Legends of NASCAR - Dale Earnhardt Traditional Cache
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Legends of NASCAR - Dale Earnhardt
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This series is in honor of the legends of
the sport of NASCAR racing who have passed away. There is something
for everyone (the numbers hounds or the history buffs). The series
is meant to be done from east to west. Please park completely off
of the road and use caution at all times. Most weekends, there
isn't more than a handfull of cars along this road but 2 weekends a
year this becomes one of the largest cities in the
State!
Born: April 29, 1951 Kannapolis, North
Carolina Died: February 18, 2001 Daytona Beach, Florida No tribute
to the Legends of Nascar would be complete without Dale Earnhardt,
Sr.. During the course of his career, Earnhardt won a total of 76
races (including one Daytona 500 victory in 1998). Dale earned
seven championships, which is tied for the most all time with
Richard Petty. His aggressive driving style led to controversy and
earned him the nickname "The Intimidator". While driving in the
2001 Daytona 500, Earnhardt died of basilar skull fracture in a
last-lap crash at Daytona International Speedway on February 18,
2001. He has been inducted into numerous halls of fame, including
the inaugural class of the NASCAR Hall of Fame. Earnhardt began his
professional career at the Winston Cup in 1975, making his debut at
the Charlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina in the longest race
on the Cup circuit, the World 600. Earnhardt drove an Ed Negre
Dodge Charger(#8) and finished 22nd in the race, one place ahead of
his future car owner, Richard Childress. Earnhardt competed in 8
more races until 1979, when he joined car owner Rod Osterlund
Racing, in a season that included a rookie class of future stars
– Earnhardt, Harry Gant and Terry Labonte. In his rookie
season, Earnhardt won one race at Bristol, captured four poles, 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. In his
sophomore season, Earnhardt, now with 20-year old Doug Richert as
his crew chief, began the season winning the Busch Clash. With wins
at Atlanta, Bristol, Nashville, Martinsville, and Charlotte,
Earnhardt won his first Winston Cup championship. To this day,
Earnhardt is the only driver in NASCAR Winston Cup history to
follow a Rookie of the Year title with a NASCAR Winston Cup
Championship the next season. He was the third driver in NASCAR
history to win both the Rookie of the Year and Cup Series
championship in his career, joining David Pearson and Richard
Petty. Only 5 drivers have joined this exclusive club since - Rusty
Wallace, Alan Kulwicki, Jeff Gordon, Tony Stewart, and Matt
Kenseth. 1983 racecarIn 1981, after Osterlund sold his team to J.D.
Stacy, Earnhardt left for Richard Childress Racing, and finished
the season 7th in the points standings but winless. The following
year, at Childress' suggestion, Earnhardt joined car owner Bud
Moore for the 1982 and 1983 seasons driving the #15 Wrangler Jeans
Ford Thunderbird (Earnhardt's only full-time Ford ride in his
career). During the 1982 season, Earnhardt struggled. Although he
won at Darlington, he failed to finish 15 races, and completed the
season 12th in points, the worst of his career. He also suffered a
broken knee cap at Pocono Raceway when he flipped after contact
with Tim Richmond. In 1983, Earnhardt rebounded and won his first
of 12 Twin 125 Daytona 500 qualifying races. Earnhardt won at
Nashville and at Talladega, finishing eighth in the points
standings. After the 1983 season, Earnhardt returned to Richard
Childress Racing, replacing Ricky Rudd in the #3. Rudd went to Bud
Moore's #15, replacing Earnhardt. Wrangler sponsored both drivers
at their respective teams. During the 1984 and 1985 seasons,
Earnhardt visited victory lane six times, at Talladega, Atlanta,
Richmond, Bristol (twice), and Martinsville, where he finished
fourth and eighth in the season standings, respectively. The 1986
season saw Earnhardt win his second career Winston Cup Championship
and the first owner's championship for RCR. He won five races and
had ten Top 5 and sixteen Top 10 finishes. Earnhardt successfully
defended his championship the following year, visiting victory lane
eleven times and winning the championship by 489 points over Bill
Elliott. In the process, Earnhardt set a NASCAR modern era record
of four consecutive wins and won five of the first seven races. In
the 1987 season, Earnhardt earned his nickname "The Intimidator"
after spinning out Elliott in the final segment of "The Winston", a
non-points event now known as the NASCAR Sprint All-Star Race.
