The Man In Black, Dale Earnhardt

With the 10 year anniversary of Dale's death, at the track he loved so much, Daytona, is it time to move on?

I can still remember the day, this race was truly awe-inspiring!

Michael Waltrip, a driver for DEI, (Dale Earnhardt Inc.), Dale Earnhardt's NASCAR team was leading the race, his son Dale Earnhardt Jr was 2d. Dale Earnhardt was doing what he does best, blocking if he had to, or 'nudging" someone out of the way if need be, after all he was the "The Intimidator"

His "boys" were going to duke it out for the win, but then history changed, forever.

Dale was in the final turn of the race,the 4th turn of the Daytona 500, the Super Bowl of Stock Car Racing, he was trying to block Sterling Marlin from getting up in position to go for the win, when it happened the two touched, Earnhardt slid up to wall nose first, and hit the wall hard. No one seemed to think of it other than a normal crash, at this race on the last lap.

His goal was achieved, his 2 drivers had finished 1, and 2, and I thought that was it Earnhardt would be pissed, but he would be there when they gave Michael Waltrip the trophy.

I had seen this type of crash many times, this did not look that bad, so my son and I went to get pizza, thinking that was it Dale would be sore, but would be ok.

Little did I know.

Sadly that was not he case as Dale Earnhardt had hit the wall so hard, in that famous Goodwrench #3 Chevy that he broke his neck, and died.

I came back with my son, with the pizza at hand, and my wife greeted me at the door, her face was white, and you could tell something was wrong.

Then I saw the replay, and I about fell on my face, Dale had died, by then, the doctors could not save him.

Tears came to my eyes, as they do now as I write this, my hero, in NASCAR had died.

Is it time to move on?

Read this touching story from Ty Norris, Dale Jr's spotter that day...... You tell me.

Story courtesy of:

Dustin Long

25 January 2011

A moment in time: Feb. 18, 2001 -- A behind-the-scenes story of that Daytona 500 finish
Next month marks the 10th anniversary since Dale Earnhardt died from injuries suffered in a last-lap crash of the Daytona 500. Throughout this week's media tour and the next few weeks many stories will be shared about Dale Earnhardt and that day. I'll run a few throughout.

Today is the tale of Ty Norris, who was Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s spotter that day, an executive at Dale Earnhardt Inc, and was there when many of NASCAR officials were informed about Earnhardt's death. This is his story:

(YOUR VANTAGE POINT OF FEB 18, 2001)

"I was spotting for Junior and the whole time, Michael's spotter Chuck (Joyce) and I and Danny Culler, who was spotting for Dale, were coordinating. We were talking and discussing.

"I remember coordinating everything that was going on just a little bit. Dale kept telling Danny to tell us to stay in line. Danny kept telling me that Dale was not trying to pass. Every time he would sneak down, Dale Jr. would get nervous and he was just basically was trying to hold everybody else off and just be those three guys racing for the win. A lot of people say that Dale spent the entire race blocking for Dale Jr. and Michael and it certainly looked that way. I think he just wanted to come down to the last lap where those three guys could compete for the win. I'm not so sure if Dale had the run, he would probably have tried to pass them, but, at the same time, he was trying to do all the right things to make sure that it was just those three (and he was also trying to get air on the front of his car).

"When we were coming down that back straightaway and Dale was right behind Junior, I think Junior felt that Dale was in a protection mode. I never did ask Dale Jr. if he ever wanted to pass Michael. I never asked him that question. Maybe I should someday. I just remember when it happened, no one in their right mind ever thought about Dale not making it to the finish line. We were watching a lot of stuff happening. We knew that there would be maybe bumping and banging.

"All I remember saying to Dale Jr. (just as his dad crashed) was that "You lost your drafting partner. You lost your partner.' He was right behind him when he got hooked. You lost your drafting partner, which meant you're going to have to stay in line and he was going to finish second and not have a shot to win. I didn't mean it that he lost his partner because none of us really knew.''

(HOW TY LEARNED WHAT HAPPENED TO DALE)

"John Graham, president of Daytona at the time, he was emceeing the Victory Lane and he came over to me and said,
"Can you accept the owner's trophy?'
"Why would I do that?' Norris said.
"Well, you need to take the owner's trophy because Dale is not going to be here.'
"How come Dale isn't going to be here?' Norris asked
"Well, they're taking him over to the hospital.'
"What did he do? Did he hurt his leg or something?'
"John just looked away and said, "I don't know, they haven't told me.'

"I knew that something was wrong. There was no Earnhardt in Victory Lane. There was no Dale Jr. There was no Teresa. There was no Dale. There was no Danny. They were all there. I couldn't understand why they weren't there in Victory Lane and so I kind of turned away and got the champion's trophy and we had our picture taken with that, and I remember being interviewed there saying, "This isn't right. This is Dale's trophy, but I'll hold it up.'

"I turned around and I saw (Ken) Schrader walk into Victory Lane, and I could see Michael's face change. I remember it vividly. I asked him what Schrader said and he said, "It's not good.''

"I still didn't know. Nobody ever said fatal. Not good is he's mad because he broke his leg or something. I remember walking into the garage area carrying the trophy and Steve Peterson, a NASCAR inspector, said they need you at the trailer and I walked in the trailer, Brian France, Jim France, Mike Helton, Jim Hunter and Danielle Humphrey and John Griffin were all sitting in there and they closed the door. Brian said, "My dad is over at the hospital.' I said, "Why would Mr. France be at the hospital?" The phone rang and Brian picked it up. He just hung up and he looked at me and said, "It's the worst.''

"That was the first time that I knew what he meant.''

Is it time to move on? Not to this fan, Never.

DALE EARNHARDT NAMED TO FIRST CLASS OF THE NASCAR HALL OF FAME
by Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

MOORESVILLE, NC (October 14, 2009) - In the crowning achievement of an incredible career that celebrated a record seven NASCAR Sprint Cup titles and 76 NASCAR victories, Dale Earnhardt has been selected as one of five inaugural inductees for the NASCAR Hall of Fame.

Announced by NASCAR CEO Brian France earlier today, Earnhardt, one of NASCAR's favorite drivers and fiercest competitors, was selected to the first class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame based on the achievements of his 26-year career and his many contributions to the sport both on and off the track. He joins (other four inductees) in the inaugural group to be recognized at the NASCAR Hall of Fame on May 23, 2010. Earnhardt's selection was voted on by NASCAR track owners, team owners, series officials, drivers and media members. Others joining Dale in next year's induction ceremony will be Bill France Sr., Bill France Jr., Richard Petty, and Junior Johnson.

"It is truly an honor to see Dale Earnhardt recognized as one of the five most influential members of the NASCAR family and inducted in the first class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame," said Teresa Earnhardt, President and CEO of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. "Of the many legendary accomplishments and accolades of his career - from the seven championships to the win in the Daytona 500 to the founding of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. -- this is another defining moment. It is the achievement of a lifetime and is celebrated by the millions of Dale Earnhardt fans around the world."

Kerry Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt's oldest son, said the selection of his father to the NASCAR Hall of Fame is a humbling experience.

"The legends that were nominated for the NASCAR Hall of Fame were my racing heroes growing up - and my Dad was first among them," said Kerry Earnhardt. "Congratulations to all of the legends who were selected for the NASCAR Hall of Fame and thank you to the members of the voting panel for recognizing my Dad's accomplishments in the sport. To see my Dad voted to the very first class to be inducted in the NASCAR Hall of Fame is amazing and humbling. He was a legend to the millions of fans who cheered him every week, and definitely a hero to me."

For Taylor Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt's youngest daughter, seeing her father recognized as one of five most influential people in NASCAR is inspiring.

"I'm so proud to see my Dad selected to the first class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame," said Taylor Earnhardt. "Everything he did, he did with passion, a competitive spirit and a drive to win. That legacy is inspiring to me, and I hope it is inspiring to all of his fans celebrating this exciting event."

Dale Earnhardt's oldest daughter, Kelley Earnhardt, said the selection of her father is an incredible moment for all of his fans.

"We are extremely honored to see my father chosen as part of the esteemed first class of NASCAR Hall of Fame members, and we want to congratulate the fellow inductees and their families," said Kelley Earnhardt. "To be part of the inaugural class is the ultimate honor -- one that is cemented in time and achieved by no other outside of the five members. My father impacted many lives, and I know I speak on behalf of Dale Earnhardt fans everywhere in showing our appreciation that his memory will live forever inside the walls of the NASCAR Hall of Fame."

