Dale Earnhardt
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For Earnhardt's son see Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
| Birthplace: | Kannapolis, North Carolina | |
| Born: | April 29, 1951 | |
| Died: | February 18, 2001 | |
| Cause of Death: | Crash on final lap of 2001 Daytona 500 | |
| Awards: | 1994 Winston Cup Champion 1993 Winston Cup Champion 1991 Winston Cup Champion 1990 Winston Cup Champion 1987 Winston Cup Champion 1986 Winston Cup Champion 1980 Winston Cup Champion 1979 Rookie of the Year 4-Time IROC Champion (1990, 1995, 1999, 2000) 1998 Daytona 500 Winner Ranked second among NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) | |
| NASCAR Cup statistics | ||
| 676 races run over 27 years. | ||
| Best Cup Position: | 1st - 1980, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994 (Winston Cup) | |
| First Race: | 1975 World 600 (Charlotte) | |
| Last Race: | 2001 Daytona 500 (Daytona) | |
| First Win: | 1979 Southeastern 500 (Bristol) | |
| Last Win: | 2000 Winston 500 (Talladega) | |
| Wins | Top Tens | Poles |
| 76 | 428 | 22 |
He had four children, Kelley King, Taylor, Kerry, and Dale Jr.. His widow, Teresa Earnhardt is the owner of Dale Earnhardt, Inc., the race team and merchandising corporation Earnhardt founded with his wife in the '90s.
Earnhardt is best known for his success as a driver in the Winston Cup Series, in which he won seven championships, tied for most all-time with Richard Petty. His highly aggressive driving style made him a fan favorite and earned him the nickname "The Intimidator."
Earnhardt died in a last-lap crash during the 2001 Daytona 500, the fourth driver in the nine months since Adam Petty's death in May 2000. Due in large part to overwhelming fan outcry, NASCAR began an intensive focus on safety that has seen the organization mandate the use of head-and-neck restraints (currently, only the HANS device is approved for competition), oversee the installation of SAFER barriers at all oval tracks, set rigerous new rules for seat-belt and seat inspection, develop a roof-hatch escape system, and develop a next-generation race car built with extra driver safety in mind, dubbed the Car of Tomorrow.
Early life
Dale Earnhardt was the son of race car driver Ralph Earnhardt, who participated in the formative years of the NASCAR circuit's Grand National Division (the precursor to today's NEXTEL Cup Series). Although the elder Earnhardt was a successful racer, he kept his day job at a cotton mill in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Earnhardt quit school at the age of 16 to pursue racing full time. He also had his first marriage at a very young age, marrying Latane Key in 1968, and she gave birth to his eldest child, his son Kerry, in 1969. They were subsequently divorced in 1970.In 1971 he married his second wife, Brenda Gee, who gave birth to a daughter, Kelley, in 1972, and a son, Dale Jr., in 1974.
Ralph Earnhardt died of a heart attack at his home in 1973. His father's death affected Dale deeply and it would take many years before his success in racing would make him feel as though he had "proven" himself to his father's memory.
In 1977 Dale Earnhardt divorced Brenda Gee.
NASCAR career
1970s
Dale Earnhardt began his Winston Cup career in 1975, making his very first start at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in the longest race on the Cup circuit, the World 600. Earnhardt drove an Ed Negre car and finished 22nd in the race. Earnhardt would compete in 8 more races until, at the age of 28, got his first full time ride with Rod Osterlund Racing.
1979 Rookie of the Year Earnhardt started the 1979 season with car owner Rod Osterlund, who had fielded a full time team for Dave Marcis with 1 win and several top 10 point finishes. The team ran well at Daytona and Earnhardt got his very first win on April 1, 1979, at the Bristol Motor Speedway dueling NASCAR legends Darrell Waltrip and Bobby Allison. Earnhardt had respectable finishes the rest of the year, despite missing 4 races due to a broken collarbone suffered at Pocono. He finished off his first full year with 1 win, 11 Top 5's, 17 Top 10's, 4 poles, and a 7th place points finish.
