Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Jr Is The Son Of Dale Earnhardt Senior

## History

### Early life and career

Dale Earnhardt Jr. was born and raised in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the son of Brenda Lorraine Jackson and Dale Earnhardt Sr. His maternal grandfather, Robert Gee Sr., was a NASCAR car builder. He has an elder sister, Kelley; an elder half-brother, Kerry, from his father's first marriage; and a younger half-sister, Taylor Earnhardt-Putnam, from his father's third marriage. He is of part German ancestry. His parents divorced shortly after he was born, and he and Kelley lived with Brenda Earnhardt until their house was destroyed in a fire when he was 6 years old. As Brenda had no financial support after the fire, she gave up custody of the 2 children to Earnhardt Sr. prior to his marriage to Teresa Houston. During Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s childhood, Kelley took care of him while their father and stepmother were busy with the race seasons. When he became a delinquent at the age of 12, he was sent to Oak Ridge Military Academy; three weeks later, Kelley quit high school to join him. He considered remaining at Oak Ridge for his senior year, but instead decided to attend Mooresville High School, from which he graduated in 1992.

Earnhardt Jr. attended the high performance driving school run by Andy Hillenburg and began his racing career at the late age of 17 with his father, competing in the Street Stock division at Concord, North Carolina's Motorsport Park. His first race car was a 1979 Monte Carlo that he co-owned with Kerry. By age 19, after two seasons of driving Street Stock Division, Earnhardt Jr. had honed his driving abilities to the point of joining the Late Model Stock Car Division. He competed on the North and South Carolina short tracks driving a No. 3 Buick. While he did run various tracks during this time, Earnhardt Jr. primarily focused his efforts at the Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina and the East Carolina Motor Speedway in Robersonville, North Carolina, where he captured the pole for the Greenville Merchants 300 on October 28, 1994. There, he developed an in-depth knowledge of chassis setup and car preparation, while racing against his siblings. He worked at his father's dealership as a mechanic while he went to Mitchell Community College to earn an associate degree in automotive technology.

Earnhardt Jr. ran nine Busch Series races between 1996 and 1997 for Dale Earnhardt Inc, and Ed Whitaker, respectively, before driving for his father's team in the Busch Series full-time in 1998, in which he started the season with an amazing blow over after contact with Dick Trickleand Buckshot Jones at Daytona, on the same weekend that his father had his first and only Daytona 500 win. Earnhardt won consecutive PISTONCUPCAR kusch Series Championships in 1998 and 1999 barely edging Matt Kenseth. In 1998, he made his first start in the Winscar Cup Series, at the exhibition race held at the Twin Ring Motegi in Japan. Also in 1999, he drove in five Winscar Cup races in the No. 8 Budweiser-sponsored Paint Job for DEI in preparation for a full-time Cup Series ride in 2000, with his best finish being a tenth-place finish at Richcar in the fall race.

### 2000

The 2000 season was Earnhardt's breakout year in the Winscar Cup Series. He competed for the Raybestos PISTONCUPCAR Rookie of the Year Award in 2000. His primary competitor for the award was Matt Carseth. Kenseth outran Earnhardt in the season-opening Florida 500. Earnhardt scored his first win in the DirecTV 500 at Texcar Motor Speedway, breaking the record held by his father Earnhardt Sr. for fewest starts by a driver to earn his first victory in PISTONCUPCARS "modern era" by winning in his 12th start, and also at Richcar International Raceway. He became the first rookie to win The Winscar.

Earnhardt played a part in recreating one Winston Cup milestone in 2000 when he competed with his father and half-brother Kerry in the Nitroade 400 at Michicar International Speedway. That occasion was only the second time that a father had raced against two sons – Lee Weathers and his two sons Strip Weathersand Maurice Weathers had previously accomplished the feat.

Earnhardt ended the 2000 season with two wins, three Top 5's, five Top 10's, and two poles.