Dale Earnhardt, Jr., thanked the voting panel for recognizing his father's accomplishments.

"For what my Dad achieved in this sport - both on and off the track - he certainly earned his place in history and deserves to be distinguished in this inaugural class of NASCAR Hall of Fame inductees," said Dale Earnhardt, Jr. "I want to thank the voting panel and nomination committee for recognizing that and honoring him this way. It means a lot to the Earnhardt family, and it means a lot to my Dad's fans, which I am one. He was the man, plain and simple."

Fans Can Join the Celebration of Dale Earnhardt's Selection

For the legions of Dale Earnhardt fans who faithfully support their hero, the selection of Dale Earnhardt to the first class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame is cause for celebration. To honor the event, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. will be open for a fan celebration at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. headquarters in Mooresville, NC, throughout the weekend of October 16 and 17, 2009 and will debut a new exhibit featuring his memorabilia. In addition, fans can post a congratulatory message at www.DaleEarnhardt.com

In addition, Dale Earnhardt, Inc. has created a special commemorative icon for Dale Earnhardt's selection to the NASCAR Hall of Fame. It will be featured throughout the year of celebration of his induction, and will be available for fans on select apparel and commemorative items on www.DaleEarnhardt.com

About Dale Earnhardt, Inc. and the Dale Earnhardt Foundation

Dale Earnhardt, Inc. has a nearly 30-year history as a racing organization, founded by one of the most storied individuals in the sport. It is committed to keeping this legacy alive and to building Dale Earnhardt, Inc. as a leader in the motorsports industry, an innovator in the automotive and transportation business and champion in philanthropic outreach.

The Dale Earnhardt Foundation's mission is to "Continue the Legend" through charitable programs and grants that sustain Earnhardt's lifelong commitment to Children, Education and Wildlife Preservation. Through the legacy of Dale Earnhardt, the Foundation has been able to help thousands of people in need, give college students and future leaders a chance to pursue their dreams and improve the environment through conservation efforts.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Scores Emotional NASCAR Win at Daytona!
7/3/10

(DAYTONA BEACH Fla) - It was the first race for the next generation NASCAR Nationwide Series cars, but in the end it was Dale Earnhardt Jr. who stole the show Friday night at Daytona International Speedway.

Earnhardt Jr. came to Daytona to pay tribute to his late father and did just that scoring an emotional win in the NASCAR Nationwide Series Subway Jalapeno 250.

In honor of his father's recent induction into NASCAR's Hall of Fame, Earnhardt's Chevy Impala was decked out in a paint scheme and number once campaigned by his Dale Earnhardt Sr. who lost his life in a last lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500.

Friday night Earnhardt took that paint scheme and number made famous by his father to his first NASCAR victory since 2008 and his first Nationwide win since 2006.

Brad Keselowski led the field to the green and led the first part of the event holding off challenges from Kevin Harvick and Carl Edwards.

Just after the halfway point Kyle Busch made his way to the front and took control of the race and looked to be the car to beat. But Earnhardt, who had started third and dropped back early, fought his way back to the front and was nipping at Busch. On lap 68 Earnhardt was finally able to pass for the lead and quickly rocketed ahead.

A lap later a caution for debris came out quickly erasing Earnhardt's lead. During the ensuing pit stops, Busch over shot his pits and lost ground restarting in fifth.

In the last twenty laps Earnhardt led a four-car break away with Kevin Harvick behind followed by Joey Logano and Keselowski. The lead group then became a six-car train with five to go.

But with four laps to go, Paul Menard lost a right rear tire exiting turn two bringing out the fourth and final caution and setting up a green-white-checkered finish.

Busch and most of the top runners behind decided to pit while leader Earnhardt and Harvick stayed out.

The move to the pits proved to be the wrong one for those behind the front two. Busch restarted in 13th.

On the restart, Earnhardt pulled away with Logano in tow. Behind them rookie Rickey Stenhouse Jr. was able to jump into third as the checkered flag fell for one of the most memorable victories in recent memory.

After the race Earnhardt's crew chief and cousin Tony Eury Jr. fought hard to control his emotions while thousands of fans roared their approval as Earnhardt made a victory lap behind him,

"We lost everything here," he said choking back tears. "And to come back here and do that with that number means everything."

Earnhardt said that because of the paint scheme he felt a great deal of pressure to win.

"I was so worried that I wasn't going to win, 'cause nothing but a win would get it-for everybody," Earnhardt said in victory lane. "If we didn't win, what a waste of time."

"I worked hard to try to win, not only for daddy-I'm proud of him going to the Hall of Fame, and he would be proud of this, I'm sure-but just all these fans. I hope they enjoyed this.

As he had done shortly after he announced he would race his late fathers number Earnhardt stated in no uncertain terms that he would never race the number 3 again.

"This is it-no more '3' for me," he said. "That's it."

CupScene.com.

Earnhardt was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina on April 29, 1951 to Martha Coleman and Ralph Earnhardt, who was then one of the best short-track drivers in North Carolina. Ralph won his one and only NASCAR Sportsman Championship in 1956. Although Ralph did not want his son to follow in his footsteps, Earnhardt would not be persuaded to give up his dream of racing, and even dropped out of school to race. Ralph was a hard teacher for Earnhardt, and after Ralph died of a heart attack at his home in 1973, it took many years before Earnhardt felt as though he had finally "proven" himself to his father.

When he was 17, he married his first wife, Latane Brown, in 1968. Brown gave birth to Earnhardt's first son, Kerry, in 1969. They were subsequently divorced in 1970. In 1971, Earnhardt married his second wife, Brenda Gee (the daughter of NASCAR car builder Robert Gee), who gave birth to a daughter, Kelley, in 1972, and a son, Dale Jr., in 1974. Not long after his second son was born Dale and Brenda divorced. Dale then married his last wife, Teresa Houston in 1982, who gave birth to their daughter Taylor in 1988.

Racing in the Family

Earnhardt was born in the Kannapolis, North Carolina, a textile mill town. His father, Ralph Earnhardt, was known as "Ironheart" on the short-track racing circuit, and he taught his son how to drive stock cars and work with engines. He had converted a barn behind the family home into a garage, and was well-known for his skill with engines. Earnhardt's earliest memory is of watching his father race.

Earnhardt dropped out of high school after eighth grade; according to Bill Hewitt in People Weekly he later said, "I tried the ninth grade twice and quit. Couldn't hang, man. Couldn't hang." He worked odd jobs, argued with his father, who wanted him to complete high school, and drove on dirt tracks.

Although Earnhardt became famous for driving a black car emblazoned with the number 3, his first dirt-track car was a 1956 hot-pink Ford Sedan, which he got from his neighbors, David and Ray Oliver. His father had built the engine, and some other friends, Frank and Wayne Dayvault and their cousin Gregg, tuned it. They intended to paint the car avocado green, but a paint mishap resulted in the car being pink. They could not afford to repaint it, and he raced the pink car on dirt tracks around Charlotte, North Carolina.

Earnhardt married for the first time at 17, and at age 18 had a son, Kerry. Earnhardt divorced his first wife at 19 and married a second time. This marriage would last five years before he divorced again. Earnhardt had two children with his second wife, a daughter, Kelley, and a son, Dale Jr., who would both follow him into racing.

When he was 22, his father died of a heart attack. According to Hewitt, Earnhardt said, "He was against me dropping out of school to go racing. But he was the biggest influence on my life."

Earnhardt's mother gave his father's race cars to Earnhardt. Along with the cars, he inherited the business side of racing that came with them. Mark Bechtel wrote in Sports Illustrated that Earnhardt once said, "Daddy had begun to help me with engine work and give me used tires, and he'd talked to Mama about putting me in his car. Then he died. It left me in a situation where I had to make it on my own. I'd give up everything I got if he were still alive, but I don't think I'd be where I am if he hadn't died."

Earnhardt's Big Break into Racing

Racing was not an easy way to make a living, and Earnhardt considered getting some other job. However, in 1975 he drove in his first Winston Cup race, coming in at 22nd. For him, unlike some other drivers, driving was not a hobby - it was almost his only means of support. If he was short of money, he borrowed from other drivers, hoping that he would win the next Sunday's race so he could pay them back on Monday.

