Since May, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Charles Barkley battled it out on the race track, fans have been dying to know who was the official winner of the go-kart race. The Earnhardt Jr. vs. Charles Barkley video of the event is actually hilarious.
Barkley proved to be a good sport when told how natural Earnhardt Jr. looked in his racing uniform, yet Charles looked a bit out of sorts in his racing suit and XXL helmet.
Barkley responded with, “This is like a new outfit and it takes a while to break it in. It’s adjusting to my body.”
The challenge all started back when Barkley said he wanted to meet Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt Jr.’s reply via Twitter was, “Heck, I wanna meet Charles!”
The NASCAR fan favorite, Earnhardt Jr., and the basketball legend, Charles Barkley decided to meet rather unusual circumstances.
Earnhardt Jr. and Barkley couldn’t just shake hands and introduce themselves. No — these competitors had to take it to the limit and go toe to toe at Mooresville, North Carlolina’s GoPro Motorplex (for a bit of a challenge and a lot of fun), according to I4U News .
As reported by USA Today , the day of the race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. said someone asked him why he was up so early, and he replied, “I’ve gotta race Charles Barkley today. I didn’t think I’d ever say that.”
The track was 7/10 of a mile with eleven turns and Earnhardt Jr. laid out the rules for the race.
Barkley began alone for the first lap and he had to complete a total of four laps, while Earnhardt Jr. started after ‘Sir Charles’ finished his first lap and Dale had to race for five laps.
Once the race was completed and Earnhardt Jr. and Barkley climbed out of their go-karts, no one was allowed to reveal the winner. It was completely mum’s the word. The results could not be revealed until the race aired on TNT’s Summer Series on June 8.
If one had to guess who the winner would be, it wouldn’t take much after hearing the commentator say it looked like Barkley was moving in slow motion. Earnhardt Jr. finished his five laps ahead of Barkley’s four. Once Barkley approached the finish line, he was asked if it was intimidating racing against someone named Earnhardt, and Barkley replied, “No, it’s intimidating going around fast around curves.”
So, in all fairness, Earnhardt Jr. and Charles Barkley raced a second time. This time, Barkley pulled out all the stops, and even after a spin out and ending up in the grass, Barkley managed to win the second race, making Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Charles Barkley co-champions.
Actually, Earnhardt Jr. mentioned a rematch. Charles Barkley may want to meet Dale Earnhardt Jr. on the basketball court next time. That would thrill both Earnhardt Jr. and Barkley fans!
Photo Credit: Fox Sports FoxSports.com