Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Dale Earnhardt Sr. (May 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001) of Kannapolis, North Carolina, was a seven-time (1980, 1986-1987, 1990-1991 & 1993-1994) NASCAR Cup Series Champion whose overall impact on big-league Stock Car Racing may have only been eclipsed by his fellow seven-time champion and EMPA Hall of Fame member Richard Petty.
The son of 1956 NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Champion Ralph Earnhardt, Dale wanted to be just like his father. But while Ralph – who ran his white No. 8 1937 Ford coupe, 1955 Chevrolet sedan and 1969 Chevy Camaro where the purses were best – did not encourage this, Dale dropped out of school after ninth grade to work with his father and follow his dream.
Primarily a short-track specialist, Ralph was a tough teacher but Dale – who like his father was named as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers – learned his lessons well and it didn’t matter to him that his first race car in 1970 was the pink No. K-2 1956 Ford Victoria.
Dale raced all over the Carolinas and Georgia. But when Ralph died of a heart attack at age 45 on September 26, 1973, this had a great affect on him. He eventually went racing full-time in 1974 with his father’s No. 8 Camaro and to keep things going he often borrowed money on Friday to buy tires and fuel and then raced all weekend to repay the loan on Monday morning.
Dale’s first Cup Series ride was in Ed Negre’s No. 8 1974 Plymouth on May 25, 1975, in the World 600 at the 1.5-mile Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and he thought he was doing pretty well until Petty led a freight-train of cars around him on the outside in the fourth turn.
Infrequent Cup rides led to a full-time one with Rod Osterlund and on April 1, 1979, in the blue and yellow No. 2 Chevrolet Dale won the Southeastern 500 at the high-banked half-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on the way to being named “Rookie of the Year.” He then became the first and only “Rookie of The Year” to win the next season’s Cup Series title.
Dale then drove Bud Moore’s yellow and blue No. 15 Wrangler Ford (1982-1983) before returning to the Richard Childress Racing No 3 Chevrolets (1981, 1984-2001).
An aggressive but exceptionally-skilled driver with a hard-work ethic, “The Intimidator” was not afraid to do what he had to do to win races. This, of course, made fans either love him or hate him – although there were legions more of the first group than there was of the second.
Highly regarded by everyone in racing from the top down, Dale was outstanding on superspeedways and said “to be able to see the air.” And because of his many victories every-where he made Wrangler Jeans and GM Goodwrench among the best known sponsors in racing.
In all, Dale won 76 Cup races and 22 poles in 676 starts (1975-2001), plus 21 second-tier Grand National wins and seven poles in 136 starts (1982-1994). But one victory stands out.
On February 15, 1998, after 20 years of trying, Dale finally won the Daytona 500 at the 2.5-mile speedway where he had won 33 other races. And as he drove down pit road to Victory Lane in his iconic black and sliver No. 3 RCR Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet virtually every member of every competing team that day lined up to greet him and offer congratulations.
Unfortunately, though, this truly American story of setting out to be the best and doing it also ended at Daytona International Speedway when Dale was killed while running third in the fourth turn on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 as his Dale Earnhardt Inc. drivers – Michael Waltrip and son Dale Jr. – finished 1-2 in an exciting race that had no joy of victory for anyone.
The death of the man with sparkling blue eyes, a devilish smile and trademark moustache sent shock waves throughout the world – it was “TIME” magazine’s cover story – as he was truly the leader of his sport on and off the track. After his passing more was learned about the “real Dale Earnhardt Sr.” as stories were finally told of how he quietly used his money and influence over the years to assist a wide variety of people who just needed a little helping hand.
Dale Earnhardt Sr. (May 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001) of Kannapolis, North Carolina, was a seven-time (1980, 1986-1987, 1990-1991 & 1993-1994) NASCAR Cup Series Champion whose overall impact on big-league Stock Car Racing may have only been eclipsed by his fellow seven-time champion and EMPA Hall of Fame member Richard Petty.
The son of 1956 NASCAR Late Model Sportsman Champion Ralph Earnhardt, Dale wanted to be just like his father. But while Ralph – who ran his white No. 8 1937 Ford coupe, 1955 Chevrolet sedan and 1969 Chevy Camaro where the purses were best – did not encourage this, Dale dropped out of school after ninth grade to work with his father and follow his dream.
Primarily a short-track specialist, Ralph was a tough teacher but Dale – who like his father was named as one of NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers – learned his lessons well and it didn’t matter to him that his first race car in 1970 was the pink No. K-2 1956 Ford Victoria.
Dale raced all over the Carolinas and Georgia. But when Ralph died of a heart attack at age 45 on September 26, 1973, this had a great affect on him. He eventually went racing full-time in 1974 with his father’s No. 8 Camaro and to keep things going he often borrowed money on Friday to buy tires and fuel and then raced all weekend to repay the loan on Monday morning.
Dale’s first Cup Series ride was in Ed Negre’s No. 8 1974 Plymouth on May 25, 1975, in the World 600 at the 1.5-mile Charlotte (N.C.) Motor Speedway and he thought he was doing pretty well until Petty led a freight-train of cars around him on the outside in the fourth turn.
Infrequent Cup rides led to a full-time one with Rod Osterlund and on April 1, 1979, in the blue and yellow No. 2 Chevrolet Dale won the Southeastern 500 at the high-banked half-mile Bristol (Tenn.) Motor Speedway on the way to being named “Rookie of the Year.” He then became the first and only “Rookie of The Year” to win the next season’s Cup Series title.
Dale then drove Bud Moore’s yellow and blue No. 15 Wrangler Ford (1982-1983) before returning to the Richard Childress Racing No 3 Chevrolets (1981, 1984-2001).
An aggressive but exceptionally-skilled driver with a hard-work ethic, “The Intimidator” was not afraid to do what he had to do to win races. This, of course, made fans either love him or hate him – although there were legions more of the first group than there was of the second.
Highly regarded by everyone in racing from the top down, Dale was outstanding on superspeedways and said “to be able to see the air.” And because of his many victories every-where he made Wrangler Jeans and GM Goodwrench among the best known sponsors in racing.
In all, Dale won 76 Cup races and 22 poles in 676 starts (1975-2001), plus 21 second-tier Grand National wins and seven poles in 136 starts (1982-1994). But one victory stands out.
On February 15, 1998, after 20 years of trying, Dale finally won the Daytona 500 at the 2.5-mile speedway where he had won 33 other races. And as he drove down pit road to Victory Lane in his iconic black and sliver No. 3 RCR Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet virtually every member of every competing team that day lined up to greet him and offer congratulations.
Unfortunately, though, this truly American story of setting out to be the best and doing it also ended at Daytona International Speedway when Dale was killed while running third in the fourth turn on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 as his Dale Earnhardt Inc. drivers – Michael Waltrip and son Dale Jr. – finished 1-2 in an exciting race that had no joy of victory for anyone.
The death of the man with sparkling blue eyes, a devilish smile and trademark moustache sent shock waves throughout the world – it was “TIME” magazine’s cover story – as he was truly the leader of his sport on and off the track. After his passing more was learned about the “real Dale Earnhardt Sr.” as stories were finally told of how he quietly used his money and influence over the years to assist a wide variety of people who just needed a little helping hand.
