Retired NASCAR star Dale Earnhardt Jr. was pleased to see two Kansas City Chiefs standouts at the June 21 NASCAR Cup Series race at the Coronado Street Course in San Diego.
As part of his multi-day bachelor party, Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce stopped by the Coronado Street Course in a surprise appearance to watch the action unfold. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes was also in attendance for the race.
Earnhardt Jr. on Mahomes, Kelce at the race: ‘This is a big deal’
On a recent episode of “The Dale Jr. Download,” the 26-time Cup Series winner knew the significance of having the pair of Chiefs stars at the Anduril 250.
“You hear people are going to be at the racetrack. Sometimes, it’s people you want to meet, sometimes you’re excited about. You’re sitting there thinking, ‘Man, this is a big ass race, a big ass deal,” Earnhardt Jr. said.
One thing Earnhardt Jr. knows is that Mahomes and Kelce being at the race was not the doing of outside factors. Oftentimes, the former driver of the No. 88 said celebrities are brought to NASCAR races out of obligations.
“The one thing I’ll tell you. Mahomes and all those guys came to that race on their own accord. Usually, every celebrity you see has been brought to the race through a partnership, a request through a sponsor of theirs, or even the outright series is paying for them to be there,” Earnhardt Jr. said.
Mahomes and Kelce were exceptions to this, Earnhardt Jr. said. The driver-turned-broadcaster recalls the football stars reaching out to NASCAR and Amazon, expressing interest in being at the San Diego race.
“They reached out to NASCAR and they reached out to Amazon and said, ‘How do we get to this race? We want to come, we’re going to be in the area, and we want to come see it.’ I thought that was pretty neat. That felt very Formula One like, right? You see celebrities at Formula One races and that’s what San Diego felt like a little bit,” Earnhardt Jr. said.
Earnhardt Jr. thankful for Mahomes, Kelce appearing at San Diego
Mahomes and Kelce are two of the most recognizable names in football. The duo have won three Super Bowls for the Chiefs, with Mahomes winning MVP honors in all three.
On June 21 in San Diego, the football greats were thrilled to see a day of NASCAR racing.
The appearance of Mahomes and Kelce at the San Diego Cup race is something Earnhardt Jr. had a lot of gratitude for. With the way they expressed interest in coming to the race, the JR Motorsports owner was looking forward to seeing them.
“I was just thankful. They wanted to be there. That made me want to meet them more,” Earnhardt Jr. said.
Mahomes and Kelce are far from the first celebrities to stop by a NASCAR race this season. With still half a season left remaining, it will be exciting to see who else decides to show up and make their presence known at a NASCAR race.
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