By: Lisa DeSpain

On August 13, 2009, I had the pleasure of representing RubbingsRacing.com at a media event in Buckhead. Arranged by Atlanta Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. met with members of the media to publicize the first night race ever in Atlanta. For a newbie reporter like me, it was the coolest thing a NASCAR fan could imagine. I felt like a country bumpkin among all those radio and television personalities. My husband was laughing at me as I stared wide-eyed at people I had only seen on local television news or listened to on the radio.

When it finally became my turn to speak with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., I couldn’t help thinking, “Oh my gosh, you’re Dale Jr.!”  I’m sure he gets that reaction a lot, so I tried very hard to be professional in my demeanor and voice. If you’ve heard the interview on the Over the Wall podcast Episode 20, you can hear the shyness in my voice, but I really was trying. I asked him about his favorite tracks, which went over pretty well. I wasn’t surprised that he likes Bristol and Daytona. His answer to the social media question, however, kind of caught me off guard, just as I think the question itself caught him off guard.

When asked about whether he has his own page on Facebook, or uses Twitter, he said he didn’t. Considering his popularity, I would have thought he would be one of the first drivers to dive head first into the possibilities that Facebook represents. His attitude toward Facebook, though, is that he doesn’t understand anything about it. He said his spotter was updating on Twitter on his behalf, what Dale Jr. is up to, and all the happenings at JR Motorsports, but he himself wasn’t into it. Dale Jr.’s assistant from JR Motorsports said that they had plans to get a Facebook page up and running very soon, but had no time table for it.

The representative from Hendrick Motorsports said that although Hendrick Motorsports has its own Facebook page, they had yet to develop one for Dale Jr. I told him he had quite a few fans on Facebook who would be excited to see his page. When I mentioned that there were many people out there online who were acting like they were him, Dale Jr. laughed and said it definitely wasn’t him and that he wasn’t into any of that stuff. Well, today Hendrick Motorsports’ Facebook page encouraged Dale Jr. fans to check out his new Facebook fan page.

Dale Jr. has a Facebook page? Well, all right, it’s about time! Could it be that my professional, expert interview made Dale Jr. aware that it was high time he joined the Facebook universe? Am I responsible for this huge leap in publicity? Is it because of me that Dale Jr. fans now have another venue to support their favorite NASCAR idol? Yep, yes, absolutely! I am thrilled to take responsibility for dragging everyone’s favorite Earnhardt into the social media world.

Of course, since RubbingsRacing.com is all about social media and Facebook, we are truly excited that Dale Jr. is now a part of it. Now, all those in the Earnhardt Nation can follow their guy, and interact with other Dale Jr. fans on Facebook. Enjoy! You’re welcome.

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