2004 was an unforgettable year for Dale Earnhardt Jr., as he etched his name in the history books alongside his father by winning the Daytona 500 and earning the Harley J. Earl trophy awarded to Daytona 500 champions.
Twenty years have passed since then, and the old trophy has been collecting dust, so Earnhardt's wife, Amy, recently cleaned the famous trophy, which got Earnhardt thinking about the moment.
Earnhardt took to X reminiscing about the moment, while also sharing a picture of the freshly cleaned trophy that still had 20-year-old Gatorade on it.
Amy decided to clean up the 2004 Daytona trophy and it still had red Gatorade on it. 20 years. Looks good as new. pic.twitter.com/DEBBrUzEtH
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) January 24, 2024
"Amy decided to clean up the 2004 Daytona trophy and it still had red Gatorade on it," Earnhardt said. "Looks good as new."
Surprisingly, Joe Gibbs Racing's Denny Hamlin saw Earnhardt's post, and reacted with a comment of his own, recalling something that many probably don't remember.
Hamlin was in victory lane with Earnhardt, as he celebrated winning his first Daytona 500.
Hamlin shared an old picture of his own from that night and reminded Earnhardt that he was the one who carried the trophy to Earnhardt's bus.
"I carried it to your bus shortly after," Hamlin said.
I carried it to your bus shortly after https://t.co/ueDeZQrLFO pic.twitter.com/HxwrGorawZ
— Denny Hamlin (@dennyhamlin) January 25, 2024
That moment stands out to Hamlin, who at that time hadn't even begun his NASCAR journey. At the time, Hamlin was tearing it up on short tracks racing a late model car and came to the 2004 Daytona 500 as Earnhardt's guest.
Hamlin has since won three Harley J. Earl trophies of his own after he dreamed of hosting the trophy since he was a kid and even wrote about winning the Daytona 500 for a school assignment, and his podcast, "Actions Detrimental with Denny Hamlin" is a part of Earnhardt's growing Dirty Mo Media empire.
Hamlin will be looking to win his fourth Daytona 500 in 2024.
Though Hamlin has never raced for Earnhardt, he certainly has plenty of ties to the Hall of Famer and can attribute a lot of his success to him.
