Bobby Hillin Jr: From Oil Fields to NASCAR Winner & Poker at Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s | Dale Jr Download

Dale Earnhardt Jr. sits down with longtime NASCAR competitor Bobby Hillin Jr. to chat about his journey to becoming one of the youngest winners in Cup history. After growing up in the oil industry of Texas through his family, Bobby was exposed to auto racing when his father purchased a sprint car and began competing with legendary drivers Jan Opperman and Bubby Jones behind the wheel. Bobby would find his way into racing through the mini stock division at his local Odessa Speedway. He would attend Buck Baker’s Driving School at Rockingham Speedway, and it was there he’d meet the legendary Harry Hyde.
Bobby explains that it was Hyde who convinced his family that he was destined for NASCAR Cup competition, and he would make his debut as a junior in high school. Not long after, he’d make the move to Charlotte by himself in the middle of his senior year, and upon graduating he pursued stock cars full-time. Bobby would make NASCAR history when he won the 1986 Talladega 500, becoming the youngest winner in NASCAR at the time. Unfortunately, due to hardships at the Stavola Brothers team, Bobby would never be able to return to victory lane and spent the rest of his career searching for a consistent, competitive ride.
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[@MarkHerrmann-wf2yq]

Dale, your purpose has become the unofficial Ambassador for Nascar! And you do a hell of a job doing that! Your Dirty Mo Productions is by far the greatest content for everything in the sport. I hope you realize that!

[@roberthevern6169]

Exactly!

[@roberthevern6169]

It was great, Jr!

[@bobhope4732]

He needs to bring on Kenny Wallace

[@teresagoodwin7458]

@MarkHerrmann-wf2yq Perfectly said and I agree with you 💯 million percent because it's PURE TRUTH 👍😁💞🤗💞🏁🏆🏁

[@stevegarrett4869]

Yep. NBC F’d up

[@billiverson9014]

The glorious days of NASCAR are gone but not forgotten. Thanks Dale jr...............

[@Storkleton]

5-star interview. I would've never ever guessed that Bobby Hillin was such a great storyteller

[@tommywills6628]

These are years I love hearing about. Please keep drivers & folks from this era coming on the show. Thanks Dirty Mo!

[@SamanthaEatsCookies]

Absolutely loved this story. Bobby is a solid guy and it was interesting to hear his upbringing. It feels rare to get someone from this era who was young experiencing it.

[@robertrobinson3758]

I remember Ed Brayfield was the controller at Trap Rock Industries owned by Bill and Mickey Stavola in New Jersey. Ed introduced me to Dale Jr at Pocono back in the 80s when he came over to my Uncle’s motorhome with Richard Childress to eat breakfast one morning. Thanks for having Bobby on the podcast, It brought back many great memories of when my Uncle was the gasman for Stavola Bros racing on race day.

[@MRosati5000]

Yes, Trap Rock bought my friend's house and demolished it. It was in the way of rock's.

[@elliotporterfield6921]

Dale, you should get Lake Speed on the show! I saw Stapleton42 doing some KZbin stuff with him and he would be an awesome guest!

[@rynosraceroom66]

Thx for actually slowing down & talking to this man .

[@kristenwhite2701]

You do just as much for NASCAR owning the best Xfinity team, keeping us engaged in the booth & having the best damn podcast to keep you in the game. I love that you interview people I’ve never heard of along with past drivers, current stars & have the best co-hosts when Amy & Kelley join you. Please have them back. I learn so much about you here too. I know you want to drive, but I am thankful for the gift of your time. ❤️

[@enpassant7358]

Old Nascar races are all I watch. Nascar Classics are really cool but the Smiff TV channel has a lot of good ones as well. I really like the Raw Satellite ones where I can hear Mike, Benny, Ned, Jerry and the guys talking during the commercial breaks.

[@DSracer13]

It would be great if you could have Eli Gold on the show. Love what you do!

[@briancalibergbmd]

This was one of my favorite interviews Jr. has done. Great to see the drivers from when I started following Winston Cup back in the mid 1980s.

[@briancockrum5233]

I saw Bobby win his first race at Talladega in 86. It was the hottest damn day!!

[@jeffbryant2052]

Yes it was! I just knew Bodine or Earnhardt would win with how the race started.

[@larrylitz8964]

Dale, I really appreciate the interest with Bobby Hillin. It was great and I’ve wondered what he was doing thanks !! 👍

[@jimmullis5582]

Another great interview, Dale Jr. I too, had wondered how Bobby was doing and what he had been up to. I still remember how excited he was when he won that Talladega Cup race. Thanks for keeping the NASCAR history alive !!

