Know Your NASCAR: The Earnhardts

August 15, 2001
12:08 PM EDT (1608 GMT)

His racing reputation was legendary.

Dale Earnhardt

Dale Earnhardt Sr. would do anything to get to the checkered flag. He was the Man in the Black, The Intimidator.

His trademark black Chevrolet, the No. 3 GM Goodwrench Service Plus Monte Carlo, is one of the the most recognizable vehicles in NASCAR history. Unfortunately, Earnhardt was not invincible.

That became a sobering reality when he died tragically in a last-lap crash on Feb. 18, 2001, in the Daytona 500 while helping two cars he owned -- driven by Michael Waltrip and son Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- finish first and second.

The death of Earnhardt, who was only 49, sent shockwaves throughout the NASCAR family, and those same shockwaves are still being felt today.

Earnhardt was no ordinary driver. He was Winston Cup's version of Michael Jordan, winning seven points championships and 76 races. Still, Earnhardt was far more than just “The Intimidator.” Off the track, he was a completely different person.

Dale Sr. won seven Winston Cup titles.

“Fans at race tracks always saw Dale as ‘The Intimidator,’” said David Green, who raced against him on the Winston Cup circuit from 1997-2000.

“But he would go from a bear on the track to a cocker spaniel when he was at his farm or shop. He was always very concerned about making time for his family. And now that he is gone, it is amazing to see just how much he touched all his children (Kerry, Kelly, Dale Jr. and Taylor).

“When he died, we lost a lot more than a seven-time Winston Cup champion, we lost a very unique and neat individual.”

Veteran driver Dave Marcis echoed those statements.

“Dale was always very interested in his family,” said Marcis, a longtime friend of Earnhardt's who is in his 33rd Cup season. “He always made sure his kids got a good education when they were growing up and he always made time to do whatever he could to make sure they were successful in life.”

Marcis, who has worked as a test driver for Richard Childress Racing, saw the family side of Earnhardt many times.

“He was always very interested in what his children were doing,” said Marcis. “I remember one time when we were hunting together, he was at the hunting camp watching a Busch race that Dale Jr. was driving in. He was a man of few words, but he was a great friend and a super person, who you call anytime.”

Earnhardt's influence on his family was never more apparent than when the series returned to Daytona on July 7, 2001, for the Pepsi 400 and Little E won. Some skeptics thought the race was fixed, but Dale Jr. didn't let those false claims spoil his night in Victory Lane.

“I will be crying sooner or later,” Little E said to reporters after his third Cup win in less than two years on the circuit. “I dedicate this win to him -- there ain't nobody else.”

Dale Sr.’s father, Ralph Earnhardt, provided the guidance that started his son’s career in racing while growing up in southern North Carolina. His father was a NASCAR Late Model Sportsman champion and Dale Sr. from a very early age wanted to follow in his father's footsteps.

“I wanted to race -- that's all I ever wanted to do,” the Kannapolis, N.C., native once said. “I didn't care about work or school or anything, all I wanted to do was to work on race cars and then drive race cars. It was always my dream, and I was just fortunate enough to be able to live out that dream.”

Dale Sr. quit school in the ninth grade at age 16 in 1967. He began his professional racing career shortly thereafter, but didn't make it to the big-time until the age of 28. The rest, of course, is history.

Ralph Earnhardt

That history, mirrored the early carrer of his father. Although he didn't begin to race professionally until the age of 25, Ralph Earnhardt made his impression upon the world of racing quickly.

In 1956, he won his first NASCAR Sportsman title, a year in which he racked up 32 victories. At one point in his career, he held track championships at seven different venues.

Like his son, Ralph never made a fuss over any accolades he received surrounding his racing career. But then again, he wasn't around long enough to enjoy them, either.

Ralph Earnhardt died suddenly while working beneath a race car on Sept. 26, 1973. He was only 45.

