"Retired dealership service mechanic. Former backup fullback for the Mooresville Blue Devils varsity soccer team. Aspiring competition BBQ Pitmaster."

Gee, somehow Dale Earnhardt Jr forgot to mention star NASCAR race driver in the bio posted on his Twitter feed. But maybe now he'll add aspiring truck driver.

Dale Jr. fans got a peek into life on the road in the cab of a big rig last week as the NASCAR driver tweeted about riding from North Carolina to the Daytona International Speedway in the passenger seat of one of the race team's haulers, No. 88 driven by Andy Quillan, @trucker_squigz.

(In case you missed it, in the wee hours of Monday morning, Earnhardt "scored a dominating victory in the rain-delayed and crash-marred Coke Zero 400 at Daytona International Speedway," as Fox Sports put it.)

With more than a million followers on his Twitter feed, "Junior's" Twitter feed offered a positive look at trucking to a potentially huge audience. Some of these Tweets were marked as favorites by more than 1,000 fans, and hundreds retweeted them.

By all accounts he enjoyed his ride in a big rig, as you'll see in the highlights below. In fact, Monday he tweeted, "Working on @trucker_squigz for a spot in the hauler to @kansasspeedway later this season."

One fan Tweeted to Earnhardt, "If you're gonna be a super trucker you gotta establish a handle. What did u come up with?" The racer's response: "Hammerhead. My nickname as a child. Dad said I was hard headed like the head of a hammer. Imagine that."

Earnhardt starts his tweets about the trip by replying to a fan asking why he's up so "early/late," saying, "I'm @TeamHendrick climbing in the @nationwide88 hauler to ride with @trucker_squigz down to @DISupdates."

And at one point muses, "Is it me or does every song sound better in this 18 wheeler I'm rollin in?"

Some more highlights:

Trucker Quillan, of course, being busy actually piloting the 18-wheeler and all the other aspects of the job, only posted a couple of tweets about the ride, but here's his selfie with Dale Jr.:

About the author
Deborah Lockridge

Deborah Lockridge

Editor and Associate Publisher

Reporting on trucking since 1990, Deborah is known for her award-winning magazine editorials and in-depth features on diverse issues, from the driver shortage to maintenance to rapidly changing technology.

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