Dale "Entrepreneur" Jr.

January 18, 2008

By Rebecca Gladden

Rebecca Gladden

For years now, people have called him Little "E" - a designation that began simply as a way to distinguish him from the famous father whose name he shares.

But when it comes to Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s life today, that "E" has grown to represent something more than just his surname.

For the 33-year-old racing superstar, E is for Entrepreneur.

Hardly a day goes by that we don't read or hear something newsworthy about one of Earnhardt Jr.'s many Eclectic business interests.

First, there's Dale Junior's new candy bar, now hitting markets nationwide. The "Big Mo'," as it's called, is being marketed as more than just a tasty confection consisting of chocolate, peanut butter and caramel. According to the Big Mo' website: "Big Mo' is racing. The way you need it like oxygen, because it's in your DNA and if you're not around it, you can't keep going. Big Mo' is your buddies. Hanging out 'til all hours of the night crackin' jokes, playing pool and just kicking back and having a good time like you always do. Big Mo' is being true to yourself. When you get right down to it, that's the only thing that matters - doing what you love because you love it and not needing any other reason."

Kind of a lot to expect from a candy bar, isn't it?

Then there's Whisky River, Earnhardt Jr.'s new upscale nightclub currently under construction in Charlotte, North Carolina - not to be confused with the Whiskey River Saloon that Junior built as part of the fantasy western town in his backyard. Whiskey River (the nightclub) is going up in uptown Charlotte across the street from the arena where the NBA Charlotte Bobcats play. It's expected to offer food and drinks, live music, a mechanical bull, and multiple TVs along with other bar-type amenities.

Earnhardt Jr. also owns JR Motorsports, a company that fields a number of late model, USAR Hooters Pro Cup, and NASCAR Nationwide Series race teams. When Junior started the company in 1999, he had one employee. Last year, JR Motorsports moved to a brand-new 66,000 square foot facility in Mooresville, NC, that includes a retail store selling all kinds of JRM merchandise.

But don't worry if you can't make it to the JR Motorsports retail store in person. You can always check out Dale Junior's official online store, JR Nation, where you can find everything from branded apparel and diecast cars to t-shirts depicting Earnhardt's newly restored muscle car - a bright orange Chevy Camaro nicknamed the ERacer.

The JR Nation online store also offers DVDs of Earnhardt Jr.'s "Back in the Day" TV show, a program created, executive produced and hosted by Junior which aired on the SPEED channel. The production company behind Back in the Day is Hammerhead Entertainment, a full service production firm located in Mooresville co-owned by (you guessed it) Dale Earnhardt Jr. Hammerhead also produces Earnhardt's XM satellite radio show, Dale Jr. Unrestricted.

In addition, the online store features logo merchandise for Infield Parking, an internet social networking site that Earnhardt Jr. launched last year as a kind of MySpace for NASCAR fans. Junior is the co-founder and president of Infield Parking and has his own Infield Parking website where you can find his latest blog entries, along with those of Tony Stewart, Kasey Kahne, Jimmie Johnson, and a number of other top drivers. The site is free and allows members to create a personal profile and blog and to post photos, videos, podcasts and video clips, along with other popular internet features.

Earnhardt Jr. has also ventured into the world of racetrack ownership, becoming co-owner of the Paducah International Raceway in Kentucky in 2005. Beyond that, he is part of the investment group behind "Alabama Motorsports Park, A Dale Earnhardt Jr. Speedway," which is currently under construction in Mobile County. The combination racing facility and theme park plans to open in 2009-10 and will reportedly provide an oval race track, a road course, a karting track, RV parking, a music hall, a fishing lake, a water park, restaurants, hotels and lodging, and various boutiques and retails shops, along with space for a shopping center, big-box retail store, and office and commercial space.

Oh, and let's not forget Earnhardt Jr.'s racing career and Everything that it Entails.

On second thought, I've decided that E is for all the Energy it must take to be Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Amp Energy Drink, anyone?

You can contact Rebecca at.. Insider Racing News



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The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.

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