Earnhardt gives Navy recruits break from boot camp

Recruits don't ordinarily pose for pictures and receive autographs from a star NASCAR driver during boot camp at Great Lakes Naval Station near North Chicago.

But that was the special treat in a barracks Tuesday for the 88 recruits in the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Division. Earnhardt returned to Great Lakes for a final look at the recruits before an Oct. 17 graduation ceremony.

"When I was here last time, you guys were all scared to death," said Earnhardt, who visited the recruits just before they started training in late August.

All 88 recruits lined up in orderly fashion to receive a special Dale Jr. Division Navy cap, an autographed picture and a photo with the driver. They later serenaded him with a cadence that was tweaked for Earnhardt, incorporating his No. 83 car.

"You better get out of our way now. Before we drive right over you. It's just the quickest. Whoo! Hottest. Hey! The Navy's 83," chanted the recruits, led by Deborah White, 23, of Greenbelt, Md.

John Steinhauer, 20, of Wheaton, said he and his family are NASCAR and Earnhardt fans, so he jumped at the chance to join the division when asked by a Navy recruiter. He said it's been a boost during the grueling boot camp.

"I think we try a lot harder because we want to show we're better," Steinhauer said. "It seems like we're more motivated to try better, and I think we've done pretty good as a division."

Under an $800,000 deal with the Navy, Earnhardt appeared in television commercials and participated in other efforts to attract the recruits to his division. It's the Navy's first celebrity division as part of an official marketing effort that targeted young adults.

Earnhardt, who flew in and out of Waukegan Regional Airport on Tuesday, said it's been interesting to see the recruits train at Great Lakes.

"The way that they are organized and structure their day, it's pretty impressive," Earnhardt said. "When you walk out of here, you realize that what a powerful machine the military is."

Recruit Heather Martinez, 18, of Denver, said she and her colleagues want to make Earnhardt proud of them. She also said the experience of being in the Dale Jr. Division has been exciting.

"Some of the other divisions look up to us because we're so high up," Martinez said.

Great Lakes has the Navy's only boot camp. More than 40,000 recruits are projected to pass through the 96-year-old base this year.

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