Earnhardt was fearless, but he was also astonishingly precise. According to Bechtel, NASCAR historian Greg Fielden once watched Earnhardt taking practice laps around the Myrtle Beach Speedway, where ivy covered the wall along the frontstretch. On each pass, Earnhardt went close enough to the wall to clip off some of the ivy without actually touching the wall with the car. Fielden later commented, "I said to myself, This kid's good, and it didn't take long for the rest of the world to find that out."

Earnhardt's big break into racing came in 1978, when he replaced another driver for the World 600 Cup in Charlotte, North Carolina. He finished seventh in one race, the Firecracker 400, and caught the eye of Rod Osterlund, who owned a Winston Cup car and was not satisfied with his current driver. He replaced him with Earnhardt for the next-to-last race of that season, and Earnhardt drove with his characteristic fearlessness, refusing to be intimidated by the experienced drivers he was competing against. This won him a full-time position driving for Osterlund, and in only his 16th start, he had his first win.

By 1979, Earnhardt was named NASCAR Rookie of the Year, and in 1980 he won the first of seven Winston Cup titles. He became known for his aggressive driving style, earning the nicknames "The Intimidator" and "Ironhead."

Special Thanks to Answers .com for info.

Dale Earnhardt began his Winston Cup career in 1975, making his first start at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina in the longest race on the Cup circuit, the World 600. Earnhardt drove an Ed Negre Dodge Charger(#8) and finished 22nd in the race, one place ahead of his future car owner, Richard Childress. Earnhardt competed in 8 more races until 1979, when he joined Rod Osterlund Racing, in a season that included a rookie class of future stars - Earnhardt, Harry Gant and Terry Labonte.

In his rookie season, Earnhardt won one race at Bristol, captured four poles, had 11 Top 5 finishes, 17 Top 10 finishes, and finished 7th in the points standings, in spite of missing four races because of a broken collarbone, winning Rookie of the Year honors.

In his sophomore season, Earnhardt, now with 20-year old Doug Richert as his crew chief, began the season winning the Busch Clash. With wins at Atlanta, Bristol, Nashville, Martinsville, and Charlotte, Earnhardt won his first Winston Cup championship. To this day, Earnhardt is the only driver in NASCAR Winston Cup history to win Rookie of the Year honors, and the following season win the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship.

1981, after Osterlund sold his team to J. D. Stacy during the season, Earnhardt left for Richard Childress Racing, and finished the season 7th in the points standings, despite not winning any races. The following year, at Childress' suggestion, he joined car owner Bud Moore for the 1982 and 1983 seasons driving the #15 Wrangler Jeans Ford Thunderbird (Earnhardt's only full-time Ford ride in his career). During the 1982 season, Earnhardt struggled. Although he won at Darlington, he failed to finish 15 races, and completed the season 12th in the points standings, for his career worst finish. He also suffered a broken knee cap at Pocono when he flipped after contact with Tim Richmond. In 1983, Earnhardt rebounded and won his first of 12 Twin 125 Daytona 500 qualifying races. Earnhardt won at Nashville and at Talladega, and finished eighth in the points standings.

Return to Richard Childress Racing
After the 1983 season, Earnhardt returned to Richard Childress Racing, or RCR, swapping teams with Ricky Rudd. Rudd went to Bud Moore's #15, and Dale took over the #3. (Wrangler followed Earnhardt to RCR while also staying at Moore's team, in an odd twist of fate.) During the 1984 and 1985 seasons, Earnhardt visited victory lane six times, at Talladega, Atlanta, Richmond, Bristol (twice), and Martinsville, where he finished fourth and eighth in the season standings, respectively.

The 1986 season saw Earnhardt win his second career Winston Cup Championship and the first owner's championship for RCR. He won five races and had ten Top 5 and sixteen Top 10 finishes. Earnhardt successfully defended his championship the following year, visiting victory lane eleven times and winning the championship by 489 points over "Awesome" Bill Elliott. In the process, Earnhardt set a NASCAR modern era record of four consecutive wins and won five of the first seven races. In the 1987 season Earnhardt earned his nickname "The Intimidator" after spinning out Elliott in the final segment of "The Winston", a non-points event now known as the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.

The 1988 season saw Earnhardt racing with a new sponsor, GM Goodwrench, which replaced Wrangler Jeans. During this season Earnhardt garnered a second nickname, "The Man in Black", owing to the black paint scheme in which the #3 car was painted. He was also called "Darth Vader" more than once because of the black uniform and car, adding to his notoriety as a driver who would wreck you if he couldn't pass you. He won three times in 1988, finishing third in the points standings behind Bill Elliott and Rusty Wallace. The following year, Earnhardt won five times, but a late spin out at North Wilkesboro arguably cost him the 1989 championship, as Rusty Wallace edged out Earnhardt for the championship.

Special Thanks to Answers .com for info.

1990s
The 1990 season started with heartbreak at Daytona. Speed Week started auspiciously with victories in the Busch Clash and his heat of the Gatorade Twin 125's. Near the end of the 500, he had a 4 second lead when the final caution flag came out with a handful of laps to go. When the green flag waved, Earnhardt was leading Derrike Cope. On the final lap, Earnhardt ran over a piece of metal in the final turn, cutting a tire. Cope, in an upset, won the race while Earnhardt finished 5th. The #3 Goodwrench Chevy team took the flat tire that cost them the win and hung it on the shop wall. Apparently, this strategy to inspire worked, because Earnhardt won nine races. He also won his 4th Winston Cup title, beating out Mark Martin by just 26 points. Earnhardt also won The Winston, his second, the first to win two.

The 1991 season saw Earnhardt win his 5th Winston Cup championship. He scored just 4 wins, but took the title by 195 points over Ricky Rudd. One of the biggest highlights of the season for Earnhardt was scoring the win at North Wilkesboro. Harry Gant, who had tied Earnhardt's mark of 4 consecutive wins and was going for a 5th, lost the brakes late in the race, giving Earnhardt the chance he needed to make the pass for the win.

After winning his second set of consecutive titles, Dale Earnhardt was determined to make it 3 in a row, but Ford's new engine and aerodynamic package for the Thunderbird dominated, winning 13 consecutive races from the end of the 1991 season into the first nine races of 1992. Earnhardt's only win in 1992 came at Charlotte, in the prestigious Coca-Cola 600, ending the 13-race win streak for the Ford teams. Earnhardt finished a career-low 12th in the points for the second time in his career, and the only time he had finished that low since joining RCR. Earnhardt still made the trip to the annual Awards Banquet with Rusty Wallace but did not have the best seat in the house. Wallace states he and Earnhardt had to sit on the backs of their chairs to see and Earnhardt said "This sucks, I could have gone hunting. At the end of the year, longtime crew chief Kirk Shelmerdine left to become a driver. Andy Petree took over as crew chief.

Hiring Petree turned out to be beneficial, as the #3 GM Goodwrench Chevy returned to the front in 1993. Earnhardt once again came close to a win at the Daytona 500, and dominated Speedweeks before finishing 2nd to Dale Jarrett on a last-lap pass. Earnhardt scored 6 wins en route to his 6th Winston Cup title, including wins in the Coca-Cola 600 and The Winston at Charlotte, and the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. Earnhardt beat Rusty Wallace for the championship by 80 points.

1994, Earnhardt achieved a feat that he himself had believed to be impossible - he scored his seventh Winston Cup championship, tying the legendary Richard Petty. Earnhardt was very consistent, scoring 4 wins, and winning the title by over 400 points over Mark Martin. Earnhardt sealed the deal at Rockingham by winning the race over Rick Mast. Although Earnhardt continued to dominate in the seasons ahead, this proved to be the last Winston Cup title of his career.

Earnhardt started off the 1995 season by finishing second in the Daytona 500 to Sterling Marlin. He won 5 races in 1995, including his first road course victory at Sears Point. He also won the prestigious Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a win he called the biggest of his career. But in the end, Earnhardt lost the championship to Jeff Gordon by just 34 points. This is considered to be a symbolic passing of the torch, as Gordon won his first Winston Cup Championship after Earnhardt won his last.

