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Dale Earnhardt Jr. tells heartwarming story about the hat he wore all weekend at Daytona

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones02/20/25brianjones_93
Dale Earnhardt Jr (15)
Peter Casey-Imagn Images

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wore an Osterlund hat all weekend at Daytona and had a good reason for wearing it. On Dale Jr. Download, Earnhardt was asked where fans could get the hat and why he wore it all Daytona 500 weekend.

“Can’t get it,” Earnhardt said. “The Osterlund hat that I wore, that was intentional. I was waiting for somebody in our camp, maybe Kelly [Earnhardt Miller] or somebody to go, ‘Alright, you’ve worn it, let’s put something else on.’ Osterlund was Dad’s team that he raced with in ’79 for his first Daytona 500. Rod Osterlund gave Dad a chance in the full-time cup series. I think without that, none of this is possible.

“I wanted to wear that hat just as a reminder to me really every time I put it on or saw it to enjoy this week. Remember how Dad must have felt when he came down here and how that whole experience must have been for him and just try to make sure you don’t get too wrapped up in the machine, the industry and all the things happening.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. shares more on the Osterlund hat

“If you’re in the muck of that Daytona 500 weekend in the garage, in the grind, you kind of lose focus of where you are, what’s going on, what you’re trying to do and how cool this is. …You get down in that garage, you get competitive and you get to racing in your mind. That hat was just kind of a help for myself to keep the priorities or perspective.”

Dale Earnhardt Sr. made his Daytona 500 debut with Osterlund Racing in 1979 and finished 21st. He won his first Cup Series race with the team later in the season at Bristol and finished the year seventh in the Cup Series standings. Earnarhdt was named Rookie of the Year in 1979 and followed that up with his first Cup Series championship in 1980. He drove for Osterlund Racing until the end of the 1981 season, the same year Osterlund Racing was sold to Jim Stacy Racing.

Osterlund Racing was founded by Rod Osterlund. The team was launched in 1977, and he remained a racing owner until 1991.