(; April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably driving the No.
Earnhardt has been inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the NASCAR Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2010. ==Biography== ===Early and personal life=== Of German ancestry, Dale Earnhardt was born on April 29, 1951, in the Charlotte suburb of Kannapolis, North Carolina, as the third child of Martha (née Coleman) and Ralph Earnhardt.
Earnhardt's father was one of the best short-track drivers in North Carolina at the time and won his first and only NASCAR Sportsman Championship in 1956 at Greenville Pickens Speedway in Greenville, South Carolina.
The car was painted to resemble Ralph's 1956 dirt cars, and carried 1956-era Budweiser logos to complete the throwback look. In the summer of 2007, Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
In 1963 at the age of 12, Dale Earnhardt secretly drove his father’s car in one of his races and had a near victory against one of his father's closest competitors.
He was also the third driver in NASCAR history to win both the Rookie of the Year and Winston Cup Series championship, following David Pearson (1960, 1966) and Richard Petty (1959, 1964).
He was also the third driver in NASCAR history to win both the Rookie of the Year and Winston Cup Series championship, following David Pearson (1960, 1966) and Richard Petty (1959, 1964).
Earnhardt had four siblings: two brothers, Danny and Randy (died 2013); and two sisters, Cathy and Kaye (died 2015) In 1968, at the age of 17, Earnhardt married his first wife, Latane Brown.
Earnhardt and Brown divorced in 1970.
In 1971, Earnhardt married his second wife, Brenda Gee, the daughter of NASCAR car builder Robert Gee.
In 1972, he raced his father at Metrolina Speedway in a race with cars from semi mod and sportsman divisions.
In his marriage with Gee, Earnhardt had two more children: a daughter, Kelley King Earnhardt, in 1972, and a son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., in 1974.
Ralph was a hard teacher for Dale, and after Ralph died of a [attack] at his home in 1973 at age 45, it took many years before Dale felt as though he had finally "proven" himself to his father.
In his marriage with Gee, Earnhardt had two more children: a daughter, Kelley King Earnhardt, in 1972, and a son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., in 1974.
He had made his Grand National debut in 1974 in an unofficial invitational exhibition race at Metrolina Speedway, where with eight laps to go he got under Richard Childress and spun out when battling for third.
(; April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably driving the No.
The third child of racing driver Ralph Earnhardt and Martha Earnhardt, he began his career in 1975 in the World 600.
Taylor and her husband, Brandon Putnam, are professional rodeo performers. ==NASCAR career== ===Early Winston Cup career (1975–1978)=== Earnhardt began his professional career in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series in 1975, making his points race debut at Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina in the longest race on the Cup circuit—the 1975 World 600.
Sixteen races into the season, Rod Osterlund suddenly sold his team to Jim Stacy, an entrepreneur from Kentucky who entered NASCAR in 1977.
3 car for the majority of his career, spanning the latter half of the 1981 season, and then again from 1984 until his death in 2001.
Earnhardt then married his third and final wife, Teresa Houston, in 1982.
Earnhardt departed RCR at the end of the season, citing a lack of chemistry. ===Bud Moore Engineering (1982–1983)=== The following year, at Childress's suggestion, Earnhardt joined car owner Bud Moore for the 1982 and 1983 seasons driving the No.
During the 1982 season, Earnhardt struggled.
Earnhardt departed RCR at the end of the season, citing a lack of chemistry. ===Bud Moore Engineering (1982–1983)=== The following year, at Childress's suggestion, Earnhardt joined car owner Bud Moore for the 1982 and 1983 seasons driving the No.
In 1983, Earnhardt rebounded and won his first of 12 Twin 125 Daytona 500 qualifying races.
He won at Nashville and at Talladega, finishing eighth in the points standings. ===Return to Richard Childress Racing (1984–2001)=== ====1984–1985==== After the 1983 season, Earnhardt returned to Richard Childress Racing, replacing Ricky Rudd in the No.
