Nascar – Dale Earnhardt Jr in his father’s Monte Carlo

On the occasion of the movement of the Nascar in Talladega (Alabama), Dale Earnhardt Jr was given the keys to his father's Chevrolet Monte Carlo of the same name with which the seven-time champion of the discipline finished "Rookie of the year" during the 1979 season. It was with this model that he also won his first title in 1980 with the Osterlund Racing team.

Dale Earnhardt Jr was able to complete a few laps of the 4,27km long superspeedway as he competes in his final season in the Nascar Cup Series.

“My father drove this car during his rookie season, recalled Dale Earnhardt Jr on NBC. It was with this type of car that he drove in Bristol (Tennessee) and on all the short tracks and 1,5 mile ovals. They also used an Oldsmobile 442. This car is now owned by the state of Alabama. It's quite sensational to imagine driving with this at around 180 or 190 mph (290 to 305 km/h). »

Although this is not the first time that Dale Earnhardt Jr has been asked to drive a Nascar car used by his father, he has never before driven such an old machine.

“I've driven the No. 3 Goodwrench (the Chevrolet Monte-Carlo) a few times, but never something this old, with this much history. I'd love to be able to imagine what it was like back then. It's so different from our current cars. There are no headrests, for example. You can feel the wind a lot on the sides of the body. It's pretty crazy." added Dale Earnhardt Jr.

The son of the seven-time Nascar Cup Series champion could achieve a seventh success at Talladega this weekend as he has 26 victories in the premier class.