I didn't think I was ever going to be a Cup driver. When I was a kid, before I started racing in the Xfinity Series, I thought that I was never going to get a chance, and then, if I did, I wasn't going to run well enough to maintain that opportunity and keep progressing.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I don't think any of us knew the dangers of repeated concussions or the fact that even when you got a concussion, the idea to go get treatment for it never entered our minds. We just didn't have - we weren't educated enough. We were really ignorant to it. I would get concussions in my early 20s racing, and it was a bit of a badge of honor.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Men Anger You

I wish Michael Schumacher would come try NASCAR. That'd be cool.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Cool Car Would

I think that any time you share a secret, you're a little nervous about people's reaction to it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Time You Us

I like to sit around the pool, listen to music, barbecue, grill, stuff like that. Just the guy next door, I guess.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Music Us UN

'Castaway' is my favorite movie, and any time I read about a castaway or a story like that, it just interests me a lot.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Time Way Us

When someone tells me they've never been to a race, I tell them that the first one they should go to is Bristol, Tennesee. The shape of the track, the energy, and excitement under the lights is similar to what you might get at a stick-and-ball game in college football or the NFL.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Men You UN

When I was a kid, one thing I counted on was rushing home from church to catch the start of the race. There's something really awesome about that routine.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Home Art Us

I would give up barbecuing for a championship.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Would Up Ship

My first concert was Chicago and Moody Blues. I was 15 years old.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Years Year T

I'm a big fan of music. I need to be listening to music most of the time during the day.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Time Music Us

I always liked 'The Last American Hero,' the one about Junior Johnson with Jeff Bridges in it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Wit Ways Way

You form pretty strong opinions about the guys you compete against. You're all very competitive; you're all very selfish. So it's easy to drum up some strong opinions in a second's notice, like, 'Argh! This guy!'

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Pet You Very

I didn't start driving race cars because of the fame or the money, but the most rewarding factor is being complimented on what you do, and your fans are always the first to do that.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

War Money Men

People get surprised when they see you out buying a DVD at Best Buy like somebody else should be doing it for you or something! They're like, 'What are you doing your grocery shopping for?' Well, 'cause I'm starving!

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Your You Yin

I want to continue to be a part of the sport, and not just as an owner in the Nascar Xfinity Series. I want to be a valuable asset to the growth of the sport and continue to help raise the bar and raise the awareness of the sport and promote the sport as much as I can.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

War Car Art

There is nothing like winning a race.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Winning Win Thing

That's one thing that frustrates me is to hear people today say I don't have passion; my heart's not in it. Man, what the hell? You can't go to 38 races in 42 weeks with your heart out of it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Art Your You

For the longest time, I was just real nervous about privacy and people prying into my personal business.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Time Business Yin

I didn't think I was ever going to be a Cup driver. When I was a kid, before I started racing in the Xfinity Series, I thought that I was never going to get a chance, and then, if I did, I wasn't going to run well enough to maintain that opportunity and keep progressing.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Chance Art Well

John Madden, I always thought, was awesome.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Ways Way Thought

There was this guy I used to work with, and he listened to Patsy Cline all the time, so I liked that after a while.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Orange is my favorite color overall.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I'm sure it's the same whether you lost your parent at 25 or 45. When they die, the responsibility to do right by them and honor them becomes more important to you, because they're not here to tell you, 'Hey man, don't be doing that,' or, 'Yeah, you're making me proud, or you're not.'

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I am proud of the Earnhardt name, but it don't stand alone. You know, it's part of the sport, with all those other historic people that have been a part of it, and you don't want people to forget the part you had in it and what you did and the contributions you made and the sacrifices you made.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I was in therapy as a child and definitely think that therapy is a very useful tool.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I get asked one question a lot: 'What celebrity encounter would render you starstruck?' The answer is simple - anyone who's ever strapped on a Redskins helmet, much less coached them to three Super Bowls.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

In my eyes, Joe Gibbs could do no wrong.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Oh yeah, I've been in therapy in and out of my whole life.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Man, I was a troubled kid. I was going to get kicked out of a Christian school and got sent to military school for a year and a half, and I didn't really have much direction until I got the opportunity to drive race cars.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

My role models weren't holding steering wheels and mashing gears on Sunday. They wore burgundy and gold with names like Art Monk and Darrell Green.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I've always wanted to win a championship so badly.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I've never wished I was anybody else.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

My habit is to get real competitive and make racing probably more work than it is enjoyable, and I put a lot of pressure on myself, and I feel like there's pressure from the outside - it's probably not real, but it's something I imagine.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I can't remember ever racing without any pressure.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Nothing will ever feel like winning a Daytona 500. I'm never going to do anything in broadcasting, probably anything in any other professional job that will feel like winning the Daytona 500.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I grew up around it. That was what my friends were listening to - some of my closest friends are big hip-hop fans.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

As a race car driver, you kind of get stereotyped into, 'Man, you like country' - or you got to say you like country. I do like a lot of country. But I'm all over the board.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Normally, on the rare chance that a celebrity comes to my property, I get real nervous.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

My grandmother was a big Elvis fan, and I am, too, because she played Elvis, and she would keep me all the time when my dad was out of town.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Some people ain't approachable, and some people are.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I hate disappointing people and letting people down.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I went from thinking, 'I wonder if I can be a broadcaster. Will anybody give me a chance? Maybe I can get a shot at it,' to thinking, 'Man, I want to do this for a long time.'

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I always make things worse than they are or create problems that aren't there. And going and doing some simple task becomes a problem. I start imagining problems that aren't there. What people are going to think, who's going to judge me and am I going to be good enough? Am I worthy?

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I've done everything I ever thought I would do. I've done more than I thought I was capable of doing.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I look at my trophies and can't believe they're mine.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Death is a weird thing.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

There's broadcasters that make me enjoy what I'm seeing because of their energy and how they explain what's happening and paint that picture.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

As a driver, it was easy to find the negative in things. But when I got out of the car, everything about the sport, my whole perception of just about everything in the sport, did a 180.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The 1979 Daytona 500 was awesome. It was almost like the first race that Ken Squier ever did. And so he was sort of introducing himself as well as the sport.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

I just didn't look at myself with a lot of confidence. I didn't think, 'Man I'm a great driver. Boy, just give me a shot.'

Dale Earnhardt Jr.