During the 1984 and 1985 seasons, Earnhardt went to victory lane six times, at Talladega, Atlanta, Richmond, Bristol (twice), and Martinsville, where he finished fourth and eighth in the season standings respectively. ====1986–1987==== The 1986 season saw Earnhardt win his second career Winston Cup Championship and the first owner's championship for Richard Childress Racing.
3 car for the majority of his career, spanning the latter half of the 1981 season, and then again from 1984 until his death in 2001.
During the 1984 and 1985 seasons, Earnhardt went to victory lane six times, at Talladega, Atlanta, Richmond, Bristol (twice), and Martinsville, where he finished fourth and eighth in the season standings respectively. ====1986–1987==== The 1986 season saw Earnhardt win his second career Winston Cup Championship and the first owner's championship for Richard Childress Racing.
During the 1984 and 1985 seasons, Earnhardt went to victory lane six times, at Talladega, Atlanta, Richmond, Bristol (twice), and Martinsville, where he finished fourth and eighth in the season standings respectively. ====1986–1987==== The 1986 season saw Earnhardt win his second career Winston Cup Championship and the first owner's championship for Richard Childress Racing.
In the 1987 season, he earned the nickname "The Intimidator", due in part to the 1987 Winston All-Star Race.
The investigation was closed after the races at the three tracks finished without incident. ====1988–1989==== The 1988 season saw Earnhardt racing with a new sponsor, GM Goodwrench, after Wrangler Jeans dropped its sponsorship in 1987.
She gave birth to their daughter, Taylor Nicole Earnhardt, in 1988.
The investigation was closed after the races at the three tracks finished without incident. ====1988–1989==== The 1988 season saw Earnhardt racing with a new sponsor, GM Goodwrench, after Wrangler Jeans dropped its sponsorship in 1987.
He won three races in 1988, finishing third in the points standings behind Bill Elliott in first and Rusty Wallace in second.
Nine drivers have since joined this exclusive club: Rusty Wallace (1984, 1989), Alan Kulwicki (1986, 1992), Jeff Gordon (1993, 1995), Tony Stewart (1999, 2002), Matt Kenseth (2000, 2003), Kevin Harvick (2001, 2014), Kyle Busch (2005, 2015), Joey Logano (2009, 2018), and Chase Elliott (2016, 2020). ===Rod Osterlund Racing, Stacy Racing, and Richard Childress Racing (1981)=== 1981 would prove to be tumultuous for the defending Winston Cup champion.
The following year, Earnhardt won five races, but a late spin out at North Wilkesboro arguably cost him the 1989 championship, as Rusty Wallace edged him out for it.
It was his first season for the GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Lumina. ====1990–1995==== The 1990 season started for Earnhardt with victories in the Busch Clash and his heat of the Gatorade Twin 125's.
Earnhardt also had second-place runs at Richmond and Martinsville, tracks where he had struggled through the late 1990s.
Avondale is where Earnhardt won a Cup race in 1990. His helmet from the 1998 season is at the National Museum of American History in the Smithsonian museum in Washington D.C. Weedeater, a sludge metal band from North Carolina, paid tribute to Earnhardt on their 2003 album Sixteen Tons, with the song "No.
The 1991 season saw Earnhardt win his fifth Winston Cup championship.
Nine drivers have since joined this exclusive club: Rusty Wallace (1984, 1989), Alan Kulwicki (1986, 1992), Jeff Gordon (1993, 1995), Tony Stewart (1999, 2002), Matt Kenseth (2000, 2003), Kevin Harvick (2001, 2014), Kyle Busch (2005, 2015), Joey Logano (2009, 2018), and Chase Elliott (2016, 2020). ===Rod Osterlund Racing, Stacy Racing, and Richard Childress Racing (1981)=== 1981 would prove to be tumultuous for the defending Winston Cup champion.
Late in the race, Gant lost his brakes, which gave Earnhardt the chance he needed to make the pass for the win and maintain his record. Earnhardt's only win of the 1992 season came at Charlotte, in the Coca-Cola 600, ending a 13-race win streak by Ford teams.
