Bobby Earnhardt Interview: New Reality Series And More

Another racing Earnhardt is looking to make his presence known in the racing world as 2013 ARCA Truck Series Rookie of the Year Bobby Earnhardt is set to star in his own reality series, The Adventures of Bobby Earnhardt. Earnhardt, nephew of Sprint Cup star Dale Earnhardt Jr. and brother to 2016 Sprint Cup rookie Jeffrey Earnhardt, sat down to discuss the show and his racing career with BeyondTheFlag.com along with the CEO of Momentous Entertainment Group Kurt Neubauer. Momentous is the company currently producing the series.

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Beyond The Flag: Recently it was announced that you would be taking part in a reality series based around your life. Could you shed some light on the basis of this show?

Bobby Earnhardt: Well, this series is basically going to be a behind-the-scenes look of the whole racing experience as I work my way up through the ranks to get to the Sprint Cup Series. It’s going to give an inside look to the fans, a look at the side that they really don’t get to see as far as being a fan versus being a driver. It’ll show the different things I have to do and the things in my life I like to do such as hobbies and working and all that good stuff.

BTF: Kurt, of all the Earnhardts, what led you to want to do a show about Bobby Earnhardt?

Kurt Neubauer: You know, that’s funny because I didn’t wake up one morning and just say, “Hey, I want to do a racing show with Bobby Dale Earnhardt. It’s just my life-long desire.” That’s really not the truth. What happened actually is my investment banker up in the Hamptons approached me and said, “Listen, I’ve got these conduits to the Earnhardt family and to NASCAR auto racing. Would you be interested in looking at this as a potential reality series?” My response to that was, “Sure.”

This happened over a year ago, about this month, actually, back in ’14. So, he arranged for an initial call, we chatted back and forth for about six or seven months, probably until sometime mid-spring. Then Bobby and I came to an understanding that this is what he would like to do and this is what we wanted to do. We thought that there was no better way to start than a family member of a founding family of the NASCAR circuit, which would be the grandson of Dale Earnhardt.

So we got together on it, and it became our focal point.

BTF: Bobby, how much input have you been able to put in regarding the production of this show?

Earnhardt: Well, I mean, it’s a show to show everybody my life, a racer’s life, as far as me being Bobby Earnhardt. It’s going to draw a bigger crowd because of the last name, but it’s going to show what goes on in a driver’s everyday life, as far as going to work, doing hobbies, going to race, to the shop, preparing for racing…pretty much my whole life.

BTF: With this show, what are you hoping to accomplish from your point?

Earnhardt: I hope to just be able to share my faith in God and spread my faith, and to just be myself and show the viewers who I am as Bobby, not as the Earnhardt kid.

Photo Courtesy: Earnhardt family

Neubauer: I’ll tell you what, first of all we’re wanting to make this series as interesting as possible. We know it’s a great topic. We know that auto racing, NASCAR, all of this is heavily followed as a sport. 70-80 million fans in the U.S. alone. But I think what one of the things that we’re wanting to try to contribute here is the people behind it.

To a lot of people in racing, NASCAR is a sporty looking car, a dude in a helmet, running around a track at 200-plus miles per hour. That’s their focus on the racing – “Who won? Who lost? Who crashed in the middle? How exciting was it?” That’s all fine. But what we hope to pull off here is the backstory. What goes on in the life of a NASCAR driver or a race car driver?

We don’t want to pattern after anybody else, but we want to look at what has been successful, and obviously Duck Dynasty, Gold Rush, those two shows have been really successful because they show the human side to what this is all about. That’s one of the things we want to project here. Bobby’s family, his faith, and his goals and desires to be a NASCAR champion like his grandfather.

BTF: Kurt, with what you’re hoping to accomplish with this show, do you feel like a show like this could lead to other racing-related shows of a similar nature?

Neubauer: Yes. We’re looking at another potential feature that was spun out of the first filming we did. At the end of the day we walk away feeling that multiple shows are available to us here. In fact, I’ll tell you what. We’re putting out news tomorrow that we signed another talent over in Phoenix by the name of Dennis Gile. He’s one of the number one-rated NFL quarterback coaches in the nation, but he’s also a Sprint Car racer and he’s pegged to be Rookie of the Year this year. We signed him to a talent agreement also to appear on Bobby’s show, but also potentially to have his own show.

So, to answer your question in a nutshell, yes. We definitely feel that it’s going to develop into other projects.

BTF: Bobby, as a driver in the ARCA Truck Series, has the sanctioning body had anything to say regarding this show?

Earnhardt: Oh yeah. We actually just got done filming up at their last race, which is Lake County Speedway in Painesville, Ohio. Kurt’s (Neubauer) partner come up and some of his guys come up and filmed it. They followed me around the track and interviewed the ARCA Truck guys and they loved it. I mean, they’re behind me 100% and they’re just a bunch of good group of guys and I’ve been with them for the past two years, and they treat me just like I’m part of the family there. That’s pretty much how they treat everybody in that series.

They’re excited, and they’re really looking forward to it, because it’s going to bring light to their series and they really don’t get too much attention, so it’s going to help them as well. So, they were all for it.

BTF: What about your family, such as your Dad (Kerry Earnhardt), your brother, or even your uncle; have they had anything to say about this show?

