Move over, Clint Bowyer: You aren't the only NASCAR driver cheering for the Royals in the World Series.
NASCAR's most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., isn't just hopping on the bandwagon now that the Royals are in the Fall Classic. He has a perfectly good reason — his late father, Dale Earnhardt, and Royals manager Ned Yost were longtime friends, hunting buddies and fellow racers.
MORE: Moments that define Dale Jr. | Ned Yost, taxidermist
Junior put his controversial Talladega finish behind him Tuesday, spending time on Twitter and sharing his allegiance with the American League champions.
Ok Ned. Here you go.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) October 28, 2015.@ClintBowyer fix your internet so we can #Facetime and talk about Ned.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) October 28, 2015My dad and Ned were big pals. I will always have his back. https://t.co/aaDCLALz1q
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) October 28, 2015Said it before. Say it again. Yost and dad were best of friends. @Royals all day long in this battle for the title.
— Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) October 28, 2015Yost met the elder Earnhardt on a hunting trip in the mid-1980s and even served as Earnhardt’s rehydration engineer for nine races during the 1994 baseball strike.
Last season before the World Series against the Giants, Yost reflected on his relationship with the NASCAR Hall of Famer and seven-time Cup champion.
"I thought about Dale (a lot)," Yost said after leading the Royals to their first World Series in 29 years. "About how proud he would have been of us, turning this team from a loser back into a winner, with determination, with spirit, with enthusiasm and just dogged competitiveness."