Dale Earnhardt Jr’s recent NASCAR Hall of Fame induction ceremony marks the eleventh NASCAR Hall of Famer I’ve had the privilege to work with. Dale was always kind, shy, and grateful in my dealings with him. One story that sticks in my mind is when he first signed his deal with Adidas, and he needed a showcar for some ad shoots. My friend Robert Thorpe was the one to take the car to the shoot. Generally, when we’d take a car to a shoot of any sort, the car was the focus. In this case, when Dale got to learn more about Robert, he insisted he join him in some of the photos. So for a while when you’d go anywhere in the world where Adidas was sold, you’d see Robert in the ad posters with Dale. All because Dale wanted him there. A short time after the ads came out, we were informed Dale wanted to give something to Robert. Dale had a copy of the ad poster that went in the stores, signed and personalized it, framed it, and gave it to Robert. That’s a true testament to the Dale Jr. I knew. Congratulations Dale!

The ad below is just as it appeared in stores. It is not the one Dale personalized for Robert.