Dale Earnhardt Sr.

Dale Earnhardt

Dale Earnhardt Sr. was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina on April 29, 1951. He's one of the greatest stock car racers to ever hit the track. He has four children: Kerry, Kelly, Dale Jr., and Taylor Earnhardt. His wife Teresa, who he married in 1982, now runs Dale Earnhardt Inc. that Dale and she founded in February of 1980. Dale's dad Ralph was a big name in dirt track racing when Dale was kid. Ralph was a hard teacher when Dale was growing up. He didn't want Dale to follow in his footsteps in racing. He tried as hard as he could to persuade Dale to give up his dream of racing. That didn't stop Dale from trying. Dale dropped out of school to race. Ralph died of a heart attack at his home in 1973.

Dale started his first NASCAR race in 1975 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He drove for Ed Negre and finished 22 just in front of his future car owner Richard Childress. He competed eight more races until 1979. In his rookie season, Earnhardt won four poles (one race at Bristol), had 11 Top 5 finishes, 17 Top 10 finishes, and finished 7th in the points standings, in spite of missing four races because of a broken collarbone, winning Rookie of the Year honors. Dale is the only driver to win Rookie of the Year and win the championship the next year.

Dale is a hero to me because he is one of the best race car drivers around. He tries his hardest at every track. He was a family man. He cared for his fans and tried his hardest to make a good show for them. His style of driving was rough but he was kind to other drivers. He would push on other drivers when he needed to get around them and in most cases he wouldn't spin them out