Most of the country music industry has a smoking story about Willie Nelson. More than an outlaw country pioneer, the Red-headed Stranger has long been a fierce advocate for the legalization of marijuana. Even at the ripe old age of 91, Nelson can still out-smoke those 60 years younger than him. Country star Luke Combs, 34, found this out the hard way. And it seems the “Fast Car” singer could have used a lesson from the late Dale Earnhardt Sr.
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Dale Earnhardt Sr. Once Turned Down Willie Nelson’s Smoking Offer
Combs made an appearance Wednesday (May 29) on fellow North Carolinian Dale Earnhardt, Jr.’s podcast, The Dale Jr. Download. At one point, the 90-minute conversation turned to Earnhardt Jr.’s late father. The younger Earnhardt recalled the 1986 Wrangler ad campaign that featured his dad, the NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, along with Nelson and Richard Childress, Earnhardt’s fellow NASCAR driver.
As Earnhardt Jr. tells it, the elder Earnhardt—who died in 2001—was “ridin’ down the road in a limousine” when Nelson sparked up a joint and offered it to the two men.
“And Dad always said he didn’t take a drag off of Willie’s joint, but damn, that had to have been pretty tempting,” Earnhardt Jr. told Combs.
Luke Combs Recounts Getting High With Willie Nelson to Dale Earnhardt Jr.
The two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year then launched into a Willie story of his own. As Combs previously said on the Full Send Podcast, he was staying a few extra days in Maui, Hawaii, after a songwriting festival. During that time, he was invited to play poker at the “Always On My Mind” singer’s beach house—an offer he couldn’t refuse. It’s a long, surreal story that you can read more about here.
“I ended up at Willie’s house in Maui one time,” Combs told Earnhardt Jr. “It made me wish that I would’ve taken your dad’s route, if that makes any sense… if that makes any sense to you.”
In other words: If Willie Nelson offers you a joint, just say no.
Featured image by Terry Wyatt/Getty Images
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