Dale Earnhardt
Ralph Dale Earnhardt, born on April 29, 1951, in Kannapolis, North Carolina, was a prominent figure in NASCAR racing, known for his aggressive driving style and competitive spirit. Growing up in a racing family, Dale was introduced to the sport at an early age and became skilled in auto mechanics. He left school in the ninth grade to pursue a career in racing, which led to a complicated relationship with his father, who had been a stock car racer himself. Dale's career took off when he was hired to drive in the 1979 NASCAR season, earning the Rookie of the Year title and winning his first championship in 1980.
Throughout his career, Earnhardt secured a total of seven Winston Cup championships and achieved 76 race wins, solidifying his place in NASCAR history. He was often involved in controversies due to his aggressive driving, but he remained a beloved figure among fans. Tragically, he lost his life in a high-speed crash during the Daytona 500 in 2001, prompting a reevaluation of safety measures in the sport. Dale Earnhardt left behind a legacy that continues through his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and he has been posthumously inducted into multiple motorsport halls of fame, recognizing his significant contributions to racing.
Dale Earnhardt
Race Car Driver
- Born: April 29, 1951
- Birthplace: Kannapolis, North Carolina
- Died: February 18, 2001
- Place of death: Daytona Beach, Florida
Sport: Auto racing
Early Life
Ralph Dale Earnhardt was born on April 29, 1951, in Kannapolis, North Carolina. His father, Ralph Earnhardt, raced stock cars. From early childhood, Dale was often at the track with his mother, Martha, and his brothers and sisters, Randy, Danny, Kay, and Cathy, to watch his father—dubbed “Ironheart”—race. Sometimes, as many as three races a week were run. Dale’s father was not a superstar, but his hard work supported the family. In 1972, he was killed in a racing accident at the age of forty-four. Dale grew up as much in the garage as he did in the house; he was knowledgeable about auto mechanics as a young boy. He always remembered his father’s advice to “stay cool on the racetrack.”
The Road to Excellence
Dale was so interested in racing stock cars that he quit school in the ninth grade. This later concerned him because he was often in situations where, as he would say, “I miss an education.” His father strongly opposed Dale’s decision to quit school, which adversely affected their relationship for a time.
Dale was a good mechanic and pit crew member, and his father began to teach him about driving. By age nineteen, Dale had his own racer and was gaining experience on the dirt tracks of the South. Dale’s driving style was much like his father’s: fiercely aggressive and competitive. In fact, Dale soon earned the nickname “Ironfoot.” Dirt track racing, however, is not a lucrative sport, so Dale worked as a welder and a mechanic to support his family. Just when it appeared Dale would have to give up racing to work at another job full time, he was hired by Rod Osterlund to drive for the 1979 season. Dale took advantage of this opportunity and, at the end of 1979, the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) named him rookie of the year. In 1980, Dale won the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship.
The Emerging Champion
This championship was far from an easy victory. Going into the final race of the year, Dale led Cale Yarborough by only 29 points out of a possible 4,000. For the last several races, Yarborough had been steadily closing the gap, which had been as wide as 230 points. Also, Dale’s pit crew chief had quit in the middle of the season, and Dale’s young, inexperienced crew was not thought to be good enough to carry him through to victory.
For the first 365 miles of the 500-mile race, Dale fought high winds and hard luck. He had to finish fifth to win the championship. One by one, other cars broke down or dropped out until Yarborough and Dale were left to duel. Then, on a pit stop, Dale seemed to run out of luck. He sideswiped the pit wall, scattering his pit crew and, before his tires were changed, he roared out of the pit with his car still on the jack. By the time all this was straightened out, Dale was in fifth place again, but Yarborough had also lost ground and was third. That is where the race ended, with Dale earning the title narrowly.
Continuing the Story
Aggressive drivers win races, but they also are often involved in controversies. In 1983 and 1984, Dale won the Talladega 500, and both times his strong driving helped him take the lead at the end of the race. He was the first driver ever to win this race consecutively. Dale won 12 of 19 events, then a NASCAR record. In 1986, Dale was fined five thousand dollars for reckless driving during a race and was briefly placed on probation. In a race at Richmond, Virginia, Dale collided with Darrell Waltrip when Waltrip tried to pass near the end of the race. During the 1987 season, Dale won nine races, but in three of them he bumped the leaders and then passed. At the 1987 Winston Invitational—an all-star race at Charlotte, North Carolina—Dale was involved in five bumping incidents. Regardless of these controversies, he won the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship again in 1986, 1987, and 1990 and collected more than one million dollars in winnings.
Dale did not think he was a careless driver or that he took advantage of anybody. He saw stock car racing as a tough sport that called for physically and mentally tough drivers. Off the track, Dale was an easy person to know. He preferred to deal truthfully with every person.
As a result of his competitiveness, Dale had several excellent seasons. After successful seasons in 1988 and 1989, Dale won eleven races in 1990, including the International Race of Champions (IROC) title. In 1990 and again in 1991, he came close to winning the prestigious Daytona 500, but each year, his goal was deterred by an accident. In 1991, he was charging from second place when a multicar crash took him out of the race with only three laps to go.
Dale won back-to-back Winston Cup Championships in 1990-1991 and 1993-1994; this brought his total to seven and secured a place in stock-car-racing history. In 1995, Dale ended the season with five first-place finishes and more than $3 million in earnings. Dale struggled in 1997, with no wins and only seven finishes in the top five. Although he won only one event in 1998, it was a big one—the Daytona 500. In 1999, he improved even more, winning three NASCAR events, plus the IROC. In 2000, he finished the season in second place with 4,690 points, just 265 shy of winning his eighth Winston Cup Championship.
Dale was killed on February 18, 2001, in a high-speed crash that occurred in the final lap of his twenty-third Daytona 500. Fans mourned his death at the age of forty-nine, and NASCAR was forced to reconsider issues concerning driver protection.
A husband and father of four, Dale ended his career with seventy-six wins and seven Winston Cup championships. In 1998, the man nicknamed “The Intimidator” was honored as one of the fifty greatest drivers in NASCAR history—an honor he shared with his father. Dale’s son, Dale Earnhart, Jr., was left to continue the family legacy.
Summary
A hard competitor, Dale Earnhardt liked winning and was not afraid of hard work. While he competed fiercely on the track, he was friendly off it. Dale liked to work on a farm he bought in North Carolina, where he enjoyed raising cattle. However, to Dale, racing was as natural as breathing. In 2002 and 2006, he was elected posthumously into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America and into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame, respectively.
Bibliography
Cothren, Larry. Earnhardt: A Racing Family Legacy. St. Paul, Minn.: Crestline, 2003.
The Earnhardt Collection: The Most Comprehensive Archive Ever Assembled. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2003.
The Earnhardts: Racing’s First Family. New York: Sports Illustrated, 2004.
Garfield, Ken. Dale Earnhardt: The Intimidator. Champaign, Ill.: Sports, 2000.
Garner, Joe. Speed, Guts, and Glory: One Hundred Unforgettable Moments in NASCAR History. New York: Warner Books, 2006.
McGee, Ryan. Ultimate NASCAR: One Hundred Defining Moments in Stock Car Racing History. New York: ESPN Books, 2007.
Mayne, Kevin. Three: The Dale Earnhardt Story. New York: Hyperion, 2004.
Moore, Bob. Dale Earnhardt: A Legend for the Ages. Chicago: Triumph Books, 2002.