Hiring Petree turned out to be beneficial, as Earnhardt returned to the front in 1993.
The GM Goodwrench racing team changed to Chevrolet Monte Carlos. ====1996–1999==== 1996 for Earnhardt started just like it had done in 1993—he dominated Speedweeks, only to finish second in the Daytona 500 to Dale Jarrett for the second time.
Earnhardt won a total of 76 Winston Cup races over the course of his 4 decade career, including four Winston 500s (1990, 1994, 1999, and 2000) and the 1998 Daytona 500.
This is also the track where Earnhardt claimed his sixth Winston Cup Series title. ==Awards== He was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt in 1994. He was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. Earnhardt was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. Earnhardt was posthumously named "NASCAR's Most Popular Driver" in 2001.
Nine drivers have since joined this exclusive club: Rusty Wallace (1984, 1989), Alan Kulwicki (1986, 1992), Jeff Gordon (1993, 1995), Tony Stewart (1999, 2002), Matt Kenseth (2000, 2003), Kevin Harvick (2001, 2014), Kyle Busch (2005, 2015), Joey Logano (2009, 2018), and Chase Elliott (2016, 2020). ===Rod Osterlund Racing, Stacy Racing, and Richard Childress Racing (1981)=== 1981 would prove to be tumultuous for the defending Winston Cup champion.
Earnhardt started off the 1995 season by finishing second in the Daytona 500 to Sterling Marlin.
He won five races in 1995, including his first road course victory at Sears Point.
At the Bristol night race, Earnhardt found himself in contention to win his first short track race since Martinsville in 1995.
Earnhardt did not win again in 1996 but still finished fourth in the standings behind Terry Labonte, Jeff Gordon, and Dale Jarrett.
In the August race at Michigan, he led laps late in the race and nearly pulled off his first win on a non-restrictor-plate track since 1996.
He finished seventh in the standings that year. ====2000==== In the 2000 season, Earnhardt had a resurgence, which was commonly attributed to neck surgery he underwent to correct a lingering injury from his 1996 Talladega crash.
3 team and RCR at the end of the year for personal reasons, and he was replaced by Larry McReynolds. In 1997, Earnhardt went winless for only the second time in his career.
Earnhardt won a total of 76 Winston Cup races over the course of his 4 decade career, including four Winston 500s (1990, 1994, 1999, and 2000) and the 1998 Daytona 500.
Despite no wins, the Richard Childress Racing team finished the season fifth in the final standings. On February 15, 1998, Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500 in his 20th attempt after failing to win in his previous 19 attempts.
Earnhardt finished the 1998 season eighth in the final points standings. Before the 1999 season, fans began discussing Earnhardt's age and speculating that with his son, Dale Jr., making his Winston Cup debut, Earnhardt might be contemplating retirement.
The first winner was William Bostic, a senior at Clemson majoring in mechanical engineering. In 2008, on the 50th anniversary of the first Daytona 500 race, DEI and RCR teamed up to make a special COT sporting Earnhardt's 1998 Daytona 500 paint scheme to honor the tenth anniversary of his Daytona 500 victory.
The throwback car featured the authentic 1998-era design on a current-era car, a concept similar to modern throwback jerseys in other sports.
Avondale is where Earnhardt won a Cup race in 1990. His helmet from the 1998 season is at the National Museum of American History in the Smithsonian museum in Washington D.C. Weedeater, a sludge metal band from North Carolina, paid tribute to Earnhardt on their 2003 album Sixteen Tons, with the song "No.
This is also the track where Earnhardt claimed his sixth Winston Cup Series title. ==Awards== He was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt in 1994. He was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. Earnhardt was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. Earnhardt was posthumously named "NASCAR's Most Popular Driver" in 2001.
Earnhardt won a total of 76 Winston Cup races over the course of his 4 decade career, including four Winston 500s (1990, 1994, 1999, and 2000) and the 1998 Daytona 500.
