When Dale Earnhardt Jr. invited the media for a preview of his new Charlotte nightclub last week, he also subsequently offered a glimpse into his life away from the track.

During a nearly 30-minute question-and-answer session with a group of reporters, he touched on why he's so excited about his new bar -- named Whisky River -- and a variety of other subjects, including why folks so quick to criticize him for what he does away from his Sprint Cup Series obligations need to shut up and get a life (more with Junior).

After all, like it or not, that is exactly what Earnhardt is doing.

Q: Did you help design the Whisky River bar?

Earnhardt: The structure of the building and the shape of the room itself was not up to us. It was pre-designed and we came in and sort of looked at what options were available as far as where you could move into and we chose this one. It fits really well. It's just enough room. It's not really too big, but it's not really a cramped area, either. It has some open areas and some nooks and crannies where you could go get in the dark and hide out if you want to. It's got some good corners and areas to stake out and chill out for the night.

Q: What's your biggest influence in the place?

Earnhardt: [The color] orange. Anything orange. I got to work with a friend of mine on the design and she went after a lot of the stuff that you see -- as far as how the walls look and columns and stuff and the cow hide. I wanted the orange bench in the VIP booth and the fiber optics on top of the bar. It came together pretty good. ... Everyone seems to enjoy it.

Q: Whose idea was it to have the mechanical bull?

Earnhardt: We were really torn down the middle because we wanted the bar to have a Carolina, country feel to it, but we didn't want to be known strictly as a country bar. Number one, I didn't want to compete with [Charlotte's popular country-and-western bar] Coyote Joe's. That's a place I've been to before and I enjoy it. I didn't want to compete with those guys. I wanted to kind of weasel myself into a spot that was available, that nobody had covered. We play a little rock-and-roll, more rock-and-roll than country. It's old rock-and-roll and Southern rock early in the evening.

Of course later in the evening you get into dance music. Everybody wants to dance on the dance floor, so you get into that kind of stuff and it turns into more of the traditional sense of club. For the most part we tried to stay more Southern rock. ... The thing about this place is, we made it more regional. It doesn't give you a shady feel. You don't feel like someone's ripping you off or anything crazy is going on. Hopefully when you look at the people who come in here, you feel the same way.

Q: Who do you want to come?

Earnhardt: If I'm going to a bar to have fun, the things you don't want to run into are troublemakers, slobbering, messy drunks, and that typical kind of stuff. You want to avoid controversy. You want to have a good time and have your friends with you. You've always got a buddy who's on the brink. You've always got one of those guys where someone's just got to look at him wrong, so you're always watching him all night. You want to go to a bar where you don't have to worry about that kind of stuff. Hopefully we'll establish that sort of reality over time. It just takes time.

We've just got to keep people from acting like fools and keep people from wanting to start fights. Everyone wants to come in and have a good time. Normally you need to have good dance music playing later in the night, when it's typically the prime time for ignorance. If you got the good dance music, then you keep everybody busy and having a good time.
Q: You know you're a racecar driver, you're not supposed to have any outside interests. What do you think about all the people who say and think that?

Earnhardt: What's that all about? I wouldn't be doing this if I didn't have my good friend J.R. Rhodes. But you're right. There's a stigma about how drivers can't do anything. They have to focus and this, that and the other. Anytime you do anything or want to do anything or talk about anything else, people want to question your focus or whatever.

I wouldn't have this bar if it wasn't for J.R. He was a bartender back in Daytona. We've been talking about this for five years. It's literally been worked on for three years. As much as I'm happier than [crap] about it, I think he might be even more excited than I am.

Q: So you think people should see the business man side of you and realize that this is not taking away from your focus as a driver?

Earnhardt: It doesn't bother me if somebody comes up and says what you're doing isn't right, you should focus here. That doesn't bother me. I couldn't care less. What bothers me is they don't appreciate the people like J.R. and [public relations man] Mike Davis, the people who are really pulling the levers here. J.R. is the guy who worked to put everything together like it is here. ... He's been here every day. J.R. is the guy. People just don't understand that. People think I'm on the phone wheeling and dealing, ordering the beer and liquor and positioning everything like I want it. I'm not the one doing that. I'm racing in Phoenix, for crying out loud.

Q: Have you ever been to another professional athlete's bar?

Earnhardt: No. Maybe. Hell, I don't know.

Q: You seem to be expanding on the business side with Hammerhead Productions and JR Motorsports and now this. Why are you doing this? What's your next project?

Earnhardt: You never really know what the next one is. As you know, people come up with ideas all the time. They give you these crazy adventures and these interesting deals to do. You just dive into the ones that you're interested in. You move around and you meet people and you go, 'Nah, these guys are a bunch of clowns;' or 'This might be kind of fun. Let's try it at least.' I've never gone into anything like this thinking, 'Oh, I've got to make this much money,' or 'This would be awesome if I can make some money.' If I can break even and have a good time, then it's worth it. That's the way I've always treated everything. That's why I don't make any money owning [Nationwide] cars. If I can just break even, I'm happy to be able to enjoy it.

Q: What do these business opportunities provide for you?

Earnhardt: Hopefully you find that one that does help you establish what you want financially after you retire from driving a racecar. If I'm going to race until I'm 50, you know I don't want to push my luck, but I'd like to think I'm going to live until a pretty old age. It'd be nice to have some other things going on, some other things I'm involved in.