Earnhardt began 1996 with a repeat of 1993 - he dominated Speedweeks only to finish second in the Daytona 500 to Dale Jarrett for a second time. Earnhardt won early in the year, scoring consecutive victories at Rockingham and Atlanta. In late July in the DieHard 500 at Talladega, he was in the points lead and looking for his eighth title despite the departure of crew chief Andy Petree. Late in the race, Ernie Irvan lost control of his #28 Havoline Ford Thunderbird, igniting a frightening crash that saw Earnhardt's #3 Chevrolet hit the tri-oval wall nearly head-on at almost 200 miles per hour. After hitting the wall, Earnhardt's car flipped and slid across the track, in front of race-traffic. His car was hit in the roof and windshield, and the accident led NASCAR to mandate the "Earnhardt Bar", a metal brace located in the center of the windshield that reinforces the roof in case of a similar crash.

Rain-delays had canceled the live telecast of the race and most fans first learned of the accident during the night's sports newscasts. Video of the crash showed what appeared to be a fatal incident, but once medical workers arrived at the car, Earnhardt climbed out and waved to the crowd, refusing to be loaded onto a stretcher despite a broken collarbone, sternum, and shoulder blade. Many thought the incident would end his season early, but Earnhardt refused to give up. The next week at Indianapolis, he started the race but exited the car on the first pit stop, allowing Mike Skinner to take the wheel. When asked, Earnhardt said that vacating the #3 car was the hardest thing he'd ever done. The following weekend at Watkins Glen, he drove the #3 Goodwrench Chevrolet to the fastest time in qualifying, earning the "True Grit" pole. T-shirts emblazoned with Earnhardt's face were quickly printed up, brandishing the caption, "It Hurt So Good." Earnhardt led most of the race and looked to have victory in hand, but fatigue finally took its toll and Earnhardt ended up 6th, behind race winner Geoff Bodine. Earnhardt did not win again in 1996, but still finished 4th in the standings behind Terry Labonte, Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett. David Smith departed as crew chief of the #3 team and RCR at the end of the year for personal reasons, and was replaced by Larry McReynolds.

In the 1997 season, Earnhardt went winless for only the second time in his career. The only (non-points) win came during Speedweeks at Daytona in the Twin 125-mile qualifying race, his record 8th straight win in the event. Once again in the hunt for the Daytona 500 with 10 laps to go, Earnhardt was taken out of the Daytona 500 by a late crash which sent his car upside down on the backstretch. Earnhardt hit the low point of his year when he blacked out early in the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington, causing him to hit the wall. Afterward, he was disoriented and it took several laps before he could find his pit stall. When asked, Earnhardt complained of double vision which made it difficult to pit. Mike Dillon was brought in to relieve Earnhardt for the remainder of the race. Earnhardt was evaluated at a hospital and cleared to race the very next week, but the cause of the blackout and double vision was never determined. Despite no wins (all of Chevrolet's wins were by Hendrick Motorsports - Pontiac won one race, Ford won every other race in 1997) the RCR team finished the season 5th in the final standings, with no DNF's, one of six times a Childress team has finished an entire season without a DNF. (1997, 2000 #3, 2007-2008 #29, #07)

After 20 years of disappointment in the Daytona 500, Earnhardt finally won the race in 1998. He started Speedweeks by winning his Twin 125-mile qualifier race for the ninth straight year. On race day, Dale showed himself to be a contender early. Halfway through the race, however, it seemed that Jeff Gordon had the upper hand. But by lap 138, Earnhardt had taken the lead, and thanks to a push by teammate Mike Skinner, he was able to maintain it. Earnhardt beat Bobby Labonte to the checkered flag in the race. Afterwards, there was a large show of respect for Earnhardt, in which every crew member of every team lined pit road to shake his hand as he made his way to Victory Lane. Earnhardt then drove his #3 into the infield grass, starting a trend of post-race celebrations. He spun the car twice, throwing grass and leaving tire tracks in the shape of a #3 in the grass. Earnhardt then spoke about the victory, saying "I have had a lot of great fans and people behind me all through the years and I just can't thank them enough. The Daytona 500 is ours. We won it! We won it! We won it!" Unfortunately, the rest of the season did not go as well. He slipped to 12th in the standings halfway through the season, and Richard Childress decided to make a crew chief change, taking Mike Skinner's crew chief Kevin Hamlin and putting him with Earnhardt while giving Skinner Larry McReynolds. Earnhardt was able to climb back to 8th in the final standings.

Before the 1999 season, fans began discussing Earnhardt's age and speculating that with his son, Dale Jr, getting into racing Earnhardt might be contemplating retirement. Earnhardt swept both races for the year at Talladega, leading most observers to conclude that Earnhardt's talent had become limited to the restrictor plate tracks, which require a unique skill set and an exceptionally powerful car to win. But halfway through the year, Earnhardt began to show some of the old spark. In the August race at Michigan International Speedway, Earnhardt led laps late in the race and nearly pulled off his first win on a non-restrictor plate track since 1996.

Special Thanks to Answers .com for info.

In the 2000 season, Earnhardt had a resurgence, which some attributed to neck surgery he underwent to correct a lingering injury from his 1996 Talladega crash.

He scored what many considered the 2 most exciting wins of the year - winning by .006 seconds over Bobby Labonte at Atlanta, then gaining seventeen positions in the final four laps to win at Talladega, claiming his only No Bull million dollar bonus. Earnhardt also enjoyed strong second-place runs at Richmond and Martinsville, tracks where he'd struggled through the late '90s. On the strength of these performances, Earnhardt took the No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo to 2nd in the standings.

However, poor performances at the road course of Watkins Glen, where he wrecked coming out of the chicane, and mid-pack runs at intermediate tracks like Lowe's and Dover in a season dominated by the Ford Taurus on those tracks by Roush, Yates, and Penske, denied Earnhardt the coveted eighth championship title.

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Always a media favorite, in the weeks before the 2001 Daytona 500, Earnhardt stirred up controversy by skipping the annual fan and media preview event, drawing criticism from fellow driver Jimmy Spencer.

Despite the early start, Speedweeks was a disappointment for Earnhardt, who had a long-running tradition of winning at least one race during the two-week season kick-off. Earnhardt finished second to Tony Stewart in the Budweiser Shootout. He was also denied victory in the Gatorade Twin 125 qualifying race in which he participated. Earnhardt had won every Twin 125 event he competed in during the 1990s, and was in 3rd place on the final lap in 2001 when Sterling Marlin pulled off a slingshot pass going down the backstretch.

Taking it in stride, Earnhardt appeared relaxed and confident in television interviews on the morning of the 2001 Daytona 500. When the Daytona 500 started, Earnhardt showed early promise, leading the race and running up front for most of the event.

A multi-car wreck late in the race eliminated several cars in spectacular fashion. Tony Stewart, who had beaten Earnhardt in the Budweiser Shootout, found his car tumbling wildly down the backstretch. As it tumbled, Earnhardt managed to weave his way through wrecked cars and come out unscathed. The race was stalled to facilitate cleanup of the track, and when the race resumed, it was Earnhardt and DEI drivers Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip who were running up front. As the laps wound down, Waltrip was leading Earnhardt Jr. and Earnhardt.

On the front stretch coming to 3 laps to go, Sterling Marlin made contact with Earnhardt's left rear fender. Earnhardt's car wiggled but Dale kept control and he remained in third position. Marlin was known for having a fast car throughout the race, and Earnhardt repeatedly blocked his attempts at passing during the last few laps. With less than two laps remaining, Darrell Waltrip commented that "Sterling has beat the front end off of that old Dodge (Marlin's car) trying to get around Dale (Earnhardt)".

Heading into Turn 3 on the last lap, Earnhardt was racing three wide with Marlin to his left and Schrader to his right. In the corner, Earnhardt's left rear fender made slight contact with Marlin's front bumper.

Dale Earnhardt's crash in Turn 4 during the 2001 Daytona 500Earnhardt's car slid off the track's steep banking, onto the flat apron, and then turned sharply up the track toward the outside retaining wall. As the #3 car came up the track it collided with the #36 Pontiac driven by Ken Schrader. Schrader's car hit Earnhardt's car just behind the passenger door, causing both cars to run nose-first into the wall. Earnhardt's #3 hit at a critical angle at nearly 150 miles per hour. The right-rear wheel assembly broke off the car on impact. The hood pins severed and the hood flapped open, slamming against the windshield as the car slid slowly down the track. To most observers, the crash looked minor, and certainly not as dramatic as his famous 1996 wreck at Talladega, when Earnhardt's car was pelted several times in the roof and windshield as it rolled across the track.

