Episodes
Who is the best trash talker in NASCAR today? That’s a question Dale Jr. asked on The Dale Jr. Download this week. Well, we’re taking it one step further. We wonder if today’s NASCAR drivers can even hold a candle to the previous generations of smack-talkers – guys like Tony Stewart, Darrell Waltrip, Donnie Allison, Cale Yarborough – the list goes on and on. We’ve got the perfect people to debate this topic in studio – the driver of the No. 77 Spire Motorsports Chevrolet in the NASCAR Cup...
Published 05/02/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down with Chocolate Myers and Kirk Shelmerdine, both of whom were members of Dale Earnhardt’s legendary pit crew ‘The Flying Aces,’ to swap stories and discuss the current state of NASCAR. The group reflects on the early years working on Dale Earnhardt’s team. They share stories of Chocolate’s persona on the team, the time the pit crew saved a stranded #3 car stuck on the race track, and why you had to let Dale Earnhardt win in a game of cards.  The group then...
Published 05/01/24
Published 05/01/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. checks in to the Bojangles Studio for this week’s episode of Dirty Air. In a weekend that saw a near-rookie upset in the Xfinity race, aero blocking and Denny Hamlin’s return to Victory Lane in the Cup race, there was a lot to unpack: Carson Kvapil continues to impress The next generation of young talent is exciting  Best trash-talking drivers Should NASCAR take the digital rear-view mirrors out of the NextGen car? What is next in the NASCAR charter...
Published 04/30/24
On this week's DJD Reloaded, Carla Gebhart is joined by T.J. Majors, Brad Keselowski's spotter and co-host of DBC, to talk all about the art of blocking. We call up Michael McDowell to get his thoughts on how the final lap at Talladega played out and what, if anything, he could have done differently to hang on and secure the win. Plus, Jamie McMurray calls in and shares his perspective on McDowell's move and which drivers are the best drafting-track blockers in NASCAR today. To learn more...
Published 04/25/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down with a driver from NASCAR’s past, Tennessee’s own Casey Atwood. After rapidly making a name for himself in the late model stock division at Nashville Fairgrounds, Atwood made a big splash in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, becoming one of the youngest winners in history. Casey explains that while his family grew up watching racing, he would become the first driver in his lineage after convincing his father to buy him a go-kart. The father-son team would start out at...
Published 04/24/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to the Bojangles Studio after a thrilling Talladega Cup race for a new edition of Dirty Air. From scoring pylons to saving fuel, there was a lot to unpack in this episode: A new “grumpy old man” moment What does Dale think about the scoring pylons? How can NASCAR solve the fuel-saving dilemma on drafting tracks? Shorter races vs. more stages: “don’t take chips out of my bag!” Michael McDowell makes one block too many  Race winner Tyler Reddick calls into the...
Published 04/23/24
Carla Gebhart and Andrew Kurland are joined by NASCAR's SVP of Competition, Elton Sawyer, to pull back the curtain on practice time at NASCAR’s highest levels. The hot topic started several weeks ago with comments from Brad Keselowski. It caught new momentum this week after Jimmie Johnson wrecked at Texas. Is less practice a good thing or a bad thing for today’s racing product? What do drivers like? Owners? Fans? Dale Jr. went on a self-admitted tangent this week on the Download saying we...
Published 04/18/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down with Hendrick Motorsports mechanic Marlin Yoder to discuss his departure from the Amish community and his one-in-a-million journey to becoming a NASCAR Cup Series championship-winning crew member. The conversation begins with Yoder’s perspective of living in a strict Amish community and his first time discovering NASCAR via the radio he smuggled into his bedroom. He relives the dramatic moments of leaving his family and community behind to chase a dream in an...
Published 04/17/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. returns to the Bojangles Studio after a chaotic NASCAR Cup race at Texas Motor Speedway for another edition of Dirty Air. Not only did NASCAR put on a weekend of excitement in the Longhorn State, but Dale Jr. was behind the wheel himself: Dale Jr. recaps his CARS Tour race at New River Texas is back! Just give it some time… Who was wrong, Chastain or Byron?  We’re talking ‘bout practice! NASCAR Cup drivers are elite, so do they need it? Race winner Chase Elliott calls...
Published 04/17/24
When talking about the big business of Cup charters this week on the Download, Dale Jr. said something that struck us. He wondered how realistic it is in today’s NASCAR to be an open, unchartered team and financially be able to break even. Today on Reloaded we will ask the question - how do independent, non-chartered Cup teams make it (both financially and competitively) in today’s NASCAR? Host Carla Gebhart is joined by Jordan Bianchi from Dirty Mo Media’s The Teardown podcast to ask that...
Published 04/11/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down with NASCAR royalty as Richard and Kyle Petty join this week’s episode of the Download. As part of the Petty Family’s 75 Years in Racing anniversary celebration, the guys wanted to stop by the studio and share some chapters of their legacy in the sport. The conversation starts with family patriarch Lee, who was entered in the very first NASCAR Cup race held on June 19th, 1949. The family operation steadily grew through the 1950s, with Lee amassing scores of...
Published 04/10/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is back in the Bojangles Studio for another edition of Dirty Air. After another frustrating short track race for the NASCAR NextGen car, there was a lot to get into: Denny Hamlin/Marcus Smith Twitter beef Martinsville Cup winner William Byron calls in The sense of urgency to fix the short track package is FINALLY here Sammy Smith tries out Cherry Lemon SunDrop Dale’s advice for JRM driver Sam Mayer During the Ask Jr. portion of the show, listeners wanted to know...