Earnhardt was part of one of the strongest rookie classes in NASCAR history, with drivers Terry Labonte and Bill Elliott. They would all become named on the 50 Greatest Drivers List.
1980s
1980 Championship The new decade in Winston Cup racing saw Earnhardt win the Busch Clash (later renamed the Budweiser Shootout), a non-points race for all of the past year's previous pole winners. Earnhardt would get his first points paying win of the year at the Atlanta Motor Speedway, and would go on to win at Bristol, Nashville, Martinsville, and Charlotte, with 21-year old Doug Richert as crew chief. Earnhardt went on to win his first championship, becoming the first and only driver to win the title the year after winning NASCAR Rookie Of The Year Award.
1981 Osterlund sold his team to J.D. Stacy in mid-1981. Earnhardt competed in four races with him before he decided to finish off the season with Richard Childress. Earnhardt did not win, but finished 7th in the points standings.
1982 Childress convinced Dale that he did not have enough resources for him to compete at a high level, so Earnhardt joined legendary car owner Bud Moore for the 1982 season. Earnhardt got back into victory lane at Darlington Raceway and ended a 39-race losing streak. However, that would be the only win of the year for Earnhardt as engine failures in his Ford Thunderbird plagued the team throughout the year and recorded 15 DNF's (Did Not Finish). Earnhardt would finish twelfth in the NASCAR point standings, the lowest finishing position in his career (he would finish twelfth again in 1992).
1983 Earnhardt began his streak of winning his thirteen Twin 125 qualifiers for the Daytona 500 in his career. He recorded wins at Nashville Speedway and at the Talladega. He finished eighth in the final point standings. Earnhardt announced he would join Richard Childress Racing in 1984.
1984 Earnhardt returned to Richard Childress Racing. Richard Childress strengthened his team with help from Junior Johnson. Earnhardt would finish the season with two wins, one each at Talladega and at Atlanta. Earnhardt led at the halfway point in the season before he ended up fourth in final points standings.
1985 Earnhardt won four races, all coming at short tracks, including one at Richmond, two at Bristol, and one at Martinsville.
1986 Earnhardt started the 1986 season right by winning the Busch Clash and a Twin 125 qualifier. Earnhardt beat Darrell Waltrip for his second title. Richard Childress also received his first owner's championship. Earnhardt won a total of five races, including wins at the North Wilkesboro, Atlanta, Darlington, and two wins at Charlotte.
1987 During the 1987 season Earnhardt recorded 11 wins at Rockingham, Richmond, Darlington, North Wilkesboro, Bristol, Martinsville, Charlotte, Michigan, Pocono, Bristol, Darlington, and Richmond. Richard Childress Racing set a modern era record of 4 consecutive wins and won 5 of the first 7 races. Earnhardt also earned his nickname "The Intimidator" during the The Winston at Charlotte by spinning out Bill Elliott in the final segment before scoring his first of three career wins in the event. The final 10-lap segment featured Earnhardt's famous "pass in the grass". Earnhardt's early success allowed him to grab the points lead, and stretched his lead close to 600 points over Bill Elliott before beating him by 288 points. Long-term sponsor Wrangler left Earnhardt's team after the season.
1988 Earnhardt began the 1988 season with new primary sponsor GM Goodwrench. GM Goodwrench insisted on using black paint scheme which would become Earnhardt's signature. It inspired a new nickname, "The Man In Black". In 1988, Earnhardt scored three wins at Martinsville, Darlington, and Bristol . He finished third in the final points standings behind Bill Elliott and Rusty Wallace.
In 1989 Earnhardt scored five wins: two at Dover, with one each at North Wilkesboro, Darlington, and Atlanta. Earnhardt was racing against Ricky Rudd for the win at North Wilkesboro with a handful of laps to go. The drivers collided and both of them spun out, giving the win to Geoff Bodine. Earnhardt finished second to Rusty Wallace by 12 points in the final standings.