[@evdallas123]

Bobby was a fierce competitor i remember his whole nascar career what an awesome interview with him

[@MrJwools]

Bobby Hillin Jr. is a top class guy! I met him at Texas Motor Speedway at a dinner and book signing that another author was promoting! Afterwards, it was late at night, and he gave me ride to my car since I was parked way out in nowhere-land!

[@scotthall756]

Loved this interview. Always wondered what happened after Bobby left racing. Lake speed and Greg Sacks would definitely be great guests also.

[@LILMADERR23]

I can't thank you enough for talking about your family and experiences with being a father. It's helped me tremendously.

[@neilparry9511]

Love hearing from the old guard. Bobby seems like such a nice guy - great interview.

[@benjiaustin7787]

Dale Jr does an outstanding job with these interviews. He asks the questions I would ask.

[@TonyLUpchurch]

That was Awesome, I was always pulling for Bobby back when NASCAR WAS COOL 😎 🏁

[@daleporter6945]

I am really enjoying your podcasts. I admit that I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this interview Bobby Hillin Jr.. Learned a lot. Plus I lways enjoy hearing Jimmie Means stories. My brother took me over to Jimmie's shop when he was still running out of his ship in Huntsville when I was visiting, probably around 1967. I remember Jimmy asking my brother when he was going to come and work for him. My brother built cars as a hobby for years out of R&R Speedshop in Huntsville. Mostly for local driver Gary Myers and a couple others running at Huntsville and Nashville. Gary was a tract champion at Huntsville, like Jimmie. Keep up the good work. Loving it.

[@goodpplz123]

Dale you are my favorite NASCAR historian now. You bring on all these interesting and great people from the awesome days . I could listen forever to all the cool stories. Thank you.

[@teresagoodwin7458]

AMEN 🙏🏻IT'S A PRECIOUS PRICELESS TREASURED BLESSING AND MEMORIES FOREVER 👍💞🤗💞🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🏁🏆🏁

[@markwitkowski6418]

One of the best interviews ever.Bobby was a great racer and his story is really amazing if you look at the challenges he was up against .This interview was close to that of Martha Earnhardt,Gary Balough and Josef Newgarden.Thanks for the memories Bobby,you are surely a credit to NASCAR.I to am a Jimmy Means fan,the guy is a genius.Thanks Dale and Bobby ,nice time.

[@tjwhite6429]

It was Twin Cities Speedway between Midland and Odessa. I can definitely remember every Friday night it was a race to see who would finish second behind Blue Max. Great interview! Thanks for having him on!

[@danielmoose1273]

Hats Off + Salutes to Dale Jr. for giving otherwise unsung NASCAR players and heroes some exposure and stage time on his show ... Well Done Dale(!!!) 🙂. As for Hillin, though, watching him crash Harry Gant out of the lead at Talladega in '86 frosted my chocks and knocked me out of ever liking him after that. It's like Donnie Allison said ... Some drivers have checkered flags but have never won a race. Same goes for Austin Dillon.

[@bigdog-bi4qm]

Tim Brewer would be awesome 5 episodes of Brewer talking about Brewer might not be enough. !!!!

[@tombronowitz6899]

Awesome show..!..it was good to see Bobby again..thanks Jr..!

[@MikeV419]

Great show! 51 year old here and love hearing stories from these guys and what they’re up to!

[@mr.michigan9289]

What a great guest and interview, I followed Bobby from day one as where the same age, couldn't believe he's driving a cup car and was living like a young kid! Mind blowing! Thanks Dale,!

[@BigSkyModelWorkshop]

Love hearing from these guys from the 80s. How about Ronnie Thomas? Love hearing from the independent drivers.

[@2LabsGarage]

Glad to see him, Bobby Hillin was ahead of his time, before Jeff Gordon started the young driver trend, He would have fit right in. He never got a really good car, Stavola wasn't bad but Bobby Allison was their focus.

[@The1966chevyvan]

Excellent pod , thanks guys.

[@buckkinsel1081]

Really enjoyed this interview. Dale Jr. has a way getting people to open up!

[@158shm]

Hey Man , it’s ok to want to race still , nobody is going to forget about you , you have the best of both worlds, beautiful family, and you can still race if you wanted to , don’t worry so much about it , it will all work out awesome show Man 🏁🏁🏁🇺🇸🇺🇸

[@gregpomeroy2149]

Simply the best podcast

[@thomasnichols7664]

Thanks to Mike Davis and Dale Jr for having the most entertaining programming on all the racing podcast put together.THANK YOU GUYS AND GIRLS for doin such a great job

[@wolfpacva]

Stavola's knew what they were getting into with racing since they did other types of racing. I worked for Mickey and Billy at their asphalt plants so i knew what was going on. I met Bobby Hillin Jr. many times.