Published 04/09/24
A driver's first NASCAR start: how important is it? Mark Martin, Michael Waltrip, Austin Cindric & Kelley Earnhardt Miller weigh in. You always remember your first. Most of the time when you hear that phrase in NASCAR, it's referring to a driver's first win. But what about the first start? On this week's Dale Jr. Download, Dale sat down with Bubba Pollard to rehash Bubba's first NASCAR national series start last weekend at Richmond. This got us thinking - how important is the first...
Published 04/04/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down with short track racing legend Bubba Pollard to discuss his impressive NASCAR Xfinity Series debut at Richmond. A longtime competitor in the super late model ranks, Pollard first worked with Dale and JR Motorsports in 2019 when he drove a late model stock entry in the ValleyStar 300 event at Martinsville. Pollard’s Xfinity debut on Saturday in the No. 88 JRM entry completed a lifelong dream of the Georgia driver. He explains that despite his great success on the...
Published 04/03/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is back from Easter vacation to recap the weekend happenings on another edition of Dirty Air and his wife, Amy, drops in. There was a lot to react to, from rain-tire strategy to jumped starts to Easter festivities: Starting the Richmond Cup race on rain tires was a long time coming Race strategies spoiled by untimely caution Richmond’s second race may be on the chopping block  Race winner Denny Hamlin calls in Dale reacts to the Richmond restart Amy stops by to talk...
Published 04/02/24
On DJD Reloaded, we're debating the role of pit crew members during an altercation between drivers. Leave it to the drivers only? Get in there and scrap? Diffuse the situation? Carla Gebhart is joined by Andrew Kurland and Jim Pohlman, crew chief of the No. 7 JR Motorsports Chevy of Justin Allgaier. Also, NASCAR Xfinity Series driver Parker Kligerman calls in to talk about his recent run-in with Sage Karam at COTA, and bury the hatchet with Pohlman over past incidents. Plus, we go all in on...
Published 03/28/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down with longtime NASCAR competitor Bobby Hillin Jr. to chat about his journey to becoming one of the youngest winners in Cup history. After growing up in the oil industry of Texas through his family, Bobby was exposed to auto racing when his father purchased a sprint car and began competing with legendary drivers Jan Opperman and Bubby Jones behind the wheel. Bobby would find his way into racing through the mini stock division at his local Odessa Speedway. He would...
Published 03/27/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is back in the Bojangles Studio for another edition of Dirty Air. All three of NASCAR’s top series were in Austin, Texas this past weekend to compete at the Circuit of the Americas, and there was a lot to unpack: Roaming scooter gangs Connor Zilisch’s eventful NASCAR debut What caused Marco Andretti’s rear end failure?  Austin Hill vs. SVG What NASCAR milestones are tweet-worthy?  Cup race winner William Byron calls in It’s time to bring the curbing back at COTA We...
Published 03/26/24
What makes a short track great? Former DJD producer, Matthew Dillner, and DBC's Freddie Kraft square off in a spirited debate on all things short track. Our anonymous driver poll gives insights on what drivers want in a short track race and we listen to the best Dale Calls of the week. Ryan Preece calls in to share his thoughts and dishes on the most overrated short track in America. Check out and subscribe to the Dirty Mo YouTube channel. To learn more about listener data and our privacy...
Published 03/21/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is joined by Chase Elliott to unveil Elliott’s upcoming No. 9 throwback paint scheme and chat about the NextGen car and his return from injury last year. After surprising Dale with a tribute to his 2014 Daytona 500 winning car, the guys discussed Sunday’s chaotic Cup race at Bristol and Chase's impressions on the NextGen car in general. Chase reveals that after getting off to a good start in 2022, he feels like his performance has fallen off due to his traditional driving...
Published 03/20/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. reacts to Sunday’s wild NASCAR Cup race at Bristol on this edition of Dirty Air. The racing world is abuzz after the stunning 500-lap event, which saw teams and drivers scrambling to get ahead of the tire wear situation: A step in the right direction for short tracks? Race winner Denny Hamlin calls in How will Goodyear react to the race? A little more practice could help avoid a crisis  Asphalt vs. concrete  During the Ask Jr. portion of the episode, listeners wanted...
Published 03/19/24
Carla & Andrew are joined by guest Regan Smith to break down the best revenge moments in NASCAR. We dig up new dirt on Dale's old run-in with Jason Keller, who joins the show to speak on the incident for the first time. Plus, we hear this week's best Dale Calls and try to guess which driver Dale says wrecked him during the playoffs. To learn more about listener data and our privacy practices visit: https://www.audacyinc.com/privacy-policy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit...
Published 03/14/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. reconnects with a figure from his past when he sits down with Team Penske NASCAR team manager Jefferson Hodges. After growing up admiring his Uncle Dale Lemonds’ racing career, Jefferson found his way into the racing world through Rick Townsend’s late model stock outfit in the Richmond, Virginia area. From there, he’d make his way onto the NASCAR Cup scene thanks to Tommy Baldwin, who was working for Junie Donlavey Racing at the time. When the Donlavey team began to slow,...
Published 03/13/24
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is back from vacation and ready to get back into things on a new edition of Dirty Air. This episode features Kyle Larson, C. Bell, Connor Zilisch and Dale’s reactions to the NASCAR weekend in Phoenix, plus: Changing a flat tire on vacation Watching the Xfinity race with Isla Phoenix is Phoenix Larson’s make-up call Christopher Bell chats about his win Connor Zilisch talks about piloting the JRM No. 88 car During the Ask Jr. segment of the episode, listeners wrote in...
Published 03/12/24