1990s
1990 The season started with another disappointing result in the Daytona 500. 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 came out, Earnhardt was leading Derrike Cope. On the last lap, Earnhardt ran over a piece of metal at 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 worked, because Earnhardt won nine races. He also won his 4th Winston Cup title, beating out Mark Martin by just 26 points.
1991 Earnhardt won his 5th Winston Cup championship. He would score just 4 wins, but he 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 but lost the brakes late in the race, giving Earnhardt the chance he needed to make the pass for the win.
1992 After consecutive titles for the 2nd time in his career, Dale Earnhardt was determined to make it 3 in a row, but, it wasn't to be. 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 came at Charlotte in the prestigious Coca-Cola 600, ending the 13-race win streak for the Ford teams. Earnhardt would finish a career-low 12th in the points for the 2nd time in his career, and the only time he had finished that low since going to RCR.
At the end of the year, longtime crew chief Kirk Shelmerdine left to become a driver. Andy Petree took over as crew chief.
1993 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, dominating throughout Speedweeks before finishing 2nd to Dale Jarrett on a last-lap pass. Earnhardt would score 6 wins en route to his 6th Winston Cup title, including wins in important races as the Coca-Cola 600, the Winston All-Star race and the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. Earnhardt beat Rusty Wallace for the championship by 80 points.
1994 Similar to 1993, Earnhardt was very consistent, scoring 4 wins, and winning the title by over 400 points over Mark Martin. This would be the last Winston Cup title of his career. In 1994, Earnhardt tied Richard Petty's record of 7 NASCAR Winston Cup titles.
1995 Earnhardt started off the season by finishing second in the Daytona 500 to Sterling Marlin. He would win 5 races in 1995, including his first road course victory at Sears Point and the prestigious Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a win he called the biggest of his career in 1995. But in the end, Earnhardt lost the title to Jeff Gordon by just 34 points. A rivalry between fans of the two drivers was formed that still continues, even after Earnhardt's death.
1996 Earnhardt dominated Speedweeks by winning the pole for the Daytona 500 and his Twin 125 Qualifier before finishing 2nd to Dale Jarrett for a 2nd time. Earnhardt won early in the year, scoring consecutive victories at Rockingham and Atlanta. In late July at Talladega Superspeedway, 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 trioval wall head-on at nearly 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 cancelled 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 the be loaded onto a stretcher despite a broken collarbone, sternum, and shoulderblade. Many thought the incident would end his season early, but Earnhardt refused to give up. The next week at Indianaplois, he started the race but exited the car on the first pit stop, allowing Mike Skinner (NASCAR) 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 emding up 6th, behind race winner Geoff Bodine. Earnhardt would not win again in 1996, but he still finished 4th in the standings behind Terry Labonte, Jeff Gordon and Dale Jarrett. David Smith would leave as crew chief of the #3 team at the end of the year to become team manager of the new #31 Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse RCR entry of Mike Skinner (NASCAR) as a teammate to Earnhardt and Larry McReynolds would replace him.
1997 Earnhardt went winless for only the 2nd time in his career.The only 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 the backstretch. Earnhardt would hit the low point of his year when he would black out early in the Mountain Dew Southern 500 in Darlington, causing him to hit the wall. He would go to the hospital and be cleared to race, but had no idea what caused it. Despite no wins (all of Chevrolet's wins were by Hendrick Motorsports -- Ford won all other races in 1997, Pontiac won once) the RCR team finished the season 5th in the final standings, with no DNF's.
1998 After 20 years of disappointment in the Daytona 500 Earnhardt finally won the race. He started Speedweeks by winning his Twin 125-mile qualifier race. On race day, Dale showed himself to be a contenders early. But at halfway, 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 would not lose 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 over. And we won it! We won it!" Unfortunately, the rest of the season would not go as well. He slipped to 12th in the standings halfway in 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.
