News Director 
Column By: REID SPENCER / NASCAR – TALLADEGA, AL – Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t need an excuse like “alligator arms”—he’s found a different way to be frugal.
He simply leaves the house without his wallet.
Not that Earnhardt needs a wallet or credit card. He doesn’t buy gas at a retail gas station. And if he’s hungry, well, someone else will front him the money for a meal.
“Sometimes I forget,” Earnhardt chuckled on Friday after a rain-shortened Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series practice session at Talladega Superspeedway. “I have a gas tank at the house, so I don’t buy gas from the store. We buy gas in bulk—it’s a little cheaper. This is something Kenny Wallace told me a long time ago when I was fixing up my property about 2002, 2003.
“He was like ‘Get you a gas tank and buy it in bulk, it’s cheaper and that way you ain’t got to go anywhere to get gas, you just pull out of the driveway, pump it right there and get on down the road.’ So, that’s what I do with gas. Usually, if I ain’t got my wallet and it’s time to eat, whoever is with me is going to buy the food. I’m good for it though, so it’s usually not big discussion.”
That’s not to say Earnhardt’s forgetfulness doesn’t create some embarrassing moments. He keeps his keys in his wallet, too.
“Probably fifty percent of the time I will leave the house, unintentionally, without my wallet,” he admitted. “And it’s a pain in the butt, because I go over to JR Motorsports, and I don’t have my key to get in the door and have to get somebody to come down there and get me in—which is a little embarrassing for the boss or the guy that owns the building.
“But, you know, I don’t really spend money. I don’t really go buy stuff so I don’t … usually when I’m out and about, I’m going to do something as far as a responsibility with my team, going to the team meeting or something like that. I’m not really hardly in a store to physically purchase anything. I guess that’s why I keep forgetting it, because I don’t hardly need it.”
CAN KYLE LARSON SUSTAIN THE RUN HE’S ON?
Kyle Larson is enjoying himself—and with good reason.
With a victory from the pole at Auto Club Speedway (Fontana, Calif.) and four second-place finishes in the Monster Energy NASCAR Cup Series this season, the driver of the No. 42 Chip Ganassi Racing Chevrolet has posted an average finish of 6.4 through nine races.
Larson tops the series standings by 40 points over second-place Martin Truex Jr. And for good measure, he’s added two victories in five NASCAR XFINITY Series starts, with an average finish of 2.8. It’s almost too good to be true.
“Yeah it’s been cool,” Larson said. “I expected to… well, I wanted to start the season off good. I didn’t know I would start the season off being the point leader and carrying it through like we have been. It’s just been a lot of fun to show up to the race track knowing we’ve got a fast car and capable of winning almost every race.
“Just got to keep, myself, got to keep working hard. Everybody at the race shop needs to keep working hard to build on what we currently have and make it even better. Just enjoying my time right now and having fun each and every week.”
The race track isn’t the only place Larson is having fun.
On Friday night at Talladega, he was out on the midway with former Alabama quarterback AJ McCarron.
“Became a big fan of @10AJMcCarron tonight,” Larson tweeted, along with a picture of himself wearing a sombrero.
After all, it was Cinco de Mayo.
After all, it is Talladega.
POLLS ARE OPEN FOR MONSTER ENERGY ALL-STAR RACE FAN VOTING
If your favorite driver isn’t currently eligible for the May 20 Monster Energy All-Star Race at Charlotte Motor Speedway, you can lend a helping hand.
Simply go to NASCAR.com/fanvote on the web and cast a ballot. The polls are open, and the driver with the most votes at the cutoff (11:59 p.m. on May 19) will earn the final spot in the exhibition race that will make an instant millionaire of the winner.
The drivers on the Fan Vote ballot are: AJ Allmendinger, Aric Almirola, Trevor Bayne, Ryan Blaney, Clint Bowyer, Landon Cassill, Matt DiBenedetto, Austin Dillon, Ty Dillon, Jeffrey Earnhardt, Chase Elliott, Timmy Hill, Erik Jones, Corey LaJoie, Michael McDowell, Paul Menard, Danica Patrick, David Ragan, Reed Sorenson, Ricky Stenhouse Jr., Daniel Suárez and Cole Whitt.
Fans can vote once per day, and votes shared on Facebook and Twitter count double. To engage in the social media conversation, use the hashtags #AllStarRace and #FanVote.