[@MRosati5000]

Cool..

[@robertharker9010]

What you do, Dale Jr, is absolutely priceless!!! This is far beyond cool.

[@Hobbietone]

Really enjoyed this episode. Don’t know how these guys remember all these details but I’m glad they do.

[@ixlr8677]

now this was good. i all ways pulled for bobby. that was a helluva talladega race he won. he was a racer.

[@ItzMzJulez2U]

Love this. Those were the days. ❤️🏁❤

[@Chevchild]

Excellent!

[@Wild_Child410]

I remember watching him win Talladega, i remember meeting him at the tire test at Indy and then watching him at the 94 Brickyard, such a cool man, I was a huge fan of his. Awesome interview.

[@FrankFernandez-ge3rp]

That was an awesome interview !!! Bobby seems like a great guy, great story teller and Dale Jr looks like he really enjoyed the memories.

[@donniehelmly4920]

You need to have Lake Speed on the podcast

[@keithgrider4914]

Met Bobby and his wife at the hotel restaurant at Atlanta the night before Rusty won his Championship....great people. I was with the Miller Brewing people and so moments later, it was my first time meeting Dick Trickle. He had had a few...and was leaning against the wall fishing for a cigarette only to find his pack was empty. He squished it into a ball...looked up at me and bummed a smoke. The next day he ran top five most of the day for the Stavola's 🙂 Bobby was underrated...and Kyle Petty was lucky to not get a whoopin' in front of 160,000 that day in 1993 at Daytona. Dick was one of the best ever!

[@mikeyoungblood1642]

Love the Snickers car he drove

[@yancyjenkinssr1824]

And Rick Wilson

[@srdorseyauctioneering328]

Outstanding interview, the back stories Bobby shared were off the charts.

[@chrishedrick3117]

Actually, Hawk, Peter Sospenzo, and Jack Delaney from the 31, came to work for us at the 41. Phil Parsons was driver, Doug Richert crew chief, Harry Hyde was team manager. Hawk left us to go to Kulwicki.

[@jonathanroberts6031]

What a great interview these are the best thing on his download by far.

[@josephhartman8370]

Great interview as always! Love seeing these guys I grew up watching. Gotta get Tim Brewer in there soon!

[@Probowler37]

A trip down memory lane. All these drivers from the 90's on here is awesome. You need to get Lake Speed, Wally Dallenbach, Loy Allen, Lake Speed, Johnny Benson, Morgan Shepherd, Steve Grissom, and Chad Little on here!

[@alisiayoung8266]

What a great podcast, great questions Jr.

[@reidhagler3651]

Love Dale jr and his download show ❤

[@philimac1278]

Awesome Interview with BHJR. TY DJR.

[@thomasbishop9098]

I remember when Gary Gaetti was a Cub. He was having fun, he appreciated life, a lot of fun to watch them.

[@waggitnshaggit6592]

Loved how it was just you talking to Bobby! Super stories 😊

[@Loner2012AT]

Great interview and glad you all are putting the long form on KZbin. Bobby always seemed like a good dude. Think he lived in a condo over the grandstands maybe at Dega.

[@neilperry2224]

Excellent interview to see 2 competitors' friends who've got away for a bit. And to see 2 old friends getting back together. It's the respect n responsibilities you've taken on , on not forgetting they exist as other series do..... Look at formula 1 and other race series. Do you know what the surviving drivers are doing now?

[@fishhuntadventure]

Superb life lessons

[@rce59]

Great show. It’s very interesting hearing where and what they did to stay in nascar and the funding to have a competitive team.

[@CarolinaKid93]

Im surprised Junior didn't know of "Frog" Fagen, as much of a historian he is.

[@bobirving9915]

Great great Interview. One of the best.

[@brockfischer7454]

When are you going to have Bill Elliott on

[@TravisMSimpson]

1963 was the last win for the 8 with Joe Weatherly at Occoneechee, then Bobby Hillin won Talladega in 1986 and then Dale Jr won at Texas in 2000.

[@davidgough1161]

Hr is a very cool guy, I wish he had become a Cup car owner. I think he would have been very good and an asset to the series.

[@af4od02]

Excellent video. Thanks Dale.

[@paulwatson4189]

Great interview. Bobby Hillian jr fan now for sure.

[@richreinhart7181]

I met Bobby in the 90s. He was a really nice guy

[@andybush7498]

Great interview. It seems like he is a good man.

[@curtschaben5609]

Awesome show.

[@charlottebarefoot8724]

Love you Bobby!