Ralph was inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1989, the same weekend that Dale Sr. won the Southern 500 at Darlington Raceway.

Ralph also was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Ala., in 1997 and, along with Dale Sr., was named as one of NASCAR's “50 Greatest Drivers” during the 1998 celebration of NASCAR's 50th Anniversary.

That same year, Dale Sr. finally won the Daytona 500 in his 20th start in the prestigious event.

“This has been a very special time for me and for our family,” The Intimidator said in 1998. “I wish he could have been here to see all of this.”

Frankly, success and Dale Sr. went hand in hand, dating back to 1979, when he was crowned the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year.

A year later, he reached the sport's summit by winning his first of seven Series championships. His seven titles, which came in 1980, '86, ‘87, '90, ‘91, '93 and '94, tied him with “The King,” Richard Petty, for the most in Winston Cup history.

“Dale definitely raised the level of competition,” said Geoffrey Bodine, who began his Cup career in 1979. “When I won races, I wanted Dale to be in the field, because I knew if I beat him, I beat one of the best drivers ever.”

Considering Dale Sr.'s resume, it was not surprising that Kerry, Kelley and Dale Jr. have all tried their hands at the racing game in one form or another.

Kelley, 25, drove Late Model Stock cars for a while before settling into her own career.

Kerry, who worked at his father's Chevrolet dealership and raised a family before choosing racing as a career, competed in Late Model Stock Cars as well as the NASCAR Goody's Dash Series before trying higher levels of the sport.

Supported by his father in 2000, he won in the ARCA RE/MAX Series and made his Winston Cup debut in August at Michigan in a car owned by Marcis.

Father vs. Son

“Dale always wanted to compete in a Winston Cup race with Dale Jr. and Kerry,” said Marcis. “So, rather than bring up another one of his cars, he asked me if I would let Kerry run in one of my cars and I was glad to help out.”

In the race, Dale Sr. came in sixth, while Dale Jr. and Kerry came in 31st and 43rd, respectively. However, there is no mistaking how much Dale Jr.'s rise to stardom meant to Dale Sr.

“When Dale Jr. began racing in Winston Cup (1999), it totally changed Dale Sr.'s outlook on things,” said Marcis. “He became more competitive and rejuvenated.”

Dale Jr. began racing at the age of 16 and began turning plenty of heads from 1994-96 while competing in the NASCAR Weekly Racing Series Late Model Division. In 113 starts, he won three times and had an incredible 90 top-10 performances.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

“I definitely had to work my way up the ranks,” Little E said in an interview at Pikes Peak International Raceway in Fountain, Colo., in July 1998. “And, I would hope that people would look at my accomplishments and realize that I have had to make a name for myself.”

By 1997, he had moved up to NASCAR's Busch Grand National Series and he proceeded to win consecutive Busch championships in 1998 and '99.

He kept that momentum going in 2000, his inaugural season at the Cup level, winning races at Richmond and Texas, plus The Winston All-Star event at Lowe’s Motor Speedway in his Chevrolet.

From the early stages of his life, it was apparent to Dale that Dale Jr. had just as much, if not more fire and enthusiasm for racing as he ever did, and still does.

“The first time we seen him go-kart racing was when Teresa and I took him down to Sanford, North Carolina, when he was about 10 or 11 years old,” Dale Sr. said. “He started on the outside in about the third or fourth row.

“Well, he went into (Turn) 1, then came off of (Turn) 2 on the outside of the second-place guy. Dale Junior's wheel got clipped and he went up into the air, tumbling head-over-heels. When he stopped, his little hands went up (waving).

“About the time he had stopped I had run across the track and was standing there, and he said, 'Where's my go-kart?' The only thing he was concerned about was 'Where's my go-kart?' That was a pretty awesome sight, I'll tell you.”

Marcis for one believes Little E can carry the Earnhardt torch for years to come.

“He has already proven how good of a driver he is,” said Marcis. “And, only time will tell how much better he will become.”