1999 Before the season, fans had started talking about Earnhardt's age and thinking that with his son Dale Jr. getting into racing that Earnhardt might be contemplating retirement. Earnhardt sweept both races for the year at Talladega Superspeedway, leading most observers to conclude that Earnhardt's talent was limited to the restrictor plate tracks, which requires a unique skill set and an exceptionally powerful car to win. But half-way 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.
One week later, he provided the sport with one of its most controversial moments.
At the August Bristol race, Earnhardt found himself in contention to win his first short track race since Martinsville in 1995. When a caution came out with 15 laps to go, leader Terry Labonte got hit from behind by the lapped car of Darrell Waltrip. His spin put Earnhardt in the lead with 5 cars between he and Labonte with 5 laps to go. Labonte had four fresh tires and Earnhardt was driving on old tires, which made Earnhardt's car considerably slower. Labonte caught Earnhardt and passed him coming to the white flag, but Earnhardt drove hard into turn four, bumping Labonte and spinning him around. Dale went on to collect the win while spectators booed and made obscene gestures.
"I didn't try to turn him around, I just wanted to rattle his cage", Earnhardt said of the incident. Earnhardt would finish 7th in the standings that year, and looked like a contender again.
2000
Earnhardt had a resurgence during the 2000 season, which some attributed to neck surgury he underwent to correct a lingering injury from his 1996 Talladega crash.
Death at the 2001 Daytona 500
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 ire from fellow driver Jimmy Spencer. Two weeks before the Daytona 500, Earnhardt kicked off the annual Speedweeks at Daytona by competing with his son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in the Rolex 24, a twenty-four hour sports car race which utilizes the Daytona International Speedway's infield roadcourse. The father-son duo were part of a four-man driving team, each taking turns driving the #3 Chevrolet Corvette in two-hour shifts. Earnhardt seemed to enjoy this new style of racing immensely, and the involvement of the Earnhardts brought a surge of publicity to the event and to American sports car racing in general.
Despite the early start, Speedweeks would be 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, a seventy-lap exhibition race for drivers and teams who won a pole position during the previous year, and also for any previous winner of the Shootout. Earnhardt was also denied victory in the Gatoraide Twin 125 qualifying race in which he participated; the finishing order of the Twin 125s determine the starting order for the Daytona 500. Earnhardt had won every Twin 125 event he competed in during the 1990s, and was leading on the final lap in 2001 when Sterling Marling pulled off a slingshot pass going down the backstretch, denying Earnhardt victory. In the IROC event held prior to the Daytona 500, Earnhardt was leading late in the race when he was accidentally spun out. He managed to control the IROC car in spectacular fashion, driving through the track's infield grass at speeds well over 150 miles per hour, but victory was again stolen from the 49 year old Earnhardt.
Taking it in stride, Earnhardt appeared relaxed and confident in television interviews on the morning of the 2001 Daytona 500.
When the race 500 started, Earnhardt showed early promise, leading the race and running up front for most of the event. During a pit stop, Earnhardt made contact with the #36 car of Kenny Shrader. Though the incident didn't cause any damage, it would later prove ironic.
A multicar 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, Earnhardt, Jr., and Michael Waltrip who were running up front. The race was Waltrip's first driving for Earnhardt's team. Waltrip had also been winless in more than a decade of racing, with the sole exception of an exhibition race which doesn't count toward total wins. As the laps wound down, Waltrip was leading Earnhardt, Jr. Dale Earnhardt, Sr., was running third in the #3 car.
