|
BACK |
Dale Earnhardt's father won the NASCAR Sportsman Championship in 1956, finished in the top ten of the NASCAR National Sportsman point standings six years and finished 17th in the NASCAR Grand National (now Winston Cup) point standings in 1961.
He was the man to beat. He was an innovator in the sport. He used tire stagger and crash bars for the driver's side door when nobody else even thought of such things. His career spanned 23 years of competition in NASCAR Modified, Sportsman, and Grand National series and won more than 350 NASCAR races. In 1989, Earnhardt was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame and into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1997.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. began his professional driving career at age 17, racing in the street stock division. Dale Jr. says, "I got started in racing by getting up $500 and buying a street car out of the junkyard, building it into a street stock car when I was 17 years old, my brother, Kerry, and I did that together."
Within two seasons, he progressed to NASCAR's Late Model Stock Division. In three years competing in the NASCAR Winston Racing Series, he made 113 starts, grabbed 12 poles and won 3 races. In 1996, he made his first career NASCAR Busch Series start where he finished 14th.
On April 4th 1998, Dale Jr. captured his first win in the Busch series and in a rather nice coincidence, the win came in his 16th Busch race, just like his dad's first Winston Cup victory came in his 16th start. He went on to win the Busch Series Championship that year.
For the 1999 season Dale Earnhardt Jr. had the pressure on, he would run 5 races on the W/Cup schedule with the #8 Budweiser sponsored car and make numerous appearance, at the same time he was the defending Busch Grand National Champion. Jr. didn’t let the team down, winning his second Busch Grand National Championship, even while doing double duty.
In 2000, Jr.’s first full year as a Winston Cup Driver, the #8 Budweiser team took home three victories and narrowly missed the “Rookie of the Year” title. Even with the tough times that he’s had in 2001, he’s definitely a driver to watch in the future.
Dale Earnhardt's eldest son began his racing career in 1992, racing street stocks against his brother (Dale Jr.) and sister (Kelley).
In 1994, he started racing in the NASCAR Late Model series where he raced for five years. In 1998, he ran three races in the Busch series. In 2000, he started racing in the ARCA series. In the six races he ran with the Dale Earnhardt Incorporated's (DEI) #2 Chevy Monte Carlo, he got his first victory on Father's Day at Pocono Speedway.
In 2001, he again ran a limited number of ARCA races and won three times. Last season, he moved to the #12 car in the Busch series to run the whole year teaming up with NFL legend Terry Bradshaw. His best finish was a second and he ended up 22nd in the Busch series points.
Racing against her brothers when she was younger, Dale Earnhardt's oldest daughter proves that racing isn't just a guy sport! Currently Kelley is managing Dale Earnhardt, Jr. as well as running his fan club.
Teresa and Dale Earnhardt were married in 1982 and have one daughter, Taylor, born in 1988. They inspired many in their years of marriage with their obviously genuine love for each other. Widowed by her husband's terrible crash in 2001, Teresa is now the CEO of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and continues to work closely with her stepsons. Recently she was cited as an “Outstanding Mother of the Year” for 2002 by the National Mother's Day Commitee.
|
|
BACK |