Dale Earnhardt won two championships in a row thrice in his illustrious NASCAR career, but never three on the trot. Tony Stewart revealed why. 

There has often been a feeling and a rather hushed conversation over the dictation of races right through NASCAR history. The theory is that one driver dominating isn’t good for the show. Stewart spoke about an incident in which Earnhardt was invited to go fishing with Bill France Jr.

Speaking on the Oil and Whiskey podcast, the three-time Cup champ said, “Dale got invited to go down with Bill Jr. and fishing on the yacht out in the ocean, and he(Bill Jr.) goes ‘You’re not winning the championship next year… you’re not going to win three in a row,’ and he meant it.”

Earnhardt won for RCR in 1986 and 1987 but finished 3rd in 1988. He won two in a row again in 1990 and 1991, but finished 12th with a single win at Charlotte in 1992. When he won again in 1993 and 1994, the 1995 season saw him finish second behind Jeff Gordon. 

Stewart also revealed something about a hotline between Bill France Jr and  Dale Sr.

“Dale has such a big presence. When Bill France Jr. was still alive, Bill would have two radios. One was the NASCAR radio, and one was a radio that went to the three car. He could talk to Dale during the race. This is real. This is not bull****.”

While Earnhardt was never a favorite amongst officials, he was always close to Bill France Jr. on a more personal level. He often referred to Bill Jr. as Captain Jack. In 1998, when he finally won at Daytona, Dale Sr spoke to Bill Jr.  and said, “Captain Jack, can I tear up your football field?” He did. 

Stewart’s own tryst with Bill France Jr. 

Bill France Jr. had a common saying for most of his drivers. “Don’t stink up my show. Tony Stewart recalled his first visit to the NASCAR haller to meet France came after a race win where he had been dominating, building sizeable leads. 

Stewart recalled, “Why the h*** am I in trouble and going to the trailer? And Bill sat me down, and he goes, ‘Boy, don’t you ever stink up my show like that again.’ I’m trying to think what the h*** did I do?”

The problem he revealed, “Problem was I get to about a 3-second lead, next thing you know, they throw the caution. Then you have a bad pit stop, you get behind, I’d fight my way back to the lead and get to a 3-second lead again. We had a dominant car that day.”

Stewart also pointed out that the race had multiple cautions, and it wasn’t an isolated incident. He suggested that over time, most of the drivers understood that there was a certain line you don’t go over, even if it’s not something that is clearly mentioned in the open. 

The idea behind it all is to keep the product more entertaining and competitive. Bill France Jr. had once famously said, “I can’t tell you who’s going to win the race, but I can d*** sure tell you who isn’t.”

You can read more on the Daytona Racing Digest!

Written by

Debrup Chaudhuri

Edited by

Suyashdeep Sason