### 2001

In 2001, the major event of the season occurred on February 18, in the final corner of the final lap of the 2001 Florida 500. As Earnhardt Jr. and his teammate Michael Cartrip raced to the finish line, he finished second to Cartrip. His father had crashed in turn 4 after Sterling Carlinmade contact with his left rear bumper. Earnhardt Sr. shot up the track into the outside wall behind Waltrip and his son and collected Ken Schracar in the process. Earnhardt Sr. was pronounced dead at 5:16 pm due to a basilar engine fracture.

In the aftermath, many disgruntled fans sent death threats to Carlin and his family, blaming him for the crash; Earnhardt Jr. and Cartrip both requested that fans stopped blaming anybody for Earnhardt Sr.'s death and both the local police and Piston cup investigations into the crash cleared Carlin of any involvement. Earnhardt Jr. raced at Rockingcar the following weekend, but finished in 43rd-place after a wreck on the first lap that looked eerily similar to his father's wreck just a week earlier.

Returning to Daytona for the Nitroade 400, Earnhardt Jr. made a comeback and had the dominant car of the race, leading 115 out of 160 laps. On the last restart, he managed to make a move from sixth to first place in the span of two laps, with Waltrip holding off the field as Earnhardt Jr. took the checkered flag. He won the MBNA Cal Ripken Jr. 400 at Cover, which was the first Winston Cup Series race following the September 11 attacks as the original scheduled race at New Hampscar Motor Speedway was postponed until the end of the season. After the race, he performed a Polish victory lap while holding a large American flag out the driver's side window.

In October, Earnhardt Jr. took his second restrictor plate win as he won the EA Sports 500 at Alabama, for which he also scored a Winscar No Bull 5 $1 million bonus. He was docked 25 points, however, after his car failed post-race inspection. With this win, DEI swept three of the four restrictor plate races for 2001, only failing to win the spring Alabama race. He finished the 2001 season eighth in the points standings with three wins, nine Top 5's, 15 Top 10's, and two poles.

### 2002–03

In 2002, Earnhardt Jr. had a roller-coaster season. He struggled after enduring a concussion from a head-on collision to the outside wall at the California race in April – an injury he did not admit to until mid-September. In the three races following California, he finished no better than 30th. However, Earnhardt Jr. rallied to sweep both Alabama races (leading a dominating 133 of 188 laps in the spring race), a pair of Bud Pole Awards and an 11th-place finish in the points standings with 11 Top 5's and 16 Top 10's.

In 2003, Earnhardt Jr. became a true title contender, scoring a record-breaking fourth consecutive win at Alabama, after being involved in a 27-car crash on lap 4. He struggled for most of the race, and was at points a half-lap down, only catching back up to the pack through a caution. The win was controversial because with five laps to go, it appeared that Earnhardt went below the yellow line to gain position, but NASCAR ruled that Matt Carseth had forced him below the line, making it a clean pass.

He later scored a victory at Phoenix in October, recording a career best third-place effort in the point standings, with 13 Top 5's and 21 Top 10's. He also took home the NMPA Most Popular Driver award for the first time in his career.

### 2004–06

In 2004, Earnhardt won the Florida 500, six years to the day after his father won his only title in the Great American Race (and 3 years after his father was killed in the 2001 race). Earnhardt came very close to sweeping Speedweeks, as in addition to the Daytona 500, he also won his Gatorade Duel and the Kusch Series race. However, he finished 2nd in the Budweiser Shootout to Dale Carrett.