Going into the final turn during the last lap, Earnhardt's car seemed to slow. There was contact between the back bumper of Earnhardt's car and the nose of Sterling Marlin's. Earnhardt’s car spun off the track's steep banking, onto the flat apron, and then turned sharply up the track, toward the outside retaining wall. For a moment, it looked like Earnhardt would hang onto the car and drive to a top-five finish, but another car - the #36 Pontiac driven by Ken Schrader - rammed Earnhardt's Chevrolet in the passenger door and spun the car nose-first into the wall. Earnhardt's #3 hit at a critical angle at nearly 150 miles per hour. The left-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. After all, Earnhardt had survived the tumbling crash at Talladega in 1996 when his 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 official victory with Dale Earnhardt, Jr., close behind, the cars of Earnhardt, Sr., and Shrader slid off the track's asphalt banking toward in the infield grass just inside of NASCAR turn four.
After climbing from the wreck of his car, Schrader was the first person to approach Earnhardt's car post-crash. As medical crews converged upon the crash scene, a Fox reporter asked Schrader about Earnhardt's condition. "I'm not a doctor," Schrader said solemnly. Hours later, at a NASCAR press conference, it was announced to the world what millions already feared from Schrader's somber reply, what had already been reported by the popular NASCAR news site Jayski. Dale Earnhardt was dead.
Aftermath of Earnhardt's Death
Dale Earnhardt's death received widespread media attention. Fans began congregating at the headquarters of Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, as well as the track where Earnhardt died, Daytona International Speedway. Earnhardt's image adorned that 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 stations, including CNN and Fox News Channel.
Earnhardt's death was the catalyst for change that continues five and a half years later. 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 broken seatbelt inside Earnhardt's car to graphic descriptions of the injuries the driver suffered at the moment of impact. The allegations of seat-belt 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. Simpson has since resurfaced with a new company. But the impact of Earnhardt's death went far beyond the speedway; after a tabloidesque attempt to publish autopsy photos, the Earnhardt family was able to push through laws protecting the privacy of the deceased.
Several press conferences were held in the days following Earnhardt's death. At one point, fans were threatening to kill Sterling Marlin for causing the wreck. It was Earnhardt's son, Dale Jr., who absolved Marlin of responsibility and asked everyone who loved his father to stop assigning blame for his death.
Earnhardt's #3 car was immediately retired by team owner Richard Childress. Childress made a public pledge that the number would never again adorn the side of a black car sponsored by GM Goodwrench, the color scheme and sponsor Earnhardt had driven since 1988. Earnhardt's team was re-christened as the #29 team, with the same sponsor (GM Goodwrench) but a new color scheme. Instead of black with silver stripes, the new car was white with angled red stripes and a thin blue pinstripe. Later versions of the car would bear greater resemblance to the machine that Earnhardt pioloted.
Kevin Harvick was named as Earnhardt's replacement driver, beginning with the race following Earnhardt's death, held at Rockingham Speedway. Special hats bearing the #3 were distributed to everyone at the track to honor Earnhardt.
Fans took it upon themselves to began honoring Earnhardt by holding three fingers aloft on the third lap of every NASCAR Nextel Cup race. 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 Golden Corral 500, Harvick beat Jeff Gordon by .006 seconds, and the images of Earnhardt's longtime fueler, Danny "Chocolate" Myers, crying after the victory and Harvick's tire-smoking burnout on the frontstretch with three fingers held aloft outside the driver's window are memorable to many NASCAR fans. The win was also considered cathartic for a sport whose epicenter had been ripped away.
Other notable events included Dale Earnhardt Jr. scoring an emotional victory in the next Cup race at Daytona: the Pepsi 400 on July 7, 2001. He would later go on to win the 2004 Daytona 500, six years to the day after his father won the 1998 Daytona 500.
There is speculation that Dale Earnhardt Jr. will use his father's number 3 in the NASCAR Nextel Cup series towards the end of his career, driving for Richard Childress. A black-and-silver paint scheme was used by Earnhardt Jr at the 2006 Aaron's 499 at Talladega to celebrate the Earnhardt Sr's International Motorsports Hall of Fame Induction. Marketing efforts have been aided over the years by the fact that Earnhardt Jr.'s primary sponsor, Budweiser beer, happens to use the same color scheme (red, black, and white) used by his father's sponsor, GM Goodwrench.