Earnhardt: I haven’t really talked to them that much about it, just because I’m wanting to get everything worked out before I go and talk to them about it. I want everything set and ready to go before I just go out and talk to anybody. I mean, I’ve talked to a few of my family members about it, and they’re excited and as far as my Dad and my uncle and my brother and them, I can’t say. I mean, I’d like for them to be on the show but man, it’s really going to be up to them if they want to. I’m pretty sure they probably will be.

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BTF: Kurt, has it been announced which network, if any, that this show will be airing on?

Neubauer: At the moment we don’t actually have a network that we’re looking to air on yet. We are looking at our options here. Some of the things we’re looking at is content because at the end of the day, this is content. A lot of stations are looking for content. We don’t want to be too rambunctious, as the old saying goes, to try to go out and sell something straight away. We want to internally fund and produce this series on our own. I’m looking for a partner that tells me how they want it done.

So consequently, we want to keep our options open. But obviously, some major networks out there are going to be interested in what we’re doing here. We’re also looking into some streaming networks as well because this has never been done that way too. I would be interested in talking to Apple. They have a foundation, but they’re starving for content. There’s nothing more I would like for my company, which is publicly traded, to be associated with the likes of Apple as a possible streaming partner, or even Netflix, which is also publicly traded.

That being said, we’re trying to keep our options open right now and what we’re really trying to do is develop the initial pilot which is what we got out of our first filming out of Ohio, and once we have these pilots ready, then we’re able to maybe take on a larger partnership. I just don’t know with whom at this point.

BTF: Bobby, your Facebook page says that you plan to be in NASCAR by 2017. What are your on-track plans for 2016?

Earnhardt: Well, um, next year I’ve got a deal with a guy and I’m going to run the full ARCA Truck Series with him next year. I’ve been talking to some people about running Late Models as well as some short tracks. I’m also talking with a guy who owns an ARCA Series team and he’s wanting to put me behind the wheel for a few ARCA events next year. which is a step I want to go because I’ve run the ARCA Trucks and I’m wanting to move up to ARCA cars, which is a step below NASCAR.

BTF: As for actual NASCAR teams have you had any talks with any teams at all?

Earnhardt: Um, no NASCAR teams at this point. I probably won’t talk to them until the middle of next year or towards the end of next year. But actually, the team I’m talking to right now about ARCA cars is going to be running in the NASCAR Truck Series not next year but the year after. I might be running a couple of races then.

BTF: If you could pick a major team to drive for in NASCAR, which team would you pick?

Earnhardt: Well, it’d be nice to drive for my uncle in the Xfinity Series, or the Camping World Truck Series because he has a truck now. It’d be nice to drive for him because he’s family and everything. But as for as a Cup team, I’d probably have to say Richard Childress just because my granddad drove for him, and the family history there, and he’s a really, really cool guy. He’d do just about anything for you. I think me and him would match up really well.

BTF: Who has been the most helpful regarding your racing career?

Earnhardt: God, of course. My faith has been a big part of sticking through it. There’s been times I’ve been down in the dumps and I’ve gotten so frustrated and just, He lifts me up when I pray to Him, and I thank Him every day. My wife, also, of course. She’s behind me 110% and is always there to push me even farther than what I think I can go and so I’d say basically them two, and of course my whole family has been behind me and sticks with me.

BTF: Being a racing Earnhardt, how do you feel that’s affected your racing career?

Earnhardt: Well, everybody thinks that being an Earnhardt is a big help to getting sponsors and racing, but it’s really not. Sometimes it hinders me because with having that last name comes the expectations to run up front and do good. Whenever you don’t, people look at you like you’re not a good driver.

But, it also opens doors that may not open for other people who don’t have a famous last name. So it’s both a help and a hindrance.

BTF: Aside from winning RotY in 2013 in the ARCA Truck Series, what has been the brightest point of your racing career?

Earnhardt: That year I also won Most Popular Driver, which was pretty cool because my uncle has also won that in NASCAR nine years in a row now, or something like that. To win that award was really a big honor, and just being consistent on the track is always a plus.

Photo Courtesy: Earnhardt family

BTF: As a driver, what do you feel are your strengths?

Earnhardt: Well, probably the fact that my instincts have helped me get through a few on-track situations where afterward, I’m shocked I got through them. Other than that, just the will to not quit and keep going no matter what.

BTF: What areas as a driver do you think you need to work on?

Earnhardt: Being patient. Not forcing issues that could put me out of the race. Making a way to the front instead of a way making itself. That’s hurt me in the past, where I might try to force a way only to put myself in the wall. But that’s what my grandpa was known for, so maybe it runs in the blood.

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BTF: Now that your 2015 season has wrapped up, how would you rate it?

Earnhardt: Uh, it was a good season. I mean, I didn’t get to race as much this year. I ran four ARCA Truck races and I think that’s it, really. I did pretty well. I went and took 2014 off, and I came back and ran a limited ARCA Truck schedule this year. Had a lot of good runs. My last was by far my best feeling race because I got to run up front with the front guys and I was passing the third-place guy when I got knocked out of the race.

I had good trucks and good equipment and good crews and all that, and I was more patient. It was a really good year to be able to come back and do that.

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