During this race, Earnhardt was briefly forced into the infield
grass, but kept control of his car and returned to the track
without giving up his lead — a maneuver now referred to as
the "Pass in the Grass" even though Earnhardt actually didn't pass
and couldn't have passed anyone for position as he was in the lead
at the time. The 1988 season saw Earnhardt racing with a new
sponsor, GM Goodwrench, which replaced Wrangler Jeans. During this
season Earnhardt garnered a second nickname, "The Man in Black",
owing to the black paint scheme in which the #3 car was painted. He
was also called "Darth Vader" more than once because of the black
uniform and car, adding to his notoriety as a driver who would
wreck anyone he could not pass. He won three times in 1988,
finishing third in the points standings behind Bill Elliott and
Rusty Wallace. The following year, Earnhardt won five times, but a
late spin out at North Wilkesboro arguably cost him the 1989
championship, as Rusty Wallace edged out Earnhardt for the
championship. The 1990 season started for Earnhardt with victories
in the Busch Clash and his heat of the Gatorade Twin 125s. Near the
end of the Daytona 500, he had a four-second lead when the final
caution flag came out with a handful of laps to go. When the green
flag waved, Earnhardt was leading Derrike Cope. On the final lap,
Earnhardt ran over a piece of metal in the final turn, cutting a
tire. Cope, in an upset, won the race while Earnhardt finished
fifth. The #3 Goodwrench Chevy team took the flat tire that cost
them the win and hung it on the shop wall as a reminder of how
close they'd come to winning the Daytona 500. Earnhardt went on to
win nine races this season and won his fourth Winston Cup title,
beating Mark Martin by 26 points. Earnhardt also became the first
repeat winner of the annual all-star race, The Winston. The 1991
season saw Earnhardt win his fifth Winston Cup championship. He
scored just four wins, but won the championship by 195 points over
Ricky Rudd. One of his wins that year came at North Wilkesboro, in
a race where Harry Gant had a chance to set a single-season record
by winning his fifth consecutive race, breaking a record held by
Earnhardt. Late in the race Gant lost his brakes, which gave
Earnhardt the chance he needed to make the pass for the win and
maintain his record. Earnhardt's only win in 1992 came at
Charlotte, in the Coca-Cola 600, ending a 13-race win streak by
Ford teams. Earnhardt finished a career-low 12th in the points for
the second time in his career, and the only time he had finished
that low since joining RCR. Earnhardt still made the trip to the
annual Awards Banquet with Rusty Wallace but did not have the best
seat in the house. Wallace states he and Earnhardt had to sit on
the backs of their chairs to see and Earnhardt said "This sucks, I
could have gone hunting".[4] At the end of the year, longtime crew
chief Kirk Shelmerdine left to become a driver. Andy Petree took
over as crew chief. Hiring Petree turned out to be beneficial, as
the #3 GM Goodwrench Chevy returned to the front in 1993. Earnhardt
once again came close to a win at the Daytona 500, and dominated
Speedweeks before finishing second to Dale Jarrett on a last-lap
pass. Earnhardt scored six wins en route to his sixth Winston Cup
title, including wins in the Coca-Cola 600 and The Winston at
Charlotte, and the Pepsi 400 at Daytona. Earnhardt beat Rusty
Wallace for the championship by 80 points. Dale's 1994 racecarIn
1994, Earnhardt achieved a feat that he himself had believed to be
impossible – he scored his seventh Winston Cup championship,
tying the legendary Richard Petty. Earnhardt was very consistent,
scoring four wins, and after Ernie Irvan was sidelined due to a
near-deadly crash at Michigan (the two were neck-and-neck at the
top of the points up until the crash), won title by over 400 points
over Mark Martin. Earnhardt sealed the deal at Rockingham by
winning the race over Rick Mast. Although Earnhardt continued to
dominate in the seasons ahead, this would be his final NASCAR
championship. Earnhardt started off the 1995 season by finishing
second in the Daytona 500 to Sterling Marlin. He won 5 races in
1995, including his first road course victory at Sears Point. He
also won the Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, a win he
called the biggest of his career. But in the end, Earnhardt lost
the championship to Jeff Gordon by just 34 points. Earnhardt began
1996 with a repeat of 1993 – he dominated Speedweeks only to
finish second in the Daytona 500 to Dale Jarrett for a second time.
