Who would have ever pictured NASCAR favorite, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. competing on the racetrack against the basketball legend Charles Barkley? That’s what happens when social media gets involved. According to ESPN , Earnhardt Jr.’s name came up during one of TNT’s Gone Fishing Tweets after the Charlotte Bobcats had been eliminated from the NBA playoffs.
All it took was for Charles Barkley to mention that he wanted to meet Earnhardt Jr., and that sparked a Tweet from Dale in reply, “Heck, I wanna meet Charles!” as reported by ESPN . As one thing lead to another, it finally culminated into not only Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Charles Barkley meeting, but racing against each other. As reported by I4U News , Barkley and Earnhardt, Jr. met at the GoPro Motorplex in Mooresville, NC for a challenging, yet fun go kart race.
Now, this isn’t your run of the mill go kart track. Barkley and Earnhardt, Jr. picked GoPro Motorplex for a reason. According to GoProMotorplex.com , “The GoPro Motorplex’s.7-mile sprint track is based on the famous and historic Kartdromo Parma in Italy, which was considered one of the finest, but most challenging karting circuits in the world.” Nothing but the best for Charles and Dale.
After meeting Barkley, Yahoo Sports reported Earnhardt Jr.’s reaction. ”I was really surprised how nice a guy he was,” Earnhardt Jr. said. ”I really expected him (Barkley) to be a competitor. As a player, he was really fiery and aggressive, getting into scuffles. He (Barkley) was super nice. Really has an appreciation for our sport. Just a real nice guy to be around.”
Barkley was just as glad to finally meet Earnhardt, Jr. In fact, according to Yahoo Sports , Barkley told Earnhardt Jr. that he has been a longtime fan of the NASCAR driver, and had been trying to arrange a meeting through NASCAR Hall of Fame driver Dale Jarret.
No one will know the results of the race until it is aired on NASCAR on TNT’s Summer Series before the June 8 race at Pocono. All we know for sure is based on Dale Earnhardt’s Tweet after the race, as reported by I4U News , “Enjoyed meeting Chuck today. Very Nice Guy. Not a turrible driver either.”
Any guesses on who won the race between Charles Barkley and Dale Earnhardt, Jr.?
Photo Credit: Fox Sports FoxSports.com
