Dale Earnhardt Biography

Quick Facts

NAME: Dale Earnhardt
OCCUPATION: Race Car Driver
BIRTH DATE: April 29, 1951
DEATH DATE: February 18, 2001
PLACE OF BIRTH: Kannapolis, North Carolina
PLACE OF DEATH: Daytona, Florida

Best Known For

Dale Earnhardt was a champion stock car driver with NASCAR who won seven championships. He died in the final lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001

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Dale Earnhardt

APA Style

Dale Earnhardt. (2013). The Biography Channel website. Retrieved 04:12, May 26, 2013, from http://www.biography.com/people/dale-earnhardt-9542044.

Harvard Style

Dale Earnhardt. [Internet]. 2013. The Biography Channel website. Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/dale-earnhardt-9542044 [Accessed 26 May 2013].

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"Dale Earnhardt." 2013. The Biography Channel website. May 26 2013, 04:12 http://www.biography.com/people/dale-earnhardt-9542044.

MHRA Style

"Dale Earnhardt," The Biography Channel website, 2013, http://www.biography.com/people/dale-earnhardt-9542044 [accessed May 26, 2013].

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"Dale Earnhardt," The Biography Channel website, http://www.biography.com/people/dale-earnhardt-9542044 (accessed May 26, 2013).

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Dale Earnhardt [Internet]. The Biography Channel website; 2013 [cited 2013 May 26] Available from: http://www.biography.com/people/dale-earnhardt-9542044.

Bluebook Style

Dale Earnhardt, http://www.biography.com/people/dale-earnhardt-9542044 (last visited May 26, 2013).

AMA Style

Dale Earnhardt. The Biography Channel website. 2013. Available at: http://www.biography.com/people/dale-earnhardt-9542044. Accessed May 26, 2013.

Synopsis

Dale Earnhardt was born on April 29, 1951, in Kannapolis, North Carolina. He drove in NASCAR's top division and was the first driver to win Rookie of the Year and the championship back-to-back. In total, Earnhardt -- known as "The Intimidator" for his aggressive driving -- won seven Winston Cup Championships and broke $30 million in career earnings. He died in a crash during the 2001 Daytona 500.

Early Life

Nascar racer Ralph Dale Earnhardt was born on April 29, 1951, in Kannapolis, North Carolina. His father, Ralph Earnhardt, was a well-known racecar driver, and Dale Earnhardt began racing himself on the local tracks at the age of 15. He dropped out of school in the ninth grade to race full-time and work as a mechanic.

In 1973, Ralph Earnhardt died of a heart attack at the racetrack while working on his car. Two years later, in May 1975, his son made his own stock car racing debut, finishing 22nd in the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.

An Impressive Start

In 1978, Earnhardt's racing caught the attention of Rod Osterlund, a racing sponsor based in California. After a tryout, Earnhardt was signed to his first full-time Winston Cup contract as Osterlund's only sponsored driver in 1979. That year, Earnhardt racked up his first win on the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) circuit at the Southeastern 500 in Bristol, Tennessee. By the end of the racing season, he had become the first driver to win over $200,000 in his rookie year; he was rewarded with NASCAR's prestigious Rookie of the Year honors.

The next year proved to be even bigger for Earnhardt, as he won his first NASCAR season points championship, or Winston Cup Championship, barely edging out the veteran driver Cale Yarborough. With the win, Earnhardt became the first driver ever to win Rookie of the Year and the season championship back-to-back.

Continuing Success on the Track

After five solid years with Osterlund (although he didn't win another championship), Earnhardt joined Richard Childress' Chevrolet team in 1984. His career took off, beginning with five wins and a second Winston Cup Championship in 1986. The next year saw Earnhardt's best results yet, as he won 11 races and a third championship title, finishing in the top five in 21 out of 29 races.

Despite his undeniable success, Earnhardt earned a reputation early on for recklessness. Known as "the Intimidator," he was particularly prone to aggressively bumping other drivers out of the way in order to take the lead in a particularly close race. After a warning from the president of NASCAR in 1987, Earnhardt cleaned up his act and began developing better relationships with other drivers on the circuit.

His success on the track continued, as he won his fourth Winston Cup Championship in 1990, earning a then-record $3,083,056 in winnings. In 1991, he took home yet another title. The streak was broken in 1992 after a series of mechanical failures, but Earnhardt bounced back the following year to win a sixth Winston Cup.

Breaking Records

With a win at the AC Delco 500 in his home state of North Carolina in 1994, Earnhardt won his seventh Winston Cup Championship, tying the legendary Richard Petty for most career titles.