Having won NASCAR‘s Most Popular Driver award 15 times during his racing career, Dale Earnhardt Jr. has signed more autographs than he could count. Even during his retirement days as co-owner of JR Motorsports and host of “Dale Jr. Download,” you can often find the 26-time Cup Series winner still signing autographs for fans at the racetrack.
There has always been something unique about Earnhardt Jr.’s autograph. More often than not, the son of the late seven-time Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt does not sign NASCAR memorabilia with his full name.
Instead of signing as “Dale Earnhardt Jr.,” the NASCAR Hall of Famer often signs as simply “Dale Jr.,” with rare exceptions.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Explains Why He Does Not Sign His Full Name
During the “Ask Jr.” segment of his podcast, Earnhardt Jr. was asked how his autograph evolved over the course of his racing career. The 52-year-old said when his career started, he simply did not think his entire name fit right in a signature.
“I don’t sign the name Earnhardt because it’s hard to write and I’m terrible at writing it and I don’t think it looks very good, so I shortened it to Dale Jr.,” he said.
As Earnhardt Jr.’s popularity quickly rose throughout the early 2000s, he was signing thousands of autographs. Keeping it short and writing “Dale Jr.” made things easier when so many fans wanted his signature on his merchandise.
“It was just quicker and easier for me to write Dale Jr.,” he said.
Earnhardt Jr. also recalls a period of time where things were “touchy” as he worked with Dale Earnhardt’s widow, Teresa, to gain ownership of his last name. Matters were so testy at the time that Earnhardt Jr. had the “Earnhardt” taken off of the namerail of his No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet.
However, Earnhardt Jr. ultimately settled on “Dale Jr.,” as that is how he wanted people to recognize him anyway.
“I don’t really remember all the details but I was with working with Teresa to establish the rights to my name to get ownership to the rights to my name and I think there was a window where Earnhardt was, legally, was a little touchy and so we took it off of the roof of the car. … I just went with Dale Jr. and felt like even if I did acquire the legal rights to my name, Dale Jr. is easy. That’s what I want you to call me. Dale Earnhardt Jr. is just a long name,” he said.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Will Rarely Sign His Full Name
If you get an autograph from Dale Earnhardt Jr., it will read “Dale Jr.” most of the time. However, there have been rare occasions that the former most popular driver will sign out his full name.
Earnhardt Jr. said he is often not thrilled when someone asks to sign out his entire name but has made exceptions in the past.
“People will ask me sometimes, ‘Will you put your full name on there?’ I’m like begrudgingly, honestly, if you want me to be truthful, I don’t love signing my full name but I do it every now and then when someone wants me to do it,” he said.
If you get the opportunity to meet Earnhardt Jr., chances are he will be willing to sign an autograph. Just do not expect him to sign his full name.