Earnhardt finished the 1998 season eighth in the final points standings. Before the 1999 season, fans began discussing Earnhardt's age and speculating that with his son, Dale Jr., making his Winston Cup debut, Earnhardt might be contemplating retirement.
Earnhardt won a total of 76 Winston Cup races over the course of his 4 decade career, including four Winston 500s (1990, 1994, 1999, and 2000) and the 1998 Daytona 500.
He finished seventh in the standings that year. ====2000==== In the 2000 season, Earnhardt had a resurgence, which was commonly attributed to neck surgery he underwent to correct a lingering injury from his 1996 Talladega crash.
Earnhardt finished 2000 with two wins, 13 top fives, 24 top tens, an average finish of 9.4, and was the only driver besides Labonte to finish the season with zero DNF's. ===Death=== During the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2001, Earnhardt was killed in a three-car crash on the final lap of the race.
(; April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably driving the No.
He is regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. On February 18, 2001, Earnhardt died in a sudden last-lap crash during the Daytona 500, an event that is regarded in the racing industry as being a crucial moment in improving safety in all aspects of car racing, especially NASCAR.
Earnhardt finished 2000 with two wins, 13 top fives, 24 top tens, an average finish of 9.4, and was the only driver besides Labonte to finish the season with zero DNF's. ===Death=== During the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on February 18, 2001, Earnhardt was killed in a three-car crash on the final lap of the race.
An autopsy conducted on February 19, 2001, concluded that Earnhardt sustained a fatal basilar skull fracture.
Childress' second-year Busch Series driver Kevin Harvick was named as Earnhardt's replacement, beginning with the 2001 Dura Lube 400 at North Carolina Speedway.
Harvick would win another race at the inaugural event at Chicagoland en route to a ninth-place finish in the final points, and won Rookie of the Year honors along with the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series Championship. Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
won five races in the 2001 season, beginning with Steve Park's victory in the race at Rockingham just one week after Earnhardt's death.
also won the fall races at Dover (first post 9/11 race) and Talladega and came to an eighth-place points finish. Earnhardt's remains were interred at his estate in Mooresville, North Carolina after a private funeral service on February 21, 2001. ==No.
3 car for the majority of his career, spanning the latter half of the 1981 season, and then again from 1984 until his death in 2001.
3 as an homage to Earnhardt from 2001-2013 and the usage of the No.
3. During the third lap of the 2011 Daytona 500 (a decade since Earnhardt's death), the commentators on FOX fell silent while fans raised three fingers in a similar fashion to the tributes throughout 2001. The north entrance to New Avondale City Center in Arizona will bear the name Dale Earnhardt Drive.
He is also mentioned in a 2001 song composed by John Hiatt entitled The Tiki Bar Is Open, along with his legendary race number. On February 28, 2016, after winning the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, during his victory lap, driver Jimmie Johnson held his hand out of his window, with three fingers extended in tribute to Earnhardt.
This is also the track where Earnhardt claimed his sixth Winston Cup Series title. ==Awards== He was awarded the Order of the Long Leaf Pine by North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt in 1994. He was inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1994. Earnhardt was named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998. Earnhardt was posthumously named "NASCAR's Most Popular Driver" in 2001.
Nine drivers have since joined this exclusive club: Rusty Wallace (1984, 1989), Alan Kulwicki (1986, 1992), Jeff Gordon (1993, 1995), Tony Stewart (1999, 2002), Matt Kenseth (2000, 2003), Kevin Harvick (2001, 2014), Kyle Busch (2005, 2015), Joey Logano (2009, 2018), and Chase Elliott (2016, 2020). ===Rod Osterlund Racing, Stacy Racing, and Richard Childress Racing (1981)=== 1981 would prove to be tumultuous for the defending Winston Cup champion.