While Michael Waltrip raced toward the checkered flag to claim his first victory, with Earnhardt Jr. close behind, the cars of Earnhardt and Schrader slid off the track's asphalt banking toward the infield grass just inside of turn four. After climbing from his car, Schrader peered into Earnhardt's car, only to jump back and signal for EMTs. As medical crews converged upon the crash scene, NASCAR on FOX reporter Jeanne Zelasko asked Schrader about Earnhardt's condition. "I'm not a doctor, but I got the heck out of the way as soon as they got there," Schrader said solemnly. Earnhardt was taken to Halifax Medical Center by ambulance after being removed from his car. Hours later, at a press conference, NASCAR President Mike Helton made the formal announcement to the world saying, "Undoubtedly this is one of the toughest announcements I've personally had to make. After the accident in Turn 4 at the end of the Daytona 500, we've lost Dale Earnhardt.

Earnhardt's death was the catalyst for change that continues even now. Following his death, there was a police investigation, as well as a NASCAR-sanctioned investigation. Nearly every detail of the event was made public, from the finding of a torn seatbelt inside Earnhardt's car to graphic descriptions of the injuries the driver suffered at the moment of impact. There were rumors that he did not have his seat belt on properly, as he liked to wear it loose so he could move around and not feel too constrained. The allegations of seatbelt failure led Bill Simpson to resign from the company bearing his name, which manufactured the seatbelts used in Earnhardt's car and nearly every other NASCAR competitor's machine.

Several press conferences were held in the days following Earnhardt's death. Some fans wrote threatening letters to Sterling Marlin, blaming him for causing the wreck. Quickly thereafter, Michael Waltrip and Earnhardt's son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., publicly and adamantly absolved Marlin of any responsibility.

Richard Childress made a public pledge that the number would never again adorn the side of a black car sponsored by GM Goodwrench. Childress who currently holds the rights, from NASCAR to the #3 has placed a moratorium on using it. Earnhardt's team was re-christened as the #29 team, with the same sponsor but with a new look (a reversed color scheme with white with black numerals and a black stripe on the bottom) for the following races at Rockingham and Las Vegas. For Atlanta, a new GM Goodwrench scheme was introduced, with angled red stripes and a thin blue pinstripe, resembling the Childress AC Delco Chevrolets driven in the Busch Series.

Childress' second-year Busch Series driver Kevin Harvick was named as Earnhardt's replacement driver, beginning with the race following Earnhardt's death held at the North Carolina Speedway. Special hats bearing the #3 were distributed to everyone at the track to honor Earnhardt, and the Childress team wore blank uniforms out of respect, something which disappeared quickly and was replaced by the wearing of the GM Goodwrench Service Plus uniforms.

Fans took it upon themselves to begin honoring Earnhardt by holding three fingers aloft on the third lap of every NASCAR Cup race, and the television coverage of FOX and NBC went silent for each third lap from Rockingham through to the next Daytona 500 in honor of Earnhardt (and, after 9/11, in remembrance of those who perished that day). For the first three weeks after Earnhardt's death, on-track incidents brought out the caution flag on lap three. Three weeks after Earnhardt's death, Harvick scored his first career Cup win at Atlanta driving a car that had been prepared for Earnhardt. In the final lap of the 2001 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500, Harvick beat Jeff Gordon by .006 seconds, the same margin that Earnhardt won over Bobby Labonte at the same race a year ago, and the images of Earnhardt's longtime gas man, Danny "Chocolate" Myers, crying after the victory, Harvick's tire-smoking burnout on the frontstretch with three fingers held aloft outside the driver's window, and the FOX television call by Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, and Darrell Waltrip, concluding with "Gordon got loose, it's Harvick! Harvick by inches!" are memorable to many NASCAR fans. The win was also considered cathartic for a sport whose epicenter had been ripped away.

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Was it the Seatbelts?

A subsequent investigation revealed that Earnhardt's car struck the concrete retaining wall at a critical angle between 13 and 14 degrees, at an estimated speed of between 157 and 161 mph. Earnhardt was killed instantly.

Following the accident, Earnhardt was cut from his car and taken directly to Halifax Medical Center by ambulance (because Earnhardt's injuries were fatal, he had no vital signs and therefore was not taken to the infield care center which is usually mandatory). Earnhardt was pronounced dead at 5:16 p.m EST, reportedly surrounded by his wife Teresa Earnhardt, his team owner/friend Richard Childress, and his son Dale Earnhardt Jr.

About 2 hours later, at a press conference, NASCAR President Mike Helton made the formal announcement to the world, saying, "Undoubtedly this is one of the toughest announcements I've ever personally had to make. After the accident in Turn 4 at the end of the Daytona 500, we've lost Dale Earnhardt."

The official cause of Earnhardt's death in the medical examiners autopsy report was listed as "blunt force injuries of the head". It noted, among other things, that Earnhardt sustained:

Basilar skull fracture (fatal)
Eight broken ribs on his left side
Broken left ankle
Fractured breast bone
Collarbone and hip abrasions (an indication that the seat belts did not fail)

Dale Earnhardt's death received widespread media attention. One newspaper called the day "Black Sunday"

Grieving fans congregated at the headquarters of Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated the night of the accident, as well as the track where Earnhardt died. Earnhardt was featured in the following week's Time Magazine, and video from the race was played on nearly every major United States televised newscast. Earnhardt's funeral was telecast live on multiple television networks.

Earnhardt's death resulted in both a police investigation and a NASCAR-sanctioned investigation. In a reversal of previous NASCAR policy, nearly every detail of the investigation was made public.

In the days following the accident, Sterling Marlin received hate mail and death threats from fans who blamed Marlin for Earnhardt's death.

Earnhardt's son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., absolved Marlin of responsibility and asked everyone who loved his father to stop assigning blame for his death.

Cause of death controversy;

At a news conference five days after the fatal crash, NASCAR officials announced that the left lap belt on Earnhardt's seat belt harness had broken. NASCAR's medical expert, Dr. Steve Bohannon, said he thought the faulty belt had allowed Earnhardt's chin to strike the steering wheel, causing a basilar skull fracture, killing him. This led to speculation that Earnhardt would have survived the wreck had the seat belt not broken.

First responders to Earnhardt's crash maintained that the seat belts were loose, but the lap belt was not broken or cut when the belts were unbuckled.

However, NASCAR's investigation concluded that each of the medical workers attending to Earnhardt after the crash reported the buckle position of Earnhardt's harness was off-center by four to eight inches, which would have been impossible had the lap belt not broken.

A subsequent medical investigation revealed that belt failure did not play a significant role in Earnhardt's death.

At the time of Earnhardt's death, Simpson Race Products-the company which manufactured Earnhardt's seat belts-manufactured the seat belts used in nearly every NASCAR competitor's machine.

Bill Simpson, the founder of Simpson Race Products, maintained that the belt had failed because it had been installed in an unapproved fashion in order to increase Earnhardt's comfort, an allegation that had been supported by some who were familiar with the situation.

It was mutually agreed to appoint Dr. Barry Myers, an expert on crash injuries at Duke University, to independently study Earnhardt's death. On April 10, 2001, Myers published his report rejecting NASCAR's explanation, finding that Earnhardt's death was the result of his inadequately restrained head and neck snapping forward, independent of the broken seat belt (making the question of proper or improper installation irrelevant).

Philip Villanueva, a University of Miami neurosurgeon who had previously analyzed the crash for the Sentinel before the autopsy records were available, said he had reached the same conclusion, but had wanted to examine the autopsy photos to be certain. Dr. Steve Olvey, medical director of CART for 22 years, and Wayne State University crash expert John Melvin also agreed with Myers' report. Simpson's founder, Bill Simpson, called the report "The best news I've heard in seven weeks. I've been living in daily hell."

On the same day as Myers' report was made public, NASCAR announced its own investigation, after having remained silent for six weeks since the accident. When the official NASCAR report,which had cost over a million dollars, was published on August 21, 2001, it concluded that Earnhardt's death was the result of a combination of factors.

Those factors included the last-second collision with Schrader's car, the speed and angle of impact, and the separation of the seat belt as being contributing factors. It was also noted that investigators could not determine whether a head and neck restraint device would have saved Earnhardt's life, and that airline-style black boxes would be mandated for all vehicles in order to better understand the forces at work in a crash such as Earnhardt's.

