NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt Jr. stopped by Venice Beach recently, walked over to its historic outdoor gym, and casually benched 315 pounds like it was nothing.
Junior and Rutledge Wood took part in Sunday’s NBC pre-Super Bowl coverage. The two were in Los Angeles for Super Bowl LVI, just a week after the Busch Light Clash.
Earnhardt Jr. Lifts 315 Pounds Once!
The funny and random moment began when the 48-year-old casually walked over to the bench press. Then, the NASCAR analyst casually stretched and joked that he didn’t want to “pull a hammy.”
Then, Junior amazed many by getting down on the bench and doing one rep of 315 pounds. With two jacked weightlifters spotting him, he dropped the bar to his chest and then raised it. Other weightlifters cheered him on, chanting, “Junior! Junior!”
Dale Earnhardt Jr. let out a grunt and pushed the weight into the air. With the one rep over, he stood up. Both his face and neck looked bright red.
“Wow! Impressive!” Wood said.
You have to wonder if his wife, Amy, watched it or knew about it in advance. I mean the man can restore cars with the greatest of ease, like he did his 1948 Chevy truck recently.
Social Media Has Doubts About Junior’s Feat
Ok, so can a former NASCAR driver bench that much? During the season, racecar drivers need to be fit and endure long days of sitting while making rabbit-like moves amid 40-plus cars on the track.
Now, what about the retired Junior? He used to have Bud shipped to his North Carolina house by the truckloads. Well, he joked the weight was nearly equal to 400 cans of beer? I mean, he’d know.
When he was racing full-time, Dale Earnhardt Jr. told Men’s Journal that he lifted “some weights from time to time.” However, he said it was “just for fun more than anything, just to feel good.” The racer also ran on the treadmill, used a bike, or swam to get ready for a race.
NASCAR Twitter fans had some skepticism. They took to the NASCAR on NBC post to voice their concerns.
“Wow, he did it ONCE. Do 10 and then brag about it,” Twitter user Davidinmo responded on Twitter to the NASCAR on NBC post. “Dale jacked?” asked another.
Many fans turned their attention to the two spotters, who looked comfortable lifting the weights with their oversized arms.
“Absolutely no chance this was legit,” one person wrote.
“Yeah, those two dudes didn’t help at all … lol,” wrote another.
Clearly, the NASCAR commentator did it for fun and got a reaction from his fans. The former driver, who was NASCAR’s most popular driver for several years, did it in a lighthearted moment.
But really, how many regular NASCAR drivers could lift that crazy amount of weight like Dale Earnhardt Jr.? Maybe Bubba Wallace?
