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Birth date: April 29, 1951
Birth Place: Kannapolis, N.C.
Died: February 18, 2001
Car Number: 3
Team: Richard Childress Racing
Sponsor: GM Goodwrench Service Plus
Manufacturer: Chevrolet
Seven NASCAR Winston Cup championships ('80, '86, '87, '90, '91, '93, '94)
Five-time NMPA Driver of the Year ('80, '86, '87, '90, '94)
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In February 2001, after 22-full Winston Cup seasons, the winner of seventy-six races and seven
Winston Cup Series championships, the Big 'E' of the NASCAR track, Dale Earnhardt was no more. His
tragic death on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, left a void that is hard to fill.
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Dale Earnhardt was an achiever from the word go. He began
his career racing Hobby-class cars in and around his native
Kannapolis, NC, financing his own effort. He competed on the
Sportsman circuit, racing at speedways near his home and
made his Winston Cup debut in 1975. He finished 22nd while
driving Ed Negre's Dodge in the World 600 at Charlotte.
Over the next three years, he made eight more starts, the last
of which was the 1978 Dixie 500 at Atlanta, where he drove a
second car for Rod Osterlund. Earnhardt finished fourth in the
race, one spot behind Osterlund's regular driver, Dave Marcis.
In the 1979 season, Osterlund offered Dale his first full-time
Winston Cup ride. Earnhardt considered this offer the biggest
break of his career. In his first full season of the competition,
he scored his initial Winston Cup win at Bristol in just his
16th career start. Eight races later, he notched his first career
pole at Riverside. By the end of the season, Dale had driven
to 11 Top 5 finishes and beat Harry Gant, Terry Labonte and
Joe Millikan for the rookie title, in one of the most competitive
rookie battles ever.
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The only Winston driver to win Rookie of
the Year and the Championship in
successive years (1979, 1980)
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By 1980, he had overcome tough veteran, Cale Yarborough, in the NASCAR Winston Cup Series title, to become the only driver ever to win the rookie crown and the series' championship in consecutive seasons.
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Only three-time winner of "The Winston" ('87, '90, '93)
Only six-time Busch Clash winner ('80, '86, '88, '91, '93, '95)
Four-time IROC champion ('90, '95, '99, '00)
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In the 1981 season, when Osterlund sold
his team to Jim Stacy, Dale left midway to
join Richard Childress' team, and later the
well-established team of Bud Moore,
sponsored by Wrangler. However, by the
off-season of 1983-84, Earnhardt had
rejoined Childress. Neither could have then
imagined the success they would achieve
together. They captured their first
championship two years later in 1986, and
began a reign that would bring them six
titles over the next nine seasons. On the
way, they accumulated records that attest
to the talent and ability of one of the
greatest drivers ever to have raced the
short tracks and super speedways of
NASCAR.
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In February 1998 after 20 attempts, Dale Earnhardt captured the only major victory that had eluded him
throughout his career, the Daytona 500. This was the 71st win of his career and came in his 575th
Winston Cup start, placing him sixth on the all-time wins list. In 1998, NASCAR honored him and his
father Ralph, as two of the 50 Greatest Drivers in NASCAR history. When his son Dale Jr. joined him in
2000, Earnhardt experienced a career renaissance. In February 2001, Dale Earnhardts, elder and
younger, opened Daytona Speed weeks together as two members of a team in the Rolex 24 Hours at
Daytona, an annual sports car race. They finished second in their class and fourth overall, proving
beyond doubt that Dale and son were more than just stock-car drivers.
Earnhardt was a brilliant sportsman, who willed his racecars to victory, with unparalleled determination.
With a twinkle in his eye and a devilish grin on his face, he fought his way to the front, and captured the
hearts of American stock car racing fans. He was loved not so much for the number of checkered flags and
championships he won, but for the spectacular style with which he won them.
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