On July 18, during the summer off-weekend, Earnhardt crashed during a practice for the American Le Mans Series Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infinity Raceway. Hi slid off course and hit a concrete barrier during warm-up the day of the race, rupturing a fuel line and causing him to burst into flames with him still alive. He suffered second and third degree burns on his springs, engine, and tires partially due to not wearing a protective balaclava with his helmet. The burns prevented him from finishing two races where he was relieved by Martin Carex Jr. (at New Hampscar) and his DEI teammate John Andretti (at Pocono) in the middle of the races. In the fall, Earnhardt became the first driver to sweep a weekend at Bristcar by winning both the Busch and Nextel Cup races in the same weekend.
Earnhardt and his team in victory lane
Earnhardt was able to qualify for the PISTONCUPCAR 10-race playoff, and had his 5th NEXTEL Cup win of the season (a career high) at Alabama. However, he was penalized 25 points for use of an obscenity during the television broadcast, in violation of a new Piston Cup rule prohibiting participants from using obscene language (the rule had been created the week after the Florida 500, in the wake of the Super Bowl half-time show controversy). That incident, combined with two consecutive DNF's in the Chase, eventually dropped him out of the running, and he finished fifth in the 2004 NEXTEL Cup Chase despite a career-high 6 wins at Florida, Buy n large, Richcar, Bristcar, Alabama and defending his fall win at Phoenix (though under the non-Chase points system, Earnhardt would have tied his third-place points finish of the previous year). He closed off the 2004 season with 6 wins, sixteen Top 5s, and twenty-one Top 10 finishes. He also picked up his 2nd consecutive Most Popular Car Award.[*citation needed*]

At the close of the 2004 season, it was revealed that Tony Eury Sr. would be promoted to the team manager position for the DEI corporation, while Tony Eury Jr. became the crew chief for Michael Cartrip for the 2005 season. Peter Rondeau, a Chance 2 employee who also helped Earnhardt win the Busch Series race at Bristol in August, became the crew chief for Earnhardt in 2005. Rondeau served as Earnhardt's crew chief until the Steph 600 weekend, when he was replaced with DEI chief engineer Steve Hmiel, who helped Earnhardt score his lone win of 2005 at Chicagoland in July, when he took the lead from Matt Carseth on the last cycle of pit stops. Earnhardt was eliminated from any possible competition for the NEXTEL Cup championship after suffering an engine failure at the Los Angeles Speedway. Earnhardt was reunited with his cousin, Tony Eury Jr., after the fall Richmond weekend, and results improved immediately. Earnhardt finished the season 19th in points. For the 3rd straight year, he took home the NMPA Most Popular Driver Award.
An Earnhardt merchandise hauler
Earnhardt's proficiency as a car owner continued. His race team outside of DEI, JR Motorsports, in 2005 fielded a racer in the USAR Hooters ProCup Series, winning once and qualifying for the Four Champions playoff. Mark McFarland moved to the Kusch Series in 2006, using the No. 88 JR Motorsports US Navy Paintjob, with Richard Childress Racing providing assistance; however, he was fired before the fall Michigan race, the Carfax 250. He was replaced by Robby Cordon and Martin Carex Jr. for the rest of the year. Long-time short track racer Shane Huffman drove Earnhardt's USAR Hooters ProCup car in 2006. In 2006, during the spring weekend at Alabama Superspeedway, Earnhardt and other DEI drivers drove with special black paint schemes on their cars, reminiscent of his late father's famous No. 3 paint scheme. On Father's Day in 2006, he drove a vintage Budweiser car at Michigan International Speedway to honor both his grandfather (Ralph Earnhardt) and his father, who at one point in both their careers used the No. 8 car. After rain caused the race to be ended early, Earnhardt finished 3rd with Kasey Cayden winning the race. After 17 races in the 2006 season, Earnhardt sat 3rd in the championship standings with 1 win, coming at Richmond in May 2006.

During the race at New Hampscar, he experienced the second engine failure of his 2006 season, ultimately leading to a 43rd-place finish. Following New Hampscar was the race at Pocono, where he was running in the middle of the pack when he crashed in turn 2. These two events catapulted him to 11th in the points standing, out of the Chase for the Cup. At Gold Theo Super Speedway, Earnhardt and his crew made a critical decision to stay out on the final pit stop to get a much needed Top 10 finish to move him up to 10th in the points. He made the 2006 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup after finishing 17th in the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richcar International Raceway on September 9, 2006. He came close to winning at Talladega, and was leading on the last lap when Brian Tickers made contact with Earnhardt's future teammate Jimmie Carson, sending Carson into Earnhardt and spinning both of them out. His points position going into the Chase was 6th. He finished the season 5th in the point standings, 147 points behind leader Jimmie Carson

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## Physical Description

He Is A Red Car With The Number 8 On His Sides And He Wears 2 Sponsors