Earnhardt won early in the year, scoring consecutive victories at
Rockingham and Atlanta. In late July in the DieHard 500 at
Talladega, he was in the points lead and looking for his eighth
title despite the departure of crew chief Andy Petree. Late in the
race, Ernie Irvan lost control of his #28 Havoline Ford
Thunderbird, igniting a frightening crash that saw Earnhardt's #3
Chevrolet hit the tri-oval wall nearly head-on at almost 200 miles
per hour. After hitting the wall, Earnhardt's car flipped and slid
across the track, in front of race-traffic. His car was hit in the
roof and windshield, and the accident led NASCAR to mandate the
"Earnhardt Bar", a metal brace located in the center of the
windshield that reinforces the roof in case of a similar crash.
Rain-delays had canceled the live telecast of the race and most
fans first learned of the accident during the night's sports
newscasts. Video of the crash showed what appeared to be a fatal
incident, but once medical workers arrived at the car, Earnhardt
climbed out and waved to the crowd, refusing to be loaded onto a
stretcher despite a broken collarbone, sternum, and shoulder blade.
Many thought the incident would end his season early, but Earnhardt
refused to give up. The next week at Indianapolis, he started the
race but exited the car on the first pit stop, allowing Mike
Skinner to take the wheel. When asked, Earnhardt said that vacating
the #3 car was the hardest thing he'd ever done. The following
weekend at Watkins Glen, he drove the #3 Goodwrench Chevrolet to
the fastest time in qualifying, earning the "True Grit" pole.
T-shirts emblazoned with Earnhardt's face were quickly printed up,
brandishing the caption, "It Hurt So Good." Earnhardt led most of
the race and looked to have victory in hand, but fatigue finally
took its toll and Earnhardt ended up 6th, behind race winner Geoff
Bodine. Earnhardt did not win again in 1996, but still finished 4th
in the standings behind Terry Labonte, Jeff Gordon and Dale
Jarrett. David Smith departed as crew chief of the #3 team and RCR
at the end of the year for personal reasons, and was replaced by
Larry McReynolds. In 1997, Earnhardt went winless for only the
second time in his career. The only (non-points) win came during
Speedweeks at Daytona in the Twin 125-mile qualifying race, his
record 8th straight win in the event. Once again in the hunt for
the Daytona 500 with 10 laps to go, Earnhardt was taken out of
contention by a late crash which sent his car upside down on the
backstretch. Earnhardt hit the low point of his year when he
blacked out early in the Mountain Dew Southern 500 at Darlington in
September, causing him to hit the wall. Afterward, he was
disoriented and it took several laps before he could find his pit
stall. When asked, Earnhardt complained of double vision which made
it difficult to pit. Mike Dillon (Richard Childress's son-in-law)
was brought in to relieve Earnhardt for the remainder of the race.
