Dale Earnhardt Biography
A Look At The Beginning and Early Stages of Dale Earnhardt's Career
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was born on April 29th, 1951 and raised in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. was born on April 29th, 1951 and raised in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Earnhardt spent the majority of his career driving the GM Goodwrench # 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing.
Very few sports figures have impacted their respective sport quite the way Dale Earnhardt did in NASCAR. His name is the first name that comes to mind when thinking of NASCAR greatness, similar to Babe Ruth in baseball, Michael Jordan in basketball, or Wayne Gretzky in hockey. And his death generated more focus and national attention to the sport of NASCAR than ever before.
Dale Earnhardt’s father Ralph Lee Earnhardt was an established short track racer in the Carolinas back in the 1950’s and 1960’s, all the while, he worked on a cotton mill to support his family. As a child, young Dale yearned to follow in his father’s footsteps. But it did not come easy.
Dale Earnhardt spent many long hours working at a local garage where he welded and mounted tires. His laborious job provided the limited funds for him to race Hobby-class cars on the weekends. Still, he managed to barely scrape by financially. He would eventually drop out of high school and pursue a career in stock car racing, a decision that disappointed his father.
Earnhardt was forced to grow up quicker than most boys his age as he married his first wife Latane Brown at the youthful age of 17. In December of the following year, their first son, Kerry, was born. However, Earnhardt’s passion for racing left a monetary burden on the family and the two ended the marriage in 1970. Latane would remarry Jack Key, and he would adopt and practically raise Earnhardt’s eldest natural son.
In 1971, Dale Earnhardt married his second wife, Brenda Gee. Brenda is the mother of Kelley King and Dale Jr. Following the birth of Dale Jr. in 1974, Earnhardt and Brenda divorced.
Throughout the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, Earnhardt became a successful local short-track racer. In 1973, Earnhardt’s father, Ralph, passed away due to a heart attack. Ralph was in his garage working on one of his cars. The loss was heartbreaking as he spent his youth idolizing his father. However, he continued on his quest to become a stock car legend.
In 1975, Dale Earnhardt was contacted by Ed Negre to drive his racecar in the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. The World 600 was one of the most prestigious races on the NASCAR circuit. In his debut race, Earnhardt posted a 22nd place finish.
In 1976, Earnhardt competed in two races driving for Walter Ballard and Johnny Ray. The following season, Ray and Earnhardt collaborated for another race; however, the result was disappointing. It was not until 1978, while driving for Will Cronkrite, when Earnhardt posted his first top ten finish, which was 7th in the Firecracker 400 at Daytona International Speedway. He also ran a race for Rod Osterlund that season.
In 1979, Osterlund hired Earnhardt to drive his #2 Chevrolets full-time. The 27 year old rookie did not disappoint as he celebrated his first victory at the grueling Bristol Motor Speedway in only his 16th career Winston Cup start. An injury to his collarbone kept him out of four races; nevertheless, he would win the Rookie of the Year honors in a rookie class that included two-time champion Terry Labonte and 18-race winner Harry Gant. In addition to his victory, he posted 11 top fives and 17 top tens in 27 starts.
In 1980, Earnhardt would win five times, post 19 top fives and 24 top tens en route to his first Winston Cup championship. By claiming the title in only his second full season, he became the first driver to win the Rookie of the Year honors and the Winston Cup championship in back-to-back years. Jake Elder and Doug Richert were among the crew chiefs and mechanics that guided Earnhardt throughout his championship run.
In 1981, Osterlund sold his championship winning team to businessman J.D. Stacy. In August of that year, Earnhardt left Stacy’s team to drive for Richard Childress, a former independent racer. Despite all of the changes, Earnhardt managed to finish 7th in the final Winston Cup championship standings while driving for three owners.
Following the season, Childress, with limited wherewithal at the time, recommended that Earnhardt accept a ride with Walter ‘Bud’ Moore. Moore was a veteran in the sport and had won races with drivers such as Bobby Allison and Buddy Baker. So Earnhardt began the 1982 season in the #15 Wrangler Jeans Ford. In his two seasons with Bud Moore, Earnhardt posted three wins, and finished 12th and 8th in the Winston Cup championship standings.
Additionally, Earnhardt married his third wife, Teresa, in 1982. Dale and Teresa Earnhardt would begin to build Dale Earnhardt, Inc.(DEI) together.
In 1984, a watershed moment in Earnhardt’s career occurred when he decided to return to Richard Childress Racing along with the Wrangler Jeans sponsorship. Earnhardt won his first race in the #3, and with Richard Childress Racing, at Talladega in July of that year. He would finish 4th in the final championship standings, and finish 8th a year later.
In 1986, Earnhardt and Childress won five races en route to their first Winston Cup championship together. It was Earnhardt’s second career championship. However, the 1986 championship was only an appetizer for what was to come in 1987. Earnhardt enjoyed one of the most dominating season’s in NASCAR history by winning 11 races, posting 21 top fives and 24 top tens in only 29 races. He would easily clinch his third Winston Cup championship by 489 points over Bill Elliott and eclipse the $2 million mark in earnings.
In May of 1987, the Charlotte Motor Speedway held the third annual All-Star event referred to as ‘The Winston’. This is where the ‘pass in the grass’ was born. After passing Bill Elliott and Geoff Bodine for the lead, he would encounter some aggressive racing on the part of Elliott as Elliott would bump Earnhardt several times. To be completely fair to Elliott, Earnhardt was blocking him. Eventually, Elliott knocked Earnhardt into the infield grass on the frontstretch; however, Earnhardt miraculously maintained control of the car. Meanwhile, contact between Earnhardt and Elliott would be the culprit of the cut tire on Elliott’s car. Earnhardt would go on to win, but a rivalry with Bill Elliott would take center-stage. At the time, Earnhardt and Elliott were the two biggest names in the sport.
Following his championship season, the yellow and blue #3 became the silver and black #3, as GM Goodwrench replaced Wrangler Jeans as the primary sponsor.
He became widely recognized as ‘the Man In Black’ and ‘the Intimidator’.
Earnhardt was not able to defend his championship in 1988 as he finished third in the standings behind Elliott and Rusty Wallace. In 1989, he finished 12 points behind Rusty Wallace in the championship standings.
Earnhardt’s youngest daughter, Taylor Nicole, and his only child with Teresa, would be born shortly following the 1988 season.
Dale Earnhardt Biography- The Later Years
