Home
Forum
Topsites
Hits since 2/20/08
Check out the new features on our Forum!
NASCAR's Dale Earnhardt Jr. - From boy to Superstar
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr., was born October 10th, 1974 in Concord, North Carolina with the Earnhardt fire in his belly. Although his parents were separated when he was still a toddler, he is still very close to both his parents. A fire that burned down his mother’s house forced him and his sister, Kelly, to live with Earnhardt Sr. and his new wife, Teresa, while his mother moved to Virginia. Earnhardt Jr. was a bit of a rascal in his younger days so when his father saw fit to send him to military school for two years although, by the time Earnhardt Jr. reached the age of 15, he decided to be like his father.
When he was 17, Earnhardt Jr. managed to pull together $500 after scrimping and saving to buy his first racecar from a junkyard. It was a 1979 Monte Carlo that needed a lot of work. Then he, his half-brother, Kerry, and father worked at fixing it up. His father was only determined to help with rebuilding the racecar and nothing more. Earnhardt Jr. was left on his own devices once he got behind the wheel to learn how to build up his own skills. Once high school was over, Earnhardt Jr. enrolled for a two year course at the Mitchell Community College in North Carolina. He signed up for a course in automotives and during that time, he worked as a mechanic with his father. Word got around quick about his oil changes.
With his co-owned racecar (Kerry had a say in it), Earnhardt Jr. went on to join the Late Model Stock Car division. It was then that he fine tuned his skills and gained more much needed knowledge on cars. One of his competitors then was his sister, Kelley. The only third generation NASCAR champion only began his racing career at age 17. He won the 1998 and 1999 Busch series titles over Matt Kenseth. In 2000, Earnhardt Jr., competed for his first Winston Cup victory. He also wrote a non-fiction book titled “DRIVER #8” which was primarily based on his rookie season.
In 2002, Earnhardt Jr. had to suffer through a concussion at Fontana in April which resulted in finishing places that were no better than the 30th spot. He did however bounce back and was able to get two more wins at Talladega as well as a pair of Bud Pole Awards and an 11-th place finish in the standings. In 2003, Earnhardt Jr. was really showing his true nettle when he was awarded the NMPA Most Popular Driver award as well as winning at Phoenix in October. He has gone on to win a great many more championships which, many agree, would have made Earnhardt Sr. proud.
Earnhardt Jr. is not just an excellent racer, he is also a business man. He owns Hammerhead Entertainment which is a media production company and he is also partners with the investors who are currently building the Alabama Motorsports Park, A Dale Earnhardt Jr. Speedway. He has also made several cameos on music video clips, on radio and several TV shoes and advertisements.
For NASCAR Merchandise, Up to the minute News, and everything NASCAR including Nascar Jackets , Race Car jackets and Racing Jackets we have them at the best prices everyday! Not only am I the owner of NASCARsupershop.com but I am also the senior editor, website developer and a HUGE fan of NASCAR!
Most of the collectibles lists on the site (including model kits, die cast cars and cards), due to the enormous volume of information available, are not complete listings of all available collectibles. The driver Win Lists usually consist of major event wins, and include minor events only when the information is available.
To notify the staff of CarsAndRacingStuff.com/The Crittenden Automotive Library of errors, to contribute information or to ask a question e-mail us.
We're always looking for more sources and material for the Library. You can promote your automotive-related or photography business by contributing to the Library. See our Advertising page for more information.