Dale Earnhardt Jr. took on former NBA star Charles Barkley in a go-kart race Friday. Unfortunately, fans are going to have to wait until June 8 to find out who crossed the finish line first.
The showdown between the legendary race car driver and Barkley will be televised on TNT’s Summer Series before the June 8 NASCAR race at Pocono.
“I was really surprised how nice a guy he was,” Earnhardt said about the interaction with the former basketball pro. “I really expected him to be a competitor. As a player, he was really fiery and aggressive, getting into scuffles. He was super nice. Really has an appreciation for our sport. Just a real nice guy to be around.”
Neither driver let on who came out the winner, but they shared about the experience on Twitter.
“@debrodger11: @DaleJr why are you up so early?”
I gotta go race Charles Barkley today. (Things you never thought you'd say)
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) May 16, 2014
Enjoyed meeting Chuck today. Very nice guy. Not a turrible driver either. pic.twitter.com/Wx0gAOUcx7
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) May 16, 2014
Fun morning shooting a piece for @NASCAR_TNT with Charles Barkley and @DaleJr. Will air during Pocono pre-race. pic.twitter.com/lFiesn4E4R
— Laura S. (@Hendrick88Team) May 16, 2014
Charles Barkley and Dale Earnhardt Jr. went head to head…on go-karts. No, it really happened http://t.co/6ieF98HsPa pic.twitter.com/Y9ObnDsylL
— RantSports (@RantSports) May 17, 2014
The idea for the race finds its roots on social media interactions between Earnhardt and Barkley. Barkley said in a tweet that he wanted to meet the driver, and Earnhardt replied on Twitter, “Heck, I wanna meet Charles!”
“We’ll just have to save the results for later,” Earnhardt said before using Barkley’s accent to add: “He wasn’t turrible.”
Do you think Barkley schooled Earnhardt Jr.?
Image via Wikimedia Commons