Dale Earnhardt

Background

Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. was born on April 29, 1951, in Kannapolis, North Carolina. The third child of Martha and Ralph, Earnhardt followed in his father’s footsteps, who was already a professional short-track driver in 1953. He dropped out of school in ninth grade to pursue his dream of becoming a racing driver, landing several different jobs before sitting in a race car for the first time.

Earnhardt made his debut as a professional driver in 1975 driving a Dodge Charger from Ed Niegre’s team, the number 8 car – it would still take a few years for Dale to adopt the famous number 3 –. He finished the longest race on the calendar, held at Charlotte Motor Speedway, in 22nd position, ahead of his future team principal Richard Childress. Earnhardt took part in eight more races until 1979 when he got his first full-season contract. He was a seven-time NASCAR champion, six of them with Richard Childress Racing. In addition to the 1980 title, he also won in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994. With that, Earnhardt equaled Richard Petty in the number of titles, sharing with him the position of the greatest winner in NASCAR history – until 2016, when Jimmie Johnson won his seventh title.

After a great season in 2000, Earnhardt left, on February 18, 2001, for what would be his last race. During the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway, Earnhardt was killed in a three-car crash on the final lap of the race. But his death was not in vain. Following the autopsy and the two investigations, it was clear that it was time for a change in the safety protocols. The substantial upgrade since then has saved multiple lives and NASCAR hasn’t seen a racing death in its three national series since Earnhardt’s accident.