I came across an interesting YouTube video this morning in which Dale Earnhardt Jr. talks about how his legendary NASCAR driver father, Dale Earnhardt (Sr. obviously) became obsessed with the 1985 Williams pinball machine Comet.
Dale Sr. used to live in a lake house that other than a pool table was completely bereft of any entertainment. They had boats, fishing gear and stuff like that, but not much in the way of indoor activities. As a result, when he got home from a long day of work, Dale Sr. used to immediately flop down in his lounger and pass out or just go to bed. That is until the he brought in a new Williams Comet pinball machine. Once that machine made its way into the house, he would play that game every single night when he got home. It brought him tremendous joy.
To keep the memory of that old Comet pinball machine alive, Dale Jr. sought out and acquired a Comet that he keeps in his broadcast studio today. He actually even has several pinball machines at home, including one themed after himself, Stern's 2007 Dale Jr. pin. Stern made approximately 600 units of a special retheme of its NASCAR pinball machine.
Cool story!