What do I have after I'm done driving? What do you do? What are you supposed to do? I guess you do what you want and do things that interest you. I'm sort of lining those things up. Some of those things might be gone by then, but maybe there'll be one that's sticking around and is still profitable. Hopefully that's the case.

Q: Does this resemble your old basement bar at all -- the one that used to be called Club E?

Earnhardt: No, not at all. That one was ridiculous. It was just black and purple everything. The tile was black and purple. The walls were black and purple. It was just ridiculous. It was nothing like this. This is way better. That one was a lot of fun to build and to play in, though. It was a good time.

Q: You said you and J.R. Rhodes had been kicking this idea around for three years. How did the idea come about? Were you guys just sitting around drinking some beer or something and it came to you, or what?

Earnhardt: I had the bar in my basement and we built a saloon on my property [just outside Charlotte]. I've always entertained friends and family in the house and at the pool or whatever. I knew J.R. had some experience in the bar business. He had a good idea of what I would be getting myself into. We trust each other so much. I just talked about it. I want to get into this business. I wanted to own a bar one way or another, but I want it to be done safely. I don't want to jump in with a bunch of hooligans, and do it just to be doing it. I wanted it to be a good, solid situation. I wanted it to fit me.

I wouldn't want y'all to come in here and say, 'Why would you own this place?' or 'Why would you make it look like this?' I want you to come in and say, 'Yeah, this seems just like Junior.' That seems to be what's happened here. I just trust J.R. to help me through this and make sure we're doing it right.

Q: Other than the orange, what kind of a sense would someone get of you when they come into the place?

Earnhardt: I think it's a bit of Southern gentleman and a little bit of Carolina country. It just sort of fits the surrounding landscape. I don't think of Charlotte or North Carolina as being like some of the clubs I see in this area [in uptown Charlotte]. A lot of people bring in sort of a Miami-type sound and feel, or L.A. and Vegas. Those are good things. People enjoy that and not having to go that far to get that kind of a feel.

I just feel like this is more what I'm about, what I enjoy, what I grew up around and what kind of bar I'd rather hang out in. Basically that's what it comes down to. If I'm sitting in a bar, not having a good time, this is everything I would change. This is how I would make it. You go to bars and you're like, 'This is all right, but I could be having a good time if the music wasn't so loud here or there, or if the service was faster or whatever.'

Q: There aren't any racecars hanging from the ceiling?

Earnhardt: That would not be fun. That would be OK, but you could see that in Daytona USA.

Q: Some people are still going to say, 'Oh he's too involved in his bar now.' How do you address that?

Earnhardt: I don't have to. I think people underestimate my drive and determination. They always have. It's followed me around just like the pressure has, just like the name has. It's always there. It's OK. I've got to do things that might work out for me in my life. I might not always be driving that car. I would like to think that I could just race that car and at 50 I could quit and be all right, but I don't trust that. I don't know what the dollar is going to be worth when I'm 50.

Q: How did you come up with the name for the bar? I know it's the name of the Western town on your property.

Earnhardt: That's exactly why. I built that Western town right next to the creek on my property and we named it Whisky River after the Willie Nelson song. When we started building this I was still with Budweiser [as the primary sponsor of his former Sprint Cup team], and we couldn't name it that. We had a bunch of other names that were pretty cool -- but when we parted ways with Bud, I was like, 'We have to name it Whisky River. It's such a cool name.'

We had other names with Junior in it and they sounded cheesy. People want to go to Whisky River. They don't want to go to Junior's Bar or Junior's Garage. That's just not my style. I don't wear my name on my belt. The name gives the bar a personality that I can't give it.

Q: What's the fascination with the Western period?

Earnhardt: Clint Eastwood. All the Clint Eastwood movies my daddy used to watch. I was a huge fan of Lonesome Dove when it was a miniseries on TV. I was in the ninth grade and I was a huge fan of that. I've made a lot of people watch the entire thing in one sitting. Several times. I just always liked that.

Q: Did you have to get permission from Willie Nelson to use the name?

Earnhardt: I think we had to spell it uniquely. I don't think we had to get permission from him for the song, so much as there are other Whisky Rivers in the country that are spelled differently.

Q: Can you come here and enjoy yourself?

Earnhardt: Yes. I came here [the] Tuesday [before the public grand opening last weekend]. It was cool. I came with my sister and a bunch of my friends. That was the first time I'd seen it with people working. It was a lot of fun. It was kind of surreal. I've been to so many bars and clubs and you have to meet the owners all the time, and to be the owner and be on that other side is surreal.

Q: Are we going to see you on the bull?

Earnhardt: No. I rode one at Coyote Joe's before and it was a blast. You won't ever see me on that thing before midnight, I'll tell you that.

Q: Are you interested in doing any more than this, or is one enough?

Earnhardt: I wouldn't say interested is the right word. I'm open to it. If it sounds like a good idea and seems like a good business decision, then sure. One thing I've learned from a lot of people is always listen. I never turn anything down without hearing what the idea is first. If it does well and they think we should take it to other markets and stuff, then I think it's a great move.

Q: Are any drivers not allowed in here?

Earnhardt: There's no one who's not allowed. There are just some we might not invite.

-- Edited by Tooz at 20:47, 2008-04-22