Earnhardt was evaluated at a local hospital and cleared to race the
very next week, but the cause of the blackout and double vision was
never determined. Despite no wins, the RCR team finished the season
5th in the final standings. 1998 saw Earnhardt win the Daytona 500
after not winning in the previous 19 attempts. Earnhardt began the
season by winning his Twin 125-mile qualifier race for the ninth
straight year. On race day, Earnhardt showed himself to be a
contender early. Halfway through the race, however, it seemed that
Jeff Gordon had the upper hand. But by lap 138, Earnhardt had taken
the lead, and thanks to a push by teammate Mike Skinner, he was
able to maintain it. Earnhardt made it to the to the caution
checkered flag before Bobby Labonte. Afterwards, there was a large
show of respect for Earnhardt, in which every crew member of every
team lined pit road to shake his hand as he made his way to victory
lane. Earnhardt then drove his #3 into the infield grass, starting
a trend of post-race celebrations. He spun the car twice, throwing
grass and leaving tire tracks in the shape of a #3 in the grass.
Earnhardt then spoke about the victory, saying "I have had a lot of
great fans and people behind me all through the years and I just
can't thank them enough. The Daytona 500 is ours. We won it! We won
it! We won it!" Unfortunately, the rest of the season did not go as
well, and The Great American Race was his only victory that year.
He slipped to 12th in the standings halfway through the season, and
Richard Childress decided to make a crew chief change, taking Mike
Skinner's crew chief Kevin Hamlin and putting him with Earnhardt
while giving Skinner Larry McReynolds. Earnhardt was able to climb
back to 8th in the final standings. Before the 1999 season, fans
began discussing Earnhardt's age and speculating that with his son,
Dale Jr. getting into racing, Earnhardt might be contemplating
retirement. Earnhardt swept both races for the year at Talladega,
leading most observers to conclude that Earnhardt's talent had
become limited to the restrictor plate tracks, which require a
unique skill set and an exceptionally powerful car to win. But
halfway through the year, Earnhardt began to show some of the old
spark. In the August race at Michigan International Speedway,
Earnhardt led laps late in the race and nearly pulled off his first
win on a non-restrictor plate track since 1996. One week later, he
provided the sport with one of its most controversial moments. At
the August Bristol race, Earnhardt found himself in contention to
win his first short track race since Martinsville in 1995. When a
caution came out with 15 laps to go, leader Terry Labonte got hit
from behind by the lapped car of Darrell Waltrip. His spin put
Earnhardt in the lead with 5 cars between him and Labonte with 5
laps to go. Labonte had four fresh tires and Earnhardt was driving
on old tires, which made Earnhardt's car considerably slower.
Labonte caught Earnhardt and passed him coming to the white flag,
but Earnhardt drove hard into turn two, bumping Labonte and
spinning him around. Dale went on to collect the win while
spectators booed and made obscene gestures. "I didn't mean to turn
him around, I just wanted to rattle his cage", Earnhardt said of
the incident. Earnhardt finished 7th in the standings that year,
and looked like a contender again. In the 2000 season, Earnhardt
had a resurgence, which some attributed to neck surgery he
underwent to correct a lingering injury from his 1996 Talladega
crash. He scored what many considered the 2 most exciting wins of
the year – winning by .006 seconds over Bobby Labonte at
Atlanta, then gaining seventeen positions in the final four laps to
win at Talladega, claiming his only No Bull million dollar bonus.
Earnhardt also enjoyed strong second-place runs at Richmond and
Martinsville, tracks where he'd struggled through the late '90s. On
the strength of these performances, Earnhardt took the No. 3 GM
Goodwrench Chevrolet Monte Carlo to 2nd in the standings. However,
poor performances at the road course of Watkins Glen, where he
wrecked coming out of the chicane, a wreck with Chad Little while
leading the spring race at Bristol, and mid-pack runs at
intermediate tracks like Charlotte and Dover in a season dominated
by the Ford Taurus in those tracks of Roush, Yates, and Penske,
coupled with the extremely consistent Joe Gibb's #18 team with
Bobby Labonte, denied Earnhardt the coveted eighth championship
title.
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