[@steventweed3599]

I remember when Rob Moroso passed. We were putting fiber optic cable in the ground near Maiden, which was totally undevelopef. We went to the local servive station to get gasoline and diesel for the vehicles. The station attendant, with a jaw full of tobacco asked "Y'all hear about Rob Moroso"? I was hung over that Monday mornong but remembered he'd finishedin the vicinity of twentieth the afternoon before. Nobody said anything but nobody followed NASCAR like I did. Theres was silence. We all knew it was bad news. Finally, the attendant said "He was killed last night over on 150 with another girl." Struck me to the core. I was stunned. Looking at it now, almost 35 years later, given his troubles, Moroso was a spoiled brat. Aint no easy way to say it but its undeniable.

[@gregjohnston576]

We need Greg Sacks now!

[@nddbulldog1]

I met Bobby several times over my life. A car show in Charlotte. At Houston Motorsports Park. And at the Apollo while sharing breakfast with your dad and RC. Being raised in Texas and had friends at Stavola later, I asked him the worst advice that he was ever given. Someone told him that he could flatfoot it around Charlotte and he tried. LOL

[@MikeCameramike]

Really enjoyed this!! Thanks

[@roberthevern6169]

Jr, sometimes 'off in the weeds' is okay!!

[@charlescompton4495]

I just wanted to be the best bricklayer I could be. Worked with a lot of them and had a lot of great teachers. Had pressure on me to do things I really didn't want to do! Choose a trade and go for it; God willing you can make a living and enjoy it. Greg

[@bobirving9915]

I was at Talladega when Hillin won. Bob Irving New Braunfels, TX

[@jefferyrobertson7520]

Bobby Hillin Number 8 Buick LeSabre And Regal From 1986 To 1990 Including Snickers Thanks For Uploading

[@stevenpressley5956]

Well.... Ain't but one thing to do and that is get Lake Speed on.

[@MarkNelson-ys7zd]

Awesome Dale!

[@willyhearrell9060]

Ha! I've seen the old Team Ireland car in Ireland. Glad to get more background on it!

[@thegonz7833]

BH didnt get old, WTH?............great show!

[@PapaHank1]

Great interview! You need to do more of these without your sidekick.

[@malikdigger4544]

Think i remember Bobby Hillin Jr. driving #94 Tbird in 94-96 it was also a Hardee's sponsor car aswell

[@tripledotter9520]

A couple of Randy Dorton Engines......that's called Roots

[@russellmasey]

Twin city speedway Odessa tx I grew up at that track watching my dad race

[@tjwhite6429]

We probably saw one another a couple-few times.

[@TanDawg58]

The only time I actually got to see Hillin on track in a live race was when he made his random-as-hell return to Nationwide in 2008 and 2009 for Randy MacDonald Motorsports. I always wondered why he did it after being away for nearly 10 years. I always have to do a double take on the ARCA broadcasts whenever Bobby Hillis is entered, because I always misread it as Hillin

[@ghettostreamlabs5724]

Bobby Hillin looks great! I was at that '86 Dega race - it was my first race to see in person. Great Interview!!!!

[@donniehelmly4920]

Bobby was tossed out of the frying pan and into the fire. Having that responsibility at such an early age is difficult at best.

[@paulhart4984]

he is right about Lake Speed

[@Vigilant_Guardian]

when are we going to have a dale jr download road trip too ...The Richard Petty Museum... we are waiting for jr. to find "the time" to ask the questions that only he could ask, about the history at the museum, (heck take stapleton42 with you? Jr. you really should go while Dale Inman and Richard can guide the tour "time is ticking" into the future, go out and relive the past while you can!!! see ya next time . 83RacerX Hampton, Va.

[@mrh0661]

Funny. I don't remember that Daytona race he had confrontation with Kyle the same way Bobby did. Kyle was super fast and was upfront most of the time. Got shuffled back on a pit stop. He was working way through traffic and ended up with cars he shouldn't have been around.

[@jeff-hx6ir]

Junior firing those questions. Give interviewee a chance to answer initial question.

[@mrwinston_thepug]

Dale , Id like to know your reaction to the North Wilkesboro news about finding a room under the grandstands ?

[@teresagoodwin7458]

ABSOLUTELY YES!!! FASCINATING STORIES YET TO BE UNCOVERED AND TOLD BY THE GREATEST PERSON NASCAR HAS, DALE EARNHARDT JR 💞🤗💞🏁🏆🏁🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@josephneltner6042]

Why is Mike Davis not on the dale jr download anymore

[@rbell3109]

I think Kyle Petty called Bobby Hillin the Blind Boy after a number of scrapes on the race tracks