In July 2001, Bill Simpson left Simpson Race Products, citing the stress as "too much." The Simpson company attorneys asked NASCAR to unequivocally assert the following in regards to the broken lap belt found in Earnhardt's car.

The belts were of high quality in workmanship and there were no design or manufacturing defects.
The belts met the NASCAR rule book requirements.
The belts, as installed, did not conform to manufacturer installation requirements.
The separation of the left lap belt was not a result of design or manufacturing defect, but caused by improper installation.
The belt separation was not the cause of Earnhardt's death.
NASCAR, however, did not respond.

A year after leaving his own company under controversy, Simpson returned to the motorsports safety industry after his one-year noncompete clause expired, starting IMPACT! Racing Products.

The Orlando Sentinel, particularly Sentinel sportswriter Ed Hinton, attempted to acquire Earnhardt's autopsy records and photos for study, autopsy records normally being public documents in Florida, but Earnhardt's widow, Teresa Earnhardt petitioned a judge to seal the records. After a short court battle.

On February 19, 2001, the Volusia County Medical Examiner performed an autopsy on Dale Earnhardt's body. The unusual act of notifying NASCAR and Teresa Earnhardt was made prior to releasing the records sought by members of the public and media.

Three days later, Teresa Earnhardt filed a legal brief in the Circuit Court of the Seventh Judicial Circuit, in and for Volusia County, Florida (Case No. 2001-30373-CICI Div. 32).

Once the complaint was filed, the Medical Examiner was barred from releasing the public records, including autopsy photographs, pertaining to Dale Earnhardt, until a formal hearing on the merits of Teresa Earnhardt's case could be heard.

On February 28, March 13, and March 16, 2001, the Orlando Sentinel, Michael Uribe, founder of WebsiteCity.com, and Campus Communications, Inc., publisher of the University of Florida's student newspaper The Independent Florida Alligator, filed motions to intervene into the Earnhardt v. Volusia litigation in order to uphold their rights to inspect and copy public records held by the Volusia County Medical Examiner to include the photographs and videotape of Dale Earnhardt's autopsy examination.

On June 12-13, 2001, a trial was then conducted before Judge Joseph Will. Will eventually ruled against Uribe and CCI's original public records requests and constitutional arguments to inspect and copy the medical examiner files pertaining to Dale Earnhardt, to include autopsy photographs. Judge Will's ruling set forth in motion an extensive legal battle later fought in the appellate courts by both Uribe and CCI seeking to deem the denial of their public records request unconstitutional under Florida State and Federal laws. Then on December 1, 2003, the United States Supreme Court declined to hear Uribe and CCI's appeal. Thus, the Florida Legislature's March 29, 2001 law preventing release of Dale Earnhardt's public record autopsy photographs would remain in effect.

The Florida Legislature's March 29, 2001 law, also known as the Earnhardt Family Protection Act, was sponsored by Senator Jim King (R-Jacksonville) and changed Florida's previously long standing and historically open public records laws from that day onward. The Earnhardt law deemed Florida's medical examination autopsy photographs, video and audio recordings exempt from public inspection without the expressed permission from applicable next of kin.

Dale Earnhardt won 4 Championships in this series.

4-Time IROC Champion:
A four time champion -- 1990 - 1995 - 1999 - 2000 -- tying him with Mark Martin for most IROC titles

11 victories in IROC:
Earnhardt is tied with Al Unser Jr. for most IROC wins (11)

The premise of the IROC series, conceived about 25 years ago, is amazingly simple yet effective: Take 12 of the world's top drivers, from different types of racing, put them in identically prepared IROC Pontiac Firebird Trans Ams, give them a set of rules which virtually eliminates the variables usually associated with racing (no pit stops, no qualifying, no driver set-up of the cars, etc.) and wave a green flag at them.

Dale Earnhardt has been invited to compete in IROC 17 times. The 2000 season was his last full season. In 2001 he ran the Daytona event but was killed shortly after in a Daytona 500 wreck. He has captured the IROC title in 1990, 1995, 1999 and 2000, and has won eleven series races.

Champion in 1990 with two wins, at Talladega and Michigan
Champion in 1995 with wins at Daytona and Talladega
Champion in 1999 with 3 victories; Daytona, Talladega, and Michigan . . . Champion in 2000 with Daytona victory Daytona
Fifth in 1993 with Alan Kulwicki after volunteering to finish series for Kulwicki after his death.
Fourth in 1994 with win at Daytona
Eighth in 1996 with win at Daytona
Eighth in 1997 . . . Seventh in 1998.

4/9/01 - Earnhardt's 2001 IROC seat to be left vacant in his memory - True Value IROC officials announced they will run an 11-car field for the remaining three races of the 2001 True Value IROC schedule. In tribute to four-time True Value IROC champion Dale Earnhardt, the 12th car will remained parked. Series President Jay Signore said, "Dale's career in the series is one to be revered. He accepted a record 17 invitations to represent his sport and went on to capture the title four times. The decision to start only 11 cars in honor of Dale is a first for us, but one we believe is well deserved. With the support of all the competitors and Dale's family, we will keep the 12th car parked as a tribute to honor and remember Dale as the champion's champion." An 11-time winner in the True Value IROC series, Earnhardt won back-to-back championships in 1999 and 2000 adding to his previous triumphs in 1990 and 1995. He most recently added to his legend during the season opener in February at Daytona International Speedway. While battling for the lead, Earnhardt's Pontiac Firebird was sent into the infield grass where he never missed a beat. He returned to the track at full speed and finished the event in seventh place. Eventual winner of the race, Dale Jarrett cited the incident as, "proof that Dale Earnhardt was one of the best race car drivers in the world."

1980, (0 wins)
1984, (0 wins)
1987, (0 wins)
1988, (0 wins)
1989, (0 wins)
1990, (2 wins), Won Championship
1991, (0 wins)
1992, (1 win)
1993, (0 wins)
1994, (1 win)
1995, (2wins), Won Championship
1996, (1 win)
1997, (0 wins)
1998, (0 wins)
1999, (3 wins), Won Championship
2000, (1 win), Won Championship
2001, (0 wins)

#3 Car
Earnhardt drove the #3 car for most of his career, spanning the early 1980s until his death in 2001. Although he had other sponsors during his career, his #3 is associated in fan's minds with his last sponsor, GM Goodwrench, and his last color scheme - a predominantly black car with bold red and silver trim. The black and red #3 continues to be one of the most famous logos in North American motor racing.

In 2002, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., drove a Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the Busch Grand National series race at Daytona. The car featured Oreo Cookies as a primary sponsor, and carried the trademarked #3 on the doors and roof. He went on to win the race. As of 2009, he hasn't driven the #3 again (in fact, no other team in any of the major NASCAR series has used it since Earnhardt's death), however in interviews he has stated that he would "probably finish his career driving the #3 car".

A common misconception is that Richard Childress Racing "owns the rights" to the #3 (fueled by the fact that Kevin Harvick's car has a little #3 as an homage to Earnhardt), but in fact no team owns the rights to this or any other number: NASCAR decides who uses which number. However, according to established NASCAR procedures, RCR would have priority over other teams if and when the time came to reuse the number. RCR and the Earnhardt estate do own the rights to various black and red #3 logos used during Earnhardt's lifetime; however these rights would not prevent a future racing team from using a different #3 design. (Also, a new #3 team would, in any case, need to create logos which fit with their sponsor's logos.)

It is generally believed that current NASCAR owners have agreed never to use the #3 in Sprint Cup competition again, although this is not official NASCAR policy.

Only the former International Race of Champions has actually retired the #3, which they did in a rule change effective in 2004. Anyone wishing to use the #3 again has to use #03 instead.

In 2004, ESPN released a made-for-TV movie entitled 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story which used a new (but similarly colored) #3 logo. Even though the movie was a sympathetic portrayal of Earnhardt's life, the producers did get sued for using the #3 logo. In December 2006, the ESPN lawsuit was settled, but details were not released to the public.

In 2008, Andy Santerre Motorsports used the #3, in its trademark stylised RCR design, in the Camping World Series East with Austin Dillon driving. Dillon is the grandson of Childress.

Legacy:

Earnhardt was a very polarizing figure in NASCAR. He was both loved and hated in the sport, yet despite his numerous detractors, Earnhardt remained one of the sport's most popular drivers. His death drew a considerable amount of reaction from the nation, NASCAR, and his fans.

