Born in Kannapolis, North Carolina on April 29, 1951, Dale Earnhardt seemed destined to be a racecar driver from the start. As a child, he watched his father race stockcars and win races, and through this model he developed his own passion for the sport. After only receiving a formal education up to the tenth grade, Earnhardt, during his teenage years, worked full-time during the day, played around on his cars at night, and raced these cars on the weekends. With his full-time day job of welding and mounting tires, Earnhardt was able to finance his own efforts in racing, and he began his career driving Hobby-class cars in evening and weekend races. Sometimes, Earnhardt needed to borrow money from the bank to race on the weekends and fix up his car. Then he would hope that he would make enough in his winnings to pay the money back. None-the-less, Earnhardt was making his mark, and after the devastating loss of his father, he then completely dedicated his life to racing.
In 1973 he moved up the series latter of racing and raced successfully in the Sportsman Series, which were races that occurred on larger tracks near his hometown. It was at this point that he had truly established a racing career because he was attractive to sponsors, and he also began to race in the Winston Cup Series. In 1975 he raced Ed Negre’s Dodge and finished 22nd in Atlanta. Over the next three years, Earnhardt had raced in eight other races and switched to driving the second car for Rod Osterlund’s team. There he had finished directly behind Osterlund’s regular driver, Marcis, and he looked so good in the eyes of this new team that he signed on for the next season. His first season with Osterlund in 1979 was very successful, and by the end he had landed 11 top five finishes and won rookie of the year. In 1980, with the same solid team, Earnhardt’s astounding record began to grow even more and he became the only driver ever to win the Winston Series championship two consecutive years in a row. These achievements created a reputation of Earnhardt as a tough, motivated driver that could compete among the best. This is also when he developed the nickname "The Intimidator."
His career racing took a turn when Osterlund sold his team to Jim Stacy, and Earnhardt left because he was not impressed with the new team. He finished the year with owner Richard Childress, but Childress soon realized the he didn’t have the team or the cars that Ernhardt needed to expose his amazing abilities. For the next two seasons, 1982 and 1983, he was fairly successful when he raced with Bud Moore and the big-dollar sponsor, Wrangler. Meanwhile, Childress built up a stronger team with driver Ricky Rudd. In the off-season between 1983 and 1984, Earnhardt and Childress were joined together once again. It was from that moment on that the team-run by Richard Childress, car-the #3/Cheverolet, and sponsor-GM Goodwrench, were on the road to most of the most successful stock car driving careers in the history of Nascar.
In 1986 they captured their first of six championship titles that they would receive in the next nine seasons. Other highlights include:
· Seven NASCAR Winston Cup championships
('80, '86, '87, '90, '91, '93, '94)
· The only Winston driver to win Rookie
of the Year and the Championship in successive years (1979, 1980).
· Career winnings in excess of $40 million.
· Five-time NMPA Driver of the Year ('80,
'86, '87, '90, '94)
· Only three-time winner of "The Winston"
('87, '90, '93)
· Only six-time Busch Clash winner ('80,
'86, '88, '91, '93, '95)
· Four-time IROC champion ('90, '95, '99,
'00)
· Earnhardt has won nearly every major
event and title available to NASCAR Winston Cup drivers, including the
Daytona 500.
Dale Earnhardt soon became sixth on the list of
all-time wins, and in 2001 he raced with his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. as
a team of two drivers in the Daytona 500. Unfortunately, it was this
race that was Earnhardt’s finale. After a horrific crash, Earnhardt
died in the hospital on February 18, 2001. Because of his record
of wins and awards that he had achieved in a rather short amount of time,
he became a legend of the sport. However, because he was also known as
one of the most recognized drivers and businessmen in NACAR of his time
and his fans still loved him because he was the type of driver that they
could relate to, Earnhardt was particularly important for the sport becuase
he represented the new corparate NASCAR while maintaining an image of the
sport's roots. All in all, he was seen as a great man on and off
the track. His death is a tragedy for the sport, but he will be loved
and remembered by his many fans and loving family. His legacy lives
on through the amazing record that he built for himself, his enterprises
and investments made in Dale Earnhardt Inc., and within the talents of
his sons that are aspiring drivers just like their father.
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