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By Kelley Earnhardt Holm
Growing up as the daughter of three-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt probably seems like the ideal life for most kids. I'll admit that I live an exciting life, but it is not all fun and games. Unlike most of you, I get to travel to many different places in the United States. I attend at least eight races in a season with my daddy. The closer ones to my home at Lake Norman, N.C., are usually the ones I go to, but I have been to such places as California, Pennsylvania, Florida and Georgia. I love to go to the races because I get to meet very interesting people. Of course, I love to watch my dad race and win. I really get excited when he does well but I also get upset when he doesn't do well.
The question I'm asked most frequently is, "Do you get scared when your dad wrecks or when he's racing?" When I answer, "No," the person who asked the question has a look of total bewilderment. But my dad told me once that if anything serious ever happened to him-and you know this is possible in automobile racing-I should remember that at least he was doing what he enjoyed. I try not to dwell on thoughts of serious injury because I don't want my dad to worry about me.
One of the funnier things I experience because of my father is watching the reactions of people who idolize him. We could be in a restaurant eating and I'll see people who are whispering back and forth and keep looking at my family. You would think that children are more fascinated with meeting drivers than adults, but I have seen some older men and women who were just hysterical about it. Sometimes, people even ask for MY autograph. I remember once at a race in Nashville, Tenn., which my father had won, my stepmother, Teresa, and I were standing outside the car transporter. There must have been a hundred people standing around and someone asked both of us for our autographs. This started a chain reaction. We must have signed hundreds of posters, postcards, hats and even some bare backs and bare arms. It was really amazing!
Even though I am very fortunate to be able to have more than just the necessities of life, sometimes this lifestyle can be very frustrating. Because he races so often, the time I get to spend with my father is very limited. I try to make the most out of our time together. During the day, I go out to Daddy's farm to see him. If he is driving the dump truck to the gully and dumping trees, then I am usually riding with him. Then, in the evenings, we ride around and check things out on the farm. We usually catch a glimpse of deer and rabbits. We talk about things we have done during the day. It's a nice way to spend time together.
I really enjoy what my dad does. I have grown to love racing and the enjoyment it brings my family. To me, Dale Earnhardt is just an everyday daddy, not the hard-charging racer he's made out to be.
On the Farm with Earnhardt
When he's not at a race track, NASCAR champ Dale Earnhardt gets up with the chickens -- truly! While most of you are still snoozing in the morning, hoping your mom will forget to wake you or maybe the alarm clock just won't go off, Dale's already up and out the door of his Lake Norman home in Doolie, N.C., on his way to his 300-acre farm outside Mooresville, N.C. With four chicken houses, each one home to approximately 8,000 egg-laying hens and 800 roosters, the property is very much a working farm.
To start with, Dale and his wife, Teresa, wanted land on which to build a home for their family. With almost 300 acres, the upkeep on the property was quite high. So the Earnhardts decided to put something on the farm that would provide some money for the farm's operation. At the peak of production, each chicken house will turn out 7,000 eggs a day. The average right now, however, is 4,300 eggs per day. Now that's a lot of omelets! The Earnhardt farm also has a foreman, Bob Elienburg, who oversees the work of five people employed on the farm to care for the chickens and clean, inspect and package the eggs.
In addition to the income provided by the chicken houses, cattle help with the farm's daily operation. "You've got so many acres of grass and if you don't put cows or something on it," said Dale, "you have to mow it or bale it. So we fenced (part of the farm) and put cattle on it. "We run close to 60 to 70 head (of cattle). About 50 of those are registered Angus and I've got about 10 to 15 commercial cattle that we raise beef off of for eating." One of Dale's herd recently got a new home, however. Winston, a 2,000-pound registered Black Angus bull, was donated to the Boys & Girls Home of North Carolina in Lake Waccamaw, where he'll be a prized asset to their farm.
Also on the farm property is Dale's NASCAR Grand National team shop. A house at the farm hasn't been started yet but one is planned. Dale says it will be Teresa's job to work on the house's designs. "To be honest with you, we're not in a great hurry to build the house," said Dale, "because we're going to build a house and that's going to be THE house for the rest of our lives, hopefully. And we want to build it like we want it to be. "We're gonna build out here. This is our homeplace."
RACING FOR KIDS SEPTEMBER 1990
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