragedy with his father’s infamously deadly crash at the Daytona 500 and Dale Jr.’s own retirement at age 42 in 2017 when concussions forced him out of the NASCAR driver’s seat.
He’s gained and done so much in his later years. Now 50, Earnhardt Jr. is a champion team owner, co-owner of the zMax CARS Tour (Harvick is involved, too), a podcaster with wife Amy, a NASCAR television analyst this season with Prime and TNT, a businessman, a New York Times best-selling author, and leader of his own multimedia content network, Dirty Mo Media.
Earnhardt’s appearance at this event follows a list of sports and entertainment celebrities who’ve been past guest speakers, including former New York Yankees shortstop Derek Jeter, singer Reba McEntire, LA Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda, Dodgers broadcaster Vin Scully and former Yankees and Dodgers manager Joe Torre.
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