Becoming Earnhardt Vol. 9 - The Dust Settles On 1979
About this episode
A roundtable look at Dale Earnhardt’s 1979 rookie season “dust settling,” anchored by family scrapbooks and crew memories. The guests—Kathy and Kay (who built the scrapbooks) and 1979 crew member Doug Riker—revisit how Earnhardt earned veteran respect, the push-pull with crew chief Jake Elder, and the Bristol win details (including Victor Lane tech and Riker’s cigarette-quit vow). They also cover the Pocono crash injuries beyond broken collarbones, relief-driver strategy, and the importance of rookie-of-the-year points. The episode closes with teasers for 1980 and behind-the-scenes stories about key figures like Rod Osterlund and Jake Elder.
The dust has settled on the greatest NASCAR Cup season in history, and it’s time to recap all that we’ve learned about 1979. Dale Earnhardt Jr. invites some of the guests from BECOMING EARNHARDT for a roundtable discussion to recount all that we’ve learned and conclude some of our favorite characters ’ stories. Dale’s aunts, Cathy Watkins and Kaye Snipes, as well as Osterlund Racing crew member Doug Richert, return as first-hand character witnesses who helped bring the story of 1979 to life.
The chat once again sets the dial back to the beginning of 1979 and views Dale Earnhardt through the eyes of his family, as he’s getting ready to embark on the biggest opportunity in his young racing career. It also dissects complicated characters like Jake Elder and the team dynamic at Osterlund Racing. They dive into the significance of the NASCAR Cup Rookie of the Year in 1979 and just how close things got in the race between Dale and Joe Millikan. Finally, some new details are revealed about the severity of Dale’s injury at Pocono and his lengthy hospital stay and time out of the driver’s seat.
FanDuel: Must be 21+ and present in select states (for Kansas, in affiliation with Kansas Star Casino) or 18+ and present in D.C. First online real money wager only. $5 first deposit required. Bonus issued as nonwithdrawable bonus bets, which expire 7 days after receipt. Restrictions apply. See terms at sportsbook.fanduel.com. Gambling Problem? Call 1-800-GAMBLER or visit FanDuel.com/RG. Call 1-888-789-7777 or visit ccpg.org/chat in Connecticut, or visit mdgamblinghelp.org in Maryland. Hope is here. Visit GamblingHelpLineMA.org or call (800) 327-5050 for 24/7 support in Massachusetts or call 1-877-8HOPE-NY or text HOPENY in New York.
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Jeep Wrangler
"...that's the car Dale was driving at the time, the Wrangler car. And each week, you know, articles would be ..."
Buick Grand National
"...u watching it in the in the Westacup scene or the Grand National scene? Are you looking at the score?"
Request an Explanation
Heard something you'd like explained? We'll add it to this episode.
Sign in to request explanations for terms you heard.
Want to learn more?
Browse our glossary for plain-English explanations of automotive terms, jargon, and concepts.
Help improve this episode
See something that's not quite right? Our annotations are AI-generated and can sometimes miss the mark. Click the flag icon on any annotation to suggest a correction.