COLUMBUS, Ohio – Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been stressed out, frustrated and irritated with his team’s recent performance on the racetrack.
In the last two and a half months, he has just one top-10 finish. During that time, he’s slipped from sixth in the Sprint Cup Series standings to 13th. And he hasn’t won yet this season heading into Saturday night's Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway (7:30 p.m., NBC Sports Network). Earnhardt is getting uncomfortably close to the playoff bubble.
But as he and fiancée Amy Reimann toured the Nationwide Children’s hospital on Thursday, Earnhardt got a much-needed reality check.
“We’ve struggled pretty bad to get results,” he told USA TODAY Sports, which shadowed the couple on their visit. “And it’s hard not to be disappointed and feel embarrassed and all kinds of emotion about it. You get so consumed and drown yourself in all the emotion that comes with not running well.
“But when you come to the hospital and see everything these people are dealing with, it makes the issues I have with performing and the pressure that comes with that seem silly and trivial.”
This wasn’t a new sensation for Earnhardt. After visiting the hospital last year, he left with a renewed sense of perspective; this time, knowing what to expect, the driver found himself looking forward to a similar jolt.
“I feel selfish in a way, because I kind of appreciate being set straight,” he said.
But whatever Earnhardt got out of Thursday’s visit, those he visited seemed to benefit much more.
NASCAR’s most popular driver hung out with patients on several floors, signed autographs, posed for pictures and even presented four children with gifts -- diecast cars and a pair of gloves similar to the ones he wears during races (and auctions off for the hospital in their names).
His presence was certainly well-received.
“How are y’all doing?” Earnhardt said, walking into one room while making his rounds.
“Better now that you’re here,” a parent of one patient said.
To cap the visit, Earnhardt joined a pep rally attended by patients, their families and hospital staff. He unveiled the hood of a Nationwide Children’s-themed No. 88 car for Saturday’s race and presented the hospital with a special gift: A victory bell similar to one used at Hendrick Motorsports that patients can ring after completing treatments such as chemotherapy.
Earnhardt is shy by nature and has a tendency to get nervous when doing public appearances. But his soft spot for children battling illnesses – he had granted nearly 250 wishes through Make-A-Wish as of February, according to the organization – allows him to quickly overcome his introverted personality.
On the rehab floor, where therapists work with children who have suffered through accidents or are dealing with other physical issues, a group waited for Earnhardt in an area decorated with welcome signs, checkered flag banners and a cardboard Earnhardt standup.
“Connor! How are you doing, bud?” Earnhardt said, working the room. “Hey Cody! Hey buddy, I’m going to sign your shirt.”
Some of the patients were unable to respond or communicate with Earnhardt. Regardless, he spoke to them like they were old friends.
In a way, two of them actually were. Though most of the children were new faces to Earnhardt, he recognized two from his visit last year.
A teen named Thomas Jordan was in a wheelchair and unable to speak when he met Earnhardt in May 2015. But on Thursday, Thomas was standing with the help of a walker, could take steps and was able to get some words out in greeting Earnhardt.
“I saw a marked difference in him today,” Earnhardt said later. “You can see his mind thinking and working and doing. He’s processing what’s going on around him.”
The child with whom Earnhardt had the most connection, though, was a wheelchair-bound girl named Maddie Delaney. Last year, Maddie beat Earnhardt in video games and wanted a rematch.
Earnhardt was up for the challenge, but Maddie beat him in a round of Wii boxing.
“Knockout!” she said, raising a fist in the air.
“Oh man, she’s good!” Earnhardt said.
Before he left the room, Earnhardt stopped by her wheelchair and knelt down for a private conversation.
“Her personality is amazing,” he said. “We just really connected, me and her, for whatever reason.”
Reimann received a similarly warm welcome. Earnhardt wanted her to join the visit because of her increased role in the Dale Jr. Foundation and his overall charitable efforts; after one patient surprised her with flowers and a card, she needed a tissue to dab her eyes.
“It’s fun to watch Amy see it so she understands and learns the importance between Nationwide and the hospital,” Earnhardt said of his car’s primary sponsor.
The Nationwide Foundation has contributed $80 million to Nationwide Children’s since 2006. A $50 million gift in 2006, which the hospital said was one of the five single largest donations ever made to a children’s hospital, led to the construction of a sparkling, modern 12-story tower that opened in 2012.
There were some big race fans on the visit wearing Nationwide gear, but not all of the patients or their families knew about Earnhardt – or even NASCAR, for that matter.
In the Teen Room on the hematology/oncology floor, a boy named Corey didn’t seem familiar with Earnhardt.
“So you’re a race car driver, huh?” the boy said from behind a mask.
“Sure am,” Earnhardt said. “Lotta fun.”
Corey then quizzed Earnhardt about his job, peppering him with questions like how many races there are (38), how many cars Earnhardt goes through in a year (“Hopefully not that many”) and how to get a job in racing (Earnhardt told him many people start just by sweeping floors and cleaning tools).
Earnhardt and Reimann also toured areas where there currently were no patients, like a specially designed room where a child receiving a certain type of radiation therapy must stay for five days behind lead shields. Parents can see their child through a window from an adjacent suite, but they must stay out while radioactive material wears off (there’s even a Geiger counter in the room).
“It’s really overwhelming,” Earnhardt said after the tour. “It’s almost dizzying to go through and imagine you’re only seeing the tip of the iceberg of what’s going on here.”
After a couple hours and an enthusiastic sendoff at the pep rally, Earnhardt and Reimann headed for the plane. Practice was only a few hours from starting at Kentucky Speedway, and Earnhardt needed to get to the car.
But he left with a fresh attitude and an extra dose of motivation for the weekend – though he wished it hadn’t taken a hospital visit to provide it.
“It shouldn’t take coming here and seeing everything to do that,” he said. “I feel like I should be better at controlling that myself.”
Follow Gluck on Twitter @jeff_gluck
