Dale Earnhardt Jr. had Joe Gibbs, the legendary Pro Football Hall of Famer and recent NASCAR Hall of Fame inductee, on his podcast this week, and it was one of the most delightful and entertaining Dale Jr. Download episodes ever.

Gibbs runs the exceptionally successful four-car NASCAR Cup Series team, which accounts for wins in nine of the first 15 races so far in the 2019 season. So of course, he and Earnhardt had plenty to talk about there. But Dale Jr. is also a huge Washington Redskins fan and called Gibbs a hero of his after coaching the NFL team to three Super Bowl championships in the 1980s and ’90s.

With NASCAR’s Sunday race at Michigan International Speedway delayed a day because of weather, Gibbs flew from Michigan to North Carolina to record the podcast before returning to the Great Lakes State for the race that evening. And that left Earnhardt particularly impressed.

Finished up the “Dale Jr Download” podcast this morning with Joe Gibbs. Joe flew in from Michigan to record instead of rescheduling for another day. He’s likely already on his way back for the race later today. That says everything about the person he is. #DJD @DirtyMoMedia — Dale Earnhardt Jr. (@DaleJr) June 10, 2019

The conversation between Earnhardt, Gibbs and podcast co-host Mike Davis was so wonderful that we couldn’t pick a favorite moment. So instead, here are eight fascinating stories and details we learned about Gibbs from his conversation on the Dale Jr. Download. (The time stamp from the 90-minute conversation is noted.)

1. Gibbs was once “fired” by John Madden (4:30)

Gibbs, still referred to around the race track as “Coach,” got his football coaching start in the 1960s after graduating from San Diego State. He volunteered for coach Don Coryell in what is now known as a graduate assistant position. And that’s where he not only worked with John Madden coaching defense, but he also got fired by John Madden.

“He had Wednesday night classes that he took in Fullerton,” Gibbs explained. “I used to drive him up to Fullerton. He used to sit in the backseat, smoke a cigarette, eating peanuts, read the paper and I would drive him up there.”

When it came time to coach an alumni game at SDSU, Madden on the other side demanded all of Gibbs’ plays. More from Gibbs on the Dale Jr. Download:

“I said, ‘I’m not giving you the plays.’ He goes, ‘I said I want all those plays on my desk by this afternoon or you’re done.’ It’s one of those deals. So I wasn’t gonna do that. … “After the game, I walked up the stairs, go to see Pat, my sweetheart. Madden walks over and goes, ‘You are fired.’ I [said], ‘I don’t make anything. How are you going to fire me?’ And so I go in the next day to Don Coryell, and … I said, ‘Coach, John fired me last night after the game.’ And he goes, ‘You fella, come over here and work with me on offense.’ And that’s how I got to offense. If it hadn’t been for Madden, I’d probably be coaching defense someplace.”

2. He was so mad during a game he started throwing oranges at the players (34:00)

Like any coach, Gibbs could get frustrated with the Redskins. But one time in 1986, he was so infuriated by halftime with his team losing to the Philadelphia Eagles that he started chucking oranges at the players when they came in the locker room. Gibbs said that was the most he’s ever lost his temper while coaching.

“Guys are coming in the door, and I’m slinging those oranges, bouncing off helmets,” he explained.

3. Dale Jr. was overly distracted by tomatoes while Gibbs tried to sign him (42:00)

In 2007, Dale Jr. announced he would not race for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. anymore, and everyone wanted to sign him. Knowing he’s a huge Redskins fan, Gibbs met with the driver at Washington owner Dan Snyder’s house. They met in Snyder’s backyard, and here’s how they describe this story together:

Dale Jr.: We’re sitting around this table, and they had these stuffed tomatoes with pimento cheese in them. And they were amazing! And I couldn’t stop eating them. And I couldn’t pay attention to what Joe and them were saying because I wanted to eat more tomatoes. Gibbs: I’m trying to give him millions of dollars, and he’s eating tomatoes. Dale Jr.: Instead of walking away with a contract, I walked away with a recipe for the stuffed tomatoes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YcY86aiA0PQ&feature=youtu.be

4. Gibbs’ offer to Dale Jr. was so gigantic that Earnhardt flipped out (44:00)

Earnhardt explained his side of the contract talks that he had with his sister, Kelley Earnhardt Miller:

“We’re talking for a while. He gave us a sheet of paper with the terms on it. I had never been in any kind of negotiations before. I never negotiated with Dad and Theresa. They just said, ‘Here, this is what you’re getting paid, and that’s the way it is.’ So me and Kelley are in Washington. We get this terms sheet, we go into this private room. … “I said to Kelley, ‘What’s on that paper? What’s the number?’ And she told me, and I said, ‘We gotta get out of here!’ I was like, ‘This was way bigger than I ever even imagined.’ It made my head explode. … My reaction was to run in the other direction. It’s crazy, I know! It was all so big! You gotta remember like when I was racing at DEI, everything was so small, and that was fine. That was the way it was. I didn’t know any better. “But all of a sudden, it was just way too much coming at [me]. I’m with Joe Gibbs, my hero, we’re at the owner of the Redskins’ house, they’re wanting to pay me a lot of money, and I just needed to step back and get a bigger view of it.”