Earnhardt kept his personal life relatively private. He enjoyed the company of his family, being outdoors, hunting and fishing, and actively working on his farm in Mooresville. In contrast with his image as a hardnosed competitor on the track, off the track he was known to his friends as someone who was charitable and generous, but usually kept that side of himself hidden from the rest of the world.

Earnhardt has a street in his hometown of Kannapolis named after him. Dale Earnhardt Boulevard (originally Earnhardt Road) is marked as Exit 60 off Interstate 85, northeast of Charlotte. Dale Earnhardt Drive is also the start of The Dale Journey Trail,[9] a self-guided driving tour of landmarks in the lives of Dale and his family. A road between Kannapolis and Mooresville, near the headquarters of DEI, formerly NC 136, was switched with State Highway 3 which was in Currituck County by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. In addition, Exit 73 off Interstate 35W, one of the entrances to Texas Motor Speedway, is named "Dale Earnhardt Way".

In 2000, shortly before his death, Earnhardt became a part-owner of the minor league baseball team in Kannapolis, and the team was renamed the Kannapolis Intimidators shortly thereafter. After his death, the team retired the jersey number 3 in Earnhardt's honor, and a "3" flag flies beyond the left field wall during every game.

Recording artist Jason Swain's song "Victory Lane" was among many songs released in tribute to Dale Earnhardt posthumously.

Atlanta Braves assistant coach Ned Yost was a friend of Earnhardt, and Richard Childress. When Yost was named Milwaukee Brewers manager, he changed jersey numbers, from #5 to #3 in Earnhardt's honor. (#3 is retired by the Braves in honor of outfielder Dale Murphy, so Yost could not make the change while in Atlanta.)

Between the 2004 and 2005 JGTC (subsequently renamed Super GT from 2005) season, Hasemi Sport competed in the series with a sole black G'Zox sponsored Nissan 350Z with the same number and letterset as Earnhardt on the roof.

A 2005 novel, St. Dale by Sharyn McCrumb explores the world of NASCAR as it follows several racing fans on a tribute tour of tracks in memory of Dale Earnhardt.

During the April 29, 2006 - May 1, 2006 NASCAR weekend races at Talladega Superspeedway, the Dale Earnhardt Inc cars competed in identical special black paint schemes on Dale Earnhardt Day, held annually on his birthday, April 29th. Martin Truex Jr won the Aaron's 312 in the black car, painted to reflect Earnhardt's Intimidating Black #3 Winston Cup Car. In the Nextel Cup race on May 1st, #8 Dale Earnhardt Jr., #1 Martin Truex Jr., and #15 Paul Menard competed in cars with the same type of paint scheme.

On June 18, 2006 at Michigan for the 3M Performance 400 Dale Earnhardt Jr ran a special vintage Budweiser car to honor his father and his grandfather Ralph Earnhardt. He finished 3rd after rain caused the race to be cut short. The car was painted to resemble Ralph's 1956 dirt cars, and carried 1956-era Budweiser logos to complete the throwback look.

In the summer of 2007, Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI) with the Dale Earnhardt Foundation, announced it will fund an annual undergraduate scholarship at Clemson University in Clemson, South Carolina for students interested in motorsports and automotive engineering. Scholarship winners are also eligible to work at DEI in internships. The first winner was William Bostic, a senior at Clemson majoring in mechanical engineering.

"Earnhardt Tower", a seating section at Daytona International Speedway, the track where Earnhardt was killed, was named in his honor.

In 2008, DEI and RCR teamed up to make a special COT sporting Earnhardt's 1998 Daytona 500 paint scheme to honor the tenth anniversary of his Daytona 500 victory. The throwback car featured the authentic 1998-era design on a current-era car, a concept similar to modern throwback jerseys in other sports. The car was later sold in 1:64 and 1:24 scale models

He invested his winnings in a business, Dale Earnhardt Inc., He later acknowledged that his second marriage broke up because of his racing; all his money and attention went to his racing cars. According to Bechtel, he said that his family "probably should have been on welfare" because he was not providing properly for them. The family cars were "old junk Chevelles - anything we could get for $200." In 1982, after the breakup of his second marriage, he married a third time and had a daughter, Taylor Nicole.

Earnhardt won six more Winston Cup titles and eventually became the most famous driver in the sport. As Ken Willis observed in Auto Racing Digest, "For two decades Earnhardt was part of the national Sunday fabric in a way known only by the likes of Ed Sullivan and Billy Graham. The entire industry benefited." NASCAR gained increasing attention and legions of fans, many of whom were drawn by Earnhardt's charisma and legend. By 2000, 25 percent of NASCAR's $1.1 billion merchandising sales went to Earnhardt-related items, according to Willis.

Earnhardt's auto-racing business, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., expanded exponentially, eventually making $41.6 million, with 200 employees and three cars on the NASCAR circuit. The company had a corporate jet, a helicopter, and a 76-foot yacht, and as Hewitt noted, the work area there was so big that his mechanics called it the "garage-mahal."

Aggressive and bold on the track, Earnhardt could be generous off it. According to Hewitt, when North Carolina farmers were facing financial ruin in the wake of a flood that had destroyed crops, Earnhardt told them to get their tractors ready to roll. At his own expense, he bought and sent them tons of seed to replant their devastated acreage. Earnhardt was also generous with fans, signing autographs and posing for pictures

Dale Earnhardt Inc, (DEI)
Formed by Dale and Teresa Earnhardt in February of 1980,

Dale Earnhardt, Inc. had certainly grown from its humble beginnings.
In 1983, Teresa became the first person on the payroll assisting Dale in his racing ventures. The first "corporate headquarters" was a three-bay garage where Dale had an office.

As the need for additional space for racecars and equipment grew, Dale and Teresa moved the offices into a brick house located next door on Coddle Creek Highway. There were five offices for a handful of employees with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. fielding a part-time Busch Series team for its namesake.

To say the team was successful would be an understatement. Dale and his team won 21 races, had 65 top-fives and 76 top-10 finishes.

While racing was a part-time job, the business side of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. was a full-time initiative. The popularity of racing was growing, and Dale was leading the industry in merchandise and sponsorship sales. That little office house was selling some big sponsorships that are still part of the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. corporate structure today.

When Dale and Teresa fielded a full-time Busch Series team and added a Craftsman Truck Series team in 1995, another shop had to be built. Jeff Green was the Busch driver through the 1995 and 1996 seasons. Ron Hornaday drove the truck from '95-98 with NAPA Auto Stores as the sponsor.

In that second season, Hornaday and NAPA gave Dale Earnhardt, Inc. its first NASCAR Championship and repeated the achievement in 1998. In 1997, a young Modified ace from East Northport, N.Y. was called upon by Dale to drive his Busch car.

Enter Steve Park:
But, he almost lost out on his chance when he didn't believe the phone call from Dale really came from Dale.

"I just got back from the Saturday-night track when there was a message on my machine from someone saying he was Dale Earnhardt and wanted to talk to me," Steve said. "Well, I didn't believe it and thought it was just one of my buddies playing a prank on me."

"Two days later, the phone rang again and in an instant I knew who it was. It was the real deal Dale and I was all ears."

Steve took over the Busch ride with ACDelco as the sponsor for the 1997 season. He won three races en route to Rookie of the Year honors and finished third in points.

As the need for employees and racecars grew, so did the need for office space. In June of 1999, Dale and Teresa proudly opened the doors to the beautiful headquarters with administration offices, exquisite Trophy Room, showroom, retail store and home of the 1 Pennzoil team.

The golden exterior shines like a symbol of success in the light of day and the black marbled entrance commands respect upon entry. The architectural beauty of the main complex has become a "must see" for race fans visiting the town called "Race City USA." It truly has become a corporate headquarters in every sense.

In 1998, Steve Park was moved to the Winston Cup Series ranks with Pennzoil on board with the 1 Chevrolet. That left the seat for the Busch Series car open for a new driver and Dale didn't have to look far for a replacement.

Enter Dale Jr:
Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent some years racing in the Street Stock and Late Model ranks at tracks in the Carolinas. In 1996, he made the jump into NASCAR with his inaugural Busch Series start at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway.

Dale Jr. went on to capture the Busch Rookie of the Year honors in 1997 and Series Championships in 1998 and 1999. It was time for the company to grow once again and that brought forth the expansion of another new building.

