Episode 419 -- Dennis Roinick Remembers Young Dale Earnhardt, Rod Osterlund and Leaving NASCAR
The Scene Vault PodcastShow Notes
When Dale Earnhardt won his first NASCAR Winston Cup Series race at Bristol in 1979, Dennis Roinick wasn't watching from the grandstands. He was going over the wall to service Earnhardt's car. A year later, he was there when the young driver claimed his first Winston Cup championship.
This week, in the second and final installment of his conversation with host Rick Houston, Roinick takes us back to the early days of Dale Earnhardt's career with Rod Osterlund Racing. Long before Earnhardt became The Intimidator and a seven-time NASCAR champion, Roinick was working alongside him, helping build the foundation of one of the greatest careers in stock car racing history.
Roinick remembers what Earnhardt was like before the fame, how he helped convince Rod Osterlund to give the young driver his big opportunity, and the excitement of that first victory at Bristol. He also looks back on the team's remarkable 1980 championship season, the upheaval surrounding Osterlund's eventual sale of the operation to Jim Stacy, and his own decision to leave NASCAR.
It's a firsthand look at a pivotal chapter in NASCAR history from someone whose name might not be familiar to most fans, but who was there for some of the most important moments in Dale Earnhardt's early career.
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