.@DaleJr when Joe Gibbs slid a contract across the table to come race for him. pic.twitter.com/wMMT2eLXwQ — Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) June 11, 2019

Dale Jr. also said in an effort to help Gibbs, Snyder started offering him a piece of the restaurant Johnny Rockets to get him to sign with the Redskins’ former coach. Gibbs said he had no idea Snyder was going to do that, and Earnhardt joked that had he thrown in 1 percent of the Redskins, they would have had a deal right there.

Earnhardt, of course, ended up signing with Hendrick Motorsports.

5. He won a national over-35 racquetball championship in 1976 (8:05)

Gibbs explained that when he moved to St. Louis to coach the Cardinals (when they were still there), and he got “hooked” on racquetball. He said he started playing locally at a community center, and then he eventually became one of the owners of a racquetball club. After coaching, he’d play from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. and later started playing in amateur tournaments.

“It was a big deal for a long time, but it kind of drifted away,” Gibbs said. “I loved it as a sport.”

6. Why Gibbs gave up his drag racing team (51:25)

A few years after starting his NASCAR team in 1992, Gibbs got into drag racing in the NHRA. He had a team for six seasons, and it earned more than 30 wins. So Dale Jr. asked why Gibbs — who said drag racing was his first love — gave it up:

“I think we hold the record for blowing up the most stuff,” he joked. “It’s not for profit, the way they run things over there. And in those days, it wasn’t very well run really.”

7. Gibbs is somewhat looking forward to leaving this world (1:26:40)

Joe Gibbs Racing co-founder and the coach’s son, J.D. Gibbs, died earlier this year from complications following a long battle with a degenerative neurological disease.

From @MISpeedway to the @DaleJr Download… We've got Joe Gibbs! The full podcast drops tonight on all major podcast platforms. pic.twitter.com/YuAbxmuKBR — Dirty Mo Media (@DirtyMoMedia) June 10, 2019

Joe Gibbs, who’s 78, said a friend recently told him they’re playing in the fourth quarter on house money with where they are in their lives. And Gibbs said he joked:

“I’m in a two-minute offense. I’m not going back to the huddle. But for me, I want to finish strong. I’m excited. I didn’t used to think a lot about Heaven, you know. Really didn’t. I was having so much fun down here. I knew Heaven was there. I knew God got it ready for me. “When J.D. went to be with the Lord, I really right now, if he came and got me right now, I’d be excited about seeing J.D. I can’t wait, honestly. And I know you with your dad — can you imagine that first day when you get to see him again? I get emotional when I think about it. And your dad, I used to kid your dad. I would go in there, I would say, ‘You could have been a linebacker.’ He got the biggest kick out of that.”

And Dale Jr. replied: “I get a kick out of that. That’s awesome.”

8. He really wanted to trade away John Riggins (38:20)

When Gibbs first started coaching Washington in 1981, he said everyone told him to get back John Riggins, the now-Pro Football Hall of Famer who sat out for the 1980 season. Gibbs went to Lawrence, Kansas to convince the running back to return to D.C. They met at Riggins’ house for a breakfast meeting at 10 a.m.

“The first time I laid my eyes on John Riggins, he’s walking across the courtyard there with a buddy,” Gibbs recalled. “They both had camouflaged outfits on. They had been hunting that morning, and he had a beer can in both hands. I said, ‘Well, I can tell he’s impressed with me.'”

Gibbs eventually started in on his sales pitch to Riggins, who appeared totally disinterested in the whole conversation. Gibbs told him he’d get the ball on every down, he’d never be asked to block and they were going to have a fully restructured offense.

“About five minutes into this thing, he leaned across the table, and the first meaningful thing he ever said to me, he goes, ‘You need to get me back there. I’ll make you famous.'”

And the coach’s first reaction to that was the fear he’d be stuck coaching an “egomaniac” for the next 10 years. So he then shifted to the idea that he’d sign Riggins and then trade him for a first-round NFL Draft pick.

“Two days later I get a call from John. He goes, ‘Coach,’ he said, ‘I’ve made up my mind. I’m going to play next year.’ I went, ‘Yes!’ First-round pick. Get him back, trade him for a first, this is perfect. And he said, ‘The only thing I want put in my contract is a no-trade clause.’ And I tell everybody to this day, I said, ‘Somebody was looking out for me.'”