3 in the beginning of NASCAR Thunder 2002 before the EA Sports logo, and the television coverage of NASCAR on Fox and NASCAR on NBC went silent for each third lap from Rockingham to the following year's race there in honor of Earnhardt, unless on-track incidents brought out the caution flag on the third lap.
made two special appearances in 2002 in a No.
Nine drivers have since joined this exclusive club: Rusty Wallace (1984, 1989), Alan Kulwicki (1986, 1992), Jeff Gordon (1993, 1995), Tony Stewart (1999, 2002), Matt Kenseth (2000, 2003), Kevin Harvick (2001, 2014), Kyle Busch (2005, 2015), Joey Logano (2009, 2018), and Chase Elliott (2016, 2020). ===Rod Osterlund Racing, Stacy Racing, and Richard Childress Racing (1981)=== 1981 would prove to be tumultuous for the defending Winston Cup champion.
Avondale is where Earnhardt won a Cup race in 1990. His helmet from the 1998 season is at the National Museum of American History in the Smithsonian museum in Washington D.C. Weedeater, a sludge metal band from North Carolina, paid tribute to Earnhardt on their 2003 album Sixteen Tons, with the song "No.
3 team would most likely, in any case, need to create logos which fit with their sponsor's logos). In 2004, ESPN released a made-for-TV movie entitled The Dale Earnhardt Story, which used a new (but similarly colored) No.
3, which they did in a rule change effective in 2004.
In December 2006, the ESPN lawsuit was settled, but details were not released to the public. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
15 Paul Menard competed in cars with the same type of paint scheme. On June 18, 2006, at Michigan for the 3M Performance 400, Earnhardt Jr.
Until the series folded in 2007, anyone wishing to use the No.
The car was painted to resemble Ralph's 1956 dirt cars, and carried 1956-era Budweiser logos to complete the throwback look. In the summer of 2007, Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
The first winner was William Bostic, a senior at Clemson majoring in mechanical engineering. In 2008, on the 50th anniversary of the first Daytona 500 race, DEI and RCR teamed up to make a special COT sporting Earnhardt's 1998 Daytona 500 paint scheme to honor the tenth anniversary of his Daytona 500 victory.
3 was missing from the national touring series until September 5, 2009, when Austin Dillon, the 19-year-old grandson of Richard Childress, debuted an RCR-owned No.
Earnhardt has been inducted into numerous halls of fame, including the NASCAR Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2010. ==Biography== ===Early and personal life=== Of German ancestry, Dale Earnhardt was born on April 29, 1951, in the Charlotte suburb of Kannapolis, North Carolina, as the third child of Martha (née Coleman) and Ralph Earnhardt.
3 sponsored by Wrangler on July 2, 2010, for Richard Childress Racing at Daytona.
3 in the Daytona truck race on February 13, 2010, painted identically to when Earnhardt drove it, but with a sponsorship from Bass Pro Shops.
The car was later sold in 1:64 and 1:24 scale models. The Intimidator 305 roller coaster has been open since April 2, 2010, at Kings Dominion in Doswell, Virginia.
Named after Earnhardt, the ride's trains are modeled after his black-and-red Chevrolet. Another Intimidator was built at Carowinds, in Charlotte, North Carolina, which opened on March 27, 2010.
2 for the 2010 season, even when he was named manager in May 2010, but for the 2011 season, he switched back to No.
The number returned for the 2014 season, this time not sponsored by GM Goodwrench (which was rebranded GM Certified Service in 2011), driven by Childress's grandson Austin Dillon. At this time, his team was re-christened as the No.
2 for the 2010 season, even when he was named manager in May 2010, but for the 2011 season, he switched back to No.
3. During the third lap of the 2011 Daytona 500 (a decade since Earnhardt's death), the commentators on FOX fell silent while fans raised three fingers in a similar fashion to the tributes throughout 2001. The north entrance to New Avondale City Center in Arizona will bear the name Dale Earnhardt Drive.
In 2012, Austin Dillon began driving in the Nationwide Series full-time, using the No.
