Dale Earnhardt was born on April 29, 1951, in Kannapolis, North Carolina.His father, Ralph, was a succesful racecar driver.Dale dropped out of school, only completing as high as the 8th grade, to help his father work on cars in his shop. In 1973, Ralph Earnhardt died of heart failure. Dale's way of gettover it was racing. He was determined to win. In 1975, Earnhardt made his debut in NASCAR Winston Cup. In 1979, Rod Osterlund decided to give Dale a full time ride.
Dale won his first race that year at Bristol in only his 16th WC start. He won the 1979 Rookie of the Year award. In 1980, Earnhardt won the WC Championship. He later won WC championships in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994, tieing King Richard Petty with 7 championships each.
On February 15, 1998, after 20 attempts, Dale Earnhardt finally won the Daytona 500. But at the 2001 Daytona 500, in a single moment of generosity, Dale Earnhardt lost his life in a last lap crash. His friend and employee, Michael Waltrip, and son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., finished first and second.
In July, NASCAR came back to Daytona for the Pepsi 400. It was a replay in reverse of the 1-2 finish, with Dale Earnhardt Jr finishing first this time, and Michael Waltrip finishing in second.
