Earnhardt, Dale, Sr.

▪ 2002

      American race-car driver (b. April 29, 1951, Kannapolis, N.C.—d. Feb. 18, 2001, Daytona Beach, Fla.), was one of the most successful stock-car racing drivers in history. He won a total of 76 races in his career, and he captured the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing's (NASCAR's) Winston Cup season points championship seven times—a feat equaled by only one other driver, racing legend Richard Petty. Earnhardt also won NASCAR's American Driver of the Year award twice, in 1987 and 1994. Earnhardt, who began racing at the age of 19 on dirt tracks, claimed his first NASCAR victory in 1979. His aggressive driving style earned him the nickname “the Intimidator” and also helped to make him one of the most popular drivers of his era. He won NASCAR's 1979 Rookie of the Year award. In 1980 he took his first Winston Cup title and, with $588,926 in earnings that year, established a new single-season earnings record. He won back-to-back Winston Cup championships in 1986–87, 1990–91, and 1993–94. His earnings of $3,083,056 in 1990 made him the first NASCAR driver to top the $3 million mark. In 1996 Earnhardt became only the third driver in NASCAR history to start 500 consecutive Winston Cup races, and the following year he became the first driver to earn more than $30 million. His victory in the Daytona 500 in 1998, after 19 unsuccessful bids to win the event, was another major milestone for Earnhardt. His last victory came in October 2000 when he triumphed in the Winston 500 in Talladega, Ala. He was killed on the last turn of the last lap of the Daytona 500 in a crash that involved cars driven by Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader. At the time of his death, Earnhardt had amassed $41,742,384 in career earnings—an all-time record.

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