Escalating the fact was that Dale Jr. and his Busch team were going Winston Cup racing for the 2000 season.

Enter Michael Waltrip:
For Michael Waltrip, 2001 is the season to lay all the cards on the table. Moving in to a high-profile ride with Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Waltrip was charged with ending his 0-for-462 skein in the Winston Cup Series. In only his first race with DEI, he did just that, winning the 2001 Daytona 500.

Waltrip announced in September of 2000, that he would be driving for Earnhardt in 2001.

There was Gloom at DEI after the Daytona 500 2001 race in which Michael Waltrip had won. Legendery Dale Earnhardt lost his life there on a last lap turn 4 crash.
DEI was never the same after that.

So, the red brick house that once served as the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. office was sacrificed and bulldozed to make way for Dale Jr. and the 8 Budweiser team. In that complex the No. 1 shop, Licensing Department, Engineering, Communications, Sales and Marketing and Speed Brokers offices can be found.

While only a slight physical expansion for the Fab Shop had taken place since 1999, the company has grown internally. Bass Pro Shops, Budweiser and Menards have come together with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to keep the company moving forward.

In 2003, the Dale Earnhardt Foundation kicked off its charitable endeavors with the Dale Earnhardt Concert held at Daytona International Speedway. Since then, the Legends Leadership Awards, E Trees and many other initiatives have furthered along their goals in Education, Children and Wildlife Preservation.

In 2004, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the Daytona 500 giving DEI three Great American Race victories in four years. In 2004, Chance 2 Motorsports fielded a full-time team for Martin Truex, Jr. with Bass Pro Shops.

Truex and team rewarded co-owners Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt with the Busch Series titles in 2004 and 2005. Also in 2005, Paul Menard became part of the team in the Menards Chevrolet entry competing in the Busch Series.

In 2006, Tony Eury, Jr. took over the crew chief duties for the No. 8 team while Truex, crew chief Kevin Manion and team became the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops team in Cup competition. Menard and the No. 15 Chevrolet are a part-time Cup team while competing full-time in the Busch Series, as well.

In late 2006, Earnhardt hired entertainment executive Max Siegel as President of Global Operations to help DEI expand into the entertainment industry. On July 25th, 2007, DEI Merged with Ginn Racing with Bobby Ginn gaining a part ownership in DEI.

Dale Jr. leaves DEI:

Teresa's strained relationship with her step-son Dale Jr. ended in May 2007 when Dale announced he would not be returning to DEI for the 2008 NASCAR season. Dale Jr. left DEI because an agreement could not be reached that suited himself and his three siblings who claim equal right to the business.

Earnhardt Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates is a NASCAR team based in Concord, North Carolina owned by Dale Earnhardt's widow Teresa Earnhardt, Chip Ganassi, and Felix Sabates.
This team was formed when Dale Earnhardt, Incorporated (DEI) and the NASCAR team of Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates (CGRWFS) agreed to merge after finding it difficult to secure sponsorship separately.

DEI's financially difficulties became critical when Budweiser and US Army pulled sponsorship following the exit of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. leading to the need for the support of Ganassi. Now Even Martin Truex Jr is leaving, as well as Mark Martin who drove for them briefly a couple of years ago.
Jaun Pablo Montoya is the only show in town at Earnhardt Ganassi, but lets see what happens in 2010.
Now a mere shell of it self, DEI, as I still would like to call it, is no longer the "holy ground " for former Earnhardt fans, it's now just a museum, just a memory of the glory years that Dale and Teresa put together

Time to bring back the famed black No. 3

CONCORD, N.C. -- Day 2 of NASCAR's preseason Sprint Media Tour 2010, began with the unveiling of a black No. 3 truck that Austin Dillon will drive full time for Richard Childress Racing.

Next was a visit with Richard Petty Motorsports, where we saw the new paint scheme for the No. 43 that AJ Allmendinger will drive in the Sprint Cup Series.

The black No. 3 made famous by Dale Earnhardt hasn't been raced in a Cup event since Earnhardt's death in 2001.

They are the two most famous numbers in the history of the sport.

Hands down.

The images left from the two press conferences said a lot.

The No. 3 has been on the track in only three events in NASCAR's top three series since the day Dale Earnhardt was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Dale Earnhardt Jr. drove a blue version of it in a 2002 Nationwide Series race and Dillon drove a black 3 in two truck races last season.

Otherwise, nothing. RCR owner Richard Childress has been adamant the number will be used only by a member of his family or another Earnhardt.

Even then, he's not sure it ever will return to the Cup series.

Richard Petty has done everything possible to keep the No. 43 on the track since the seven-time champion stepped out of it following the 1992 season. He has merged with three different companies the past three years and moved the shop from Level Cross, N.C., to Mooresville to Statesville and now Concord with the latest venture with Yates Racing.

He believes it is important to keep it on the track, for the heritage of the sport and his company, even if the performance is a far cry from the championship level he achieved in it.

Crew chief Dale Inman, who helped Petty to his seven titles, agrees.

Childress is of a different mindset. He has kept the 3 parked out of respect for the man who won six of his seven championships in it. He said on Tuesday, "I don't know that you'll ever see the 3 back in Cup."

I respect his thoughts. I don't agree.

It is time for the 3 to return full time. Perhaps Dillon can pave the way in the Truck series.

Baby steps, but progress.

Childress' 19-year-old grandson has been on stock car racing's fast track since he gave up stick and ball sports four years ago. He was the NASCAR Camping World East Series rookie of the year in 2008 with a win, a pole and 10 top -10s in 13 races.

Now he is on the fast track to the Cup series. It may take a year or two or three, but let's hope he gets there in the black 3. The sport needs it.

"The 3 has a history to it and it has a heritage to it," RCR driver Jeff Burton said during the media tour. "And that history and heritage is linked not only to Dale Earnhardt but to Richard Childress Racing. They collectively made the 3 a symbol of success, a symbol of commitment to do everything it took to win.

"Some people hated it. It was either loved or it was hated. It's such a huge part of our sport, it should only be back in the right situation through."

Whether that's with Dillon or Earnhardt Jr. or another of Earnhardt's children Burton can't say for sure.

But he believes the 3 belongs.

"It shouldn't be brought back as a gimmick, as a way to bring attention," Burton said. "It needs to be brought back because it's the right thing to do."

Childress hinted he might bring the color and number into the Nationwide Series with "an Earnhardt or Earnhardt's grandkids or one of [his grandkids] one day." He didn't rule out that Dillon might run it in a handful of races with the new car this season.

But Cup?

"That's kind of where Dale raced the whole time," Childress said. "Again, I wouldn't say never to nothing, but we don't have any plans of doing that."

If he did, Dillon can handle the pressure. A part of him would love to continue RCR's No. 3 legacy in the Cup series.

"You can't look at that as a pressure," said Dillon, already carrying the torch as the first family member to attend college (High Point University). "My grandfather has always told me to have as much fun with the racing as I can."

It'll be fun to see the black No. 3 truck on the track at Daytona next month. Perhaps that's enough for now. It's probably too much to think Dillon can be ready for the 2011 Daytona 500, the 10-year anniversary of Earnhardt's death.

That might appear gimmicky.

It also might be a great way to show respect.

Not everybody will agree. Kevin Harvick, who replaced Earnhardt in a car bearing the No. 29, would like to see the number retired in Cup.

But he likes the idea of Dillon driving it in the Truck series, where Kevin Harvick Inc. driver Ron Hornaday is the reigning champion and he likes to dabble behind the wheel himself.

"I see the black 3 and I just want to beat it every week," he said. "It's really good for the sport. It's really good for RCR to keep it in the family. It's great to have it a part of the Truck series."

This wasn't the biggest story of Day 2. That Cup series director John Darby will step aside and train a replacement when one is found was.

But the images left from the first two press conferences left a lasting image and is a great topic to debate. It's one I'm sure Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, would like a say in.

But the ultimate decision is for Childress, and he doesn't seem to be in a hurry to rush it back.

"That's a tough, touchy subject," said Mike Dillon, RCR's vice president of competition and Austin's father. " Richard has a lot of opinions on that. I'm going to agree whatever he thinks. It's really a personal deal. It'll be a wait-and-see type of deal."

Jr 88 RulesGallery!


That Earnhardt Smile


Dale with his brothers, Randy, and Danny.


Yes Dale drove a Dodge too!!

Ralph Earnhardt

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