3 marked racecar when he started fifth in the 2012 Daytona Nationwide Series opener in an Advocare sponsored black Chevrolet Impala.
Earnhardt had four siblings: two brothers, Danny and Randy (died 2013); and two sisters, Cathy and Kaye (died 2015) In 1968, at the age of 17, Earnhardt married his first wife, Latane Brown.
Harvick's car always displayed the Earnhardt stylized number 3 on the "B" posts (metal portion on each side of the car to the rear of the front windows) above the number 29 until the end of 2013, when he departed for Stewart-Haas Racing. Fans began honoring Earnhardt by holding three fingers aloft on the third lap of every race, a black screen of No.
On December 11, 2013, RCR announced that Austin Dillon would drive the No.
Nine drivers have since joined this exclusive club: Rusty Wallace (1984, 1989), Alan Kulwicki (1986, 1992), Jeff Gordon (1993, 1995), Tony Stewart (1999, 2002), Matt Kenseth (2000, 2003), Kevin Harvick (2001, 2014), Kyle Busch (2005, 2015), Joey Logano (2009, 2018), and Chase Elliott (2016, 2020). ===Rod Osterlund Racing, Stacy Racing, and Richard Childress Racing (1981)=== 1981 would prove to be tumultuous for the defending Winston Cup champion.
The number returned for the 2014 season, this time not sponsored by GM Goodwrench (which was rebranded GM Certified Service in 2011), driven by Childress's grandson Austin Dillon. At this time, his team was re-christened as the No.
According to established NASCAR procedures, Richard Childress Racing had priority over other teams if they chose to reuse the number, which they did when Austin Dillon was promoted to the Cup series in 2014.
3 car in the upcoming 2014 Sprint Cup season, bringing the number back to the series for the first time in 13 years. Only the former International Race of Champions actually retired the No.
Earnhardt had four siblings: two brothers, Danny and Randy (died 2013); and two sisters, Cathy and Kaye (died 2015) In 1968, at the age of 17, Earnhardt married his first wife, Latane Brown.
Nine drivers have since joined this exclusive club: Rusty Wallace (1984, 1989), Alan Kulwicki (1986, 1992), Jeff Gordon (1993, 1995), Tony Stewart (1999, 2002), Matt Kenseth (2000, 2003), Kevin Harvick (2001, 2014), Kyle Busch (2005, 2015), Joey Logano (2009, 2018), and Chase Elliott (2016, 2020). ===Rod Osterlund Racing, Stacy Racing, and Richard Childress Racing (1981)=== 1981 would prove to be tumultuous for the defending Winston Cup champion.
He is also mentioned in a 2001 song composed by John Hiatt entitled The Tiki Bar Is Open, along with his legendary race number. On February 28, 2016, after winning the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, during his victory lap, driver Jimmie Johnson held his hand out of his window, with three fingers extended in tribute to Earnhardt.
Nine drivers have since joined this exclusive club: Rusty Wallace (1984, 1989), Alan Kulwicki (1986, 1992), Jeff Gordon (1993, 1995), Tony Stewart (1999, 2002), Matt Kenseth (2000, 2003), Kevin Harvick (2001, 2014), Kyle Busch (2005, 2015), Joey Logano (2009, 2018), and Chase Elliott (2016, 2020). ===Rod Osterlund Racing, Stacy Racing, and Richard Childress Racing (1981)=== 1981 would prove to be tumultuous for the defending Winston Cup champion.
Nine drivers have since joined this exclusive club: Rusty Wallace (1984, 1989), Alan Kulwicki (1986, 1992), Jeff Gordon (1993, 1995), Tony Stewart (1999, 2002), Matt Kenseth (2000, 2003), Kevin Harvick (2001, 2014), Kyle Busch (2005, 2015), Joey Logano (2009, 2018), and Chase Elliott (2016, 2020). ===Rod Osterlund Racing, Stacy Racing, and Richard Childress Racing (1981)=== 1981 would prove to be tumultuous for the defending Winston Cup champion.
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