Controversy over cause of death
Various views were expressed by NASCAR and others about the cause or causes of Dale Earnhardt's death, causing controversy but also leading to subsequent improvements in safety. Factors in the controversy included:
- Nascar's initial claim of seat belt failure (which led to speculation as to whether this might have been caused by deliberate incorrect fitting to aid driver comfort);
- whether Dale Earnhardt's continued use of an open-faced halmet was a factor;
- controversy over access to the autopsy records;
- the different findings of an independent report, which said that whether the seat belt failed or not was irrelevant, as death had been caused by neck injuries which could have been prevented by a HANS device.
- Nascar's own report, which did not concur with the independent report, but rather lay blame across a range of causes.
In the midst of the general controversy, legal, political and public opinion were all engaged in ways that changed Florida's laws as to how and under what circumstances public record medical examiner files, including autopsy photographs, would be released to members of the public.
#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 predominately black car with bold red and white trim. The black and red #3 continues to be one of the most famous logos in 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. Earnhardt, Jr., won the race, but as of 2006, he hasn't driven the #3 again.
A common misconception is that Richard Childress Racing "owns the rights" to the #3 (fueled by the fact that Kevin Harvick's car had a little #3 as a 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 in with their sponsor's logos.) 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. (The lawsuit has not gone to trial as of mid-2006.)
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 Kannapolis, 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 of Interstate 85, northeast of Charlotte. A road between Kannapolis and Mooresville, near the headquarters of DEI, has been given the designation State Road 3 by the North Carolina Department of Transportation. In addition, Exit 73 off of Interstate 35W, one of the entrances to Texas Motor Speedway, is named "Dale Earnhardt Way".
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.
On April 23, 2006 at the Aarons 499 Dale Earnhardt Jr. competed in a special black paint scheme to honor what would have been his fathers 55th birthday on April 29th. He would finish 30th, retiring early in the race due to engine problems. Then on June 18 2006 at Michigan for the 3M Performance 400 he ran a special vintage Budweiser car to honor his dad and his grandfather Ralph Earnhardt he finished in 3rd after rain caused the race to be cut short.
Awards
- Earnhardt was named second among NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998 (ranked behind David Pearson).
- He was posthomously inducted into the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in 2002
- He was inducted in the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006.
Trivia
He appeared in the 1983 Burt Reynolds movie Stroker Ace.
In 1997, Earnhardt appeared as a special guest with his close friends, the country duo Brooks and Dunn, in the video for Brooks and Dunn's hit song, Honky Tonk Truth.
Earnhardt appeared in a cameo role in the 1998 comedy spoof BASEketball as a taxi driver, who reveals himself only after Yasmine Bleeth's character asks the driver if he "can go any faster."
In 2000, the Piedmont Boll Weevils minor league baseball team was renamed to the Kannapolis Intimidators after Earnhardt purchased a share in the team's ownership.
The popular internet humorist known as Maddox wrote an article about Earnhardt's death that was never displayed on his website. It can be found [here].
In 2004, Dale Earnhardt's life story was made into a television movie by ESPN titled, , starring Barry Pepper as Earnhardt.
In 2004 Keith Bryant released the album "Riding with the Legend," with the title track being a tribute to Dale Earnhardt based on David Allan Coe's "The Ride (The Ghost of Hank Williams)"
Country singer Travis Tritt plays a guitar with Earnhardt's image airbrushed onto the front during concerts.
External links
- [Dale Earnhardt Inc.]
- [Autopsy Photographs Controversy and Legal Documents by Michael Uribe]
- [Career statistics at Racing-Reference.com]
- [Dale Earnhardt Photos]
- [Orlando Sentinel article on the inquiries into the cause of death]
- [Sports Illustrated article on the controversy over Earnhardt's seat belt]
- [The Inside Groove.com - Image Gallery Dale Earnhart in the early years]
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