Sunday, June 23, 2013

DALE EARNHART JR BIO

Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

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Dale Earnhardt, Jr.
Dale Jr - Pocono 400 2012.jpg Earnhardt, Jr. in 2012
Born October 10, 1974 (age 38) Kannapolis, North Carolina, United States
Height 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg)
Achievements 1998 Busch Series Champion 1999 Busch Series Champion 2004 Daytona 500 Winner The Winston XVI Winner (2000) 2003, 2008 Budweiser Shootout Winner
Awards 2003–2012 Sprint Cup Series Most Popular Driver (10 times) 1999 Busch Series Most Popular Driver
NASCAR Sprint Cup Series career
484 race(s) run over 15 year(s)
Car no., team No. 88 (Hendrick Motorsports)
2012 position 12th
Best finish 3rd (2003)
First race 1999 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte)
Last race 2013 Toyota/Save Mart 350 (Sonoma)
First win 2000 DirecTV 500 (Texas)
Last win 2012 Quicken Loans 400 (Michigan)
Wins Top tens Poles
19 191 11
NASCAR Nationwide Series career
126 race(s) run over 17 year(s)
Car no., team No. 88 (JR Motorsports)
2012 position 118th
Best finish 1st (1998, 1999)
First race 1996 Carolina Pride / Red Dog 250 (Myrtle Beach)
Last race 2013 O'Reilly Auto Parts 300 (Texas)
First win 1998 Coca Cola 300 (Texas)
Last win 2010 Subway Jalapeño 250 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles
23 81 10
Statistics current as of June 16, 2013.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (born October 10, 1974), better known simply as Dale Earnhardt, Jr., is an American stock car racing driver and team owner. He is the son of NASCAR Hall of Famer Dale Earnhardt, Sr. He is also the grandson of both NASCAR driver Ralph Earnhardt and stock car fabricator Robert Gee, the half-brother of former driver Kerry Earnhardt, the uncle of driver Jeffrey Earnhardt, the stepson of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing team co-owner Teresa Earnhardt and the older half brother of Taylor Earnhardt-Putnam. Earnhardt, Jr. has won the Most Popular Driver Award ten times (consecutively from 2003-2012). He has an estimated net worth of $300 million.
He currently drives the No. 88 Chevrolet SS in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series for Hendrick Motorsports and drives the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro for his own team, JR Motorsports, in selected events in the NASCAR Nationwide Series.

Contents

Career

Early life and career

Earnhardt, Jr. was raised in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the son of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. and Brenda Lorraine (née Gee; born January 2, 1952).[1] His maternal grandfather, Robert Gee, Sr., was a NASCAR car builder. Dale Earnhardt Jr. attended college and earned a 2-year automotive degree in Mooresville, North Carolina.
Earnhardt, Jr. began his racing career at the late age of 17 with his dad Dale Earnhardt, competing in the Street Stock division at Concord, North Carolina's Motorsport Park. His first race car was a 1979 Monte Carlo that he co-owned with his older half-brother, Kerry Earnhardt. Within two seasons, Earnhardt, Jr. had honed his driving abilities to the point of joining the Late Model Stock Car division. He competed on the North and South Carolina short tracks driving a No. 3 Chevrolet. While he did run various tracks during this time, Earnhardt, Jr. primarily focused his efforts at the Myrtle Beach Speedway in South Carolina and the East Carolina Motor Speedway in Robersonville, North Carolina, where he captured the pole for the Greenville Merchants 300 on October 28, 1994. There he developed an in-depth knowledge of chassis setup and car preparation, while racing against his older brother Kerry and his sister Kelley. He worked at his father's dealership as a mechanic while he went to Mitchell Community College to earn an associates degree in automotive technology.
Earnhardt, Jr. ran nine Busch Series races between 1996 and 1997 for Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Ed Whitaker, respectively, before driving for his father's team in the Busch Series full-time in 1998, in which he started the season with an amazing blowover after contact with Dick Trickle and Buckshot Jones at Daytona, on the same weekend that his father won his first and only Daytona 500 win. Earnhardt, Jr. won consecutive NASCAR Busch Series Championships in 1998 and 1999 barely edging Matt Kenseth. In 1998 he made his first start in the Winston Cup Series, at the exhibition race held in Motegi, Japan. Also in 1999 he drove in 5 Winston Cup races in the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc., then in 2000 he went full-time in the Winston Cup series.[2]

2000

Earnhardt, Jr. (far right) racing at the 2000 Coca-Cola 600.
Earnhardt, Jr. competed for the Raybestos NASCAR Rookie of the Year Award in 2000. His primary competitor for the award was Matt Kenseth. Kenseth outran Earnhardt, Jr. in the season-opening Daytona 500. Earnhardt, Jr. scored his first win in the DirecTV 500 at Texas Motor Speedway, breaking the record held by his father, Earnhardt, Sr., for fewest starts by a driver to earn his first victory in NASCAR's "Modern Era" by winning in just his 12th start, and also at Richmond International Raceway. He became the first rookie to win the All-Star exhibition race.
Earnhardt Jr. played a part in recreating one Winston Cup milestone in 2000 when he competed with his father and half-brother Kerry in the Pepsi 400 at Michigan International Speedway. That occasion was only the second time that a father had raced against two sons - Lee Petty and sons Richard and Maurice had previously accomplished the feat.[3]

2001

In 2001, the major event of the season occurred on February 18, in the final corner of the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. As Earnhardt Jr. pushed his teammate Michael Waltrip to the finish line on the final lap, he finished second, to Waltrip; his father had crashed in turn four after Sterling Marlin made contact with his left rear bumper. Earnhardt, Sr. shot up the track into the outside wall behind Waltrip and Earnhardt, Jr. and collected Ken Schrader. Dale Earnhardt Sr. was killed instantly in the crash by a basilar skull fracture.
In the aftermath, many disgruntled fans sent death threats to Sterling Marlin and his family, blaming him for the crash; Earnhardt, Jr. and Waltrip requested that fans stopped blaming anybody for Dale, Sr.'s death and both the local police and NASCAR investigations into the crash cleared Marlin of any involvement. Earnhardt, Jr. raced at Rockingham the following weekend, but finished in 43rd-place after a wreck on the first lap that looked eerily similar to his father's wreck just one week earlier. In the later part of the season, Earnhardt, Jr. made a comeback, beginning with an emotional win at the Pepsi 400, which was also the first race held at Daytona since Earnhardt, Sr.'s death. Earnhardt, Jr. had the dominant car of the race, leading 115 of 160 laps. On the last restart, Earnhardt, Jr. managed to make a move from sixth place to first place in the span of two laps, with Michael Waltrip holding off the field as Earnhardt, Jr. took the checkered flag. He won the MBNA Cal Ripken, Jr. 400 at Dover, which was the first Cup race following the September 11th attacks as the original scheduled race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway was postponed until the end of the season. After the race, he performed a Polish victory lap while holding a large American flag out the driver's side window.
In the fall, Earnhardt, Jr. took his second restrictor plate win as he won the EA Sports 500 at Talladega as a crash unfolded on the back straightaway that caused Bobby Labonte to flip over and also collected 15 other cars. The Talladega victory earned Earnhardt, Jr. a Winston No Bull 5 $1 million bonus. He was docked 25 points, however, after his car failed post-race inspection. With this win, DEI swept three of the four restrictor plate races for 2001.
Earnhardt, Jr. finished the 2001 season eighth in the points standings, with three wins, nine top-fives, and 15 top-10 finishes, as well as two Bud Poles.[4]

2002–2003

Dale Jr. at the Pepsi 400 in 2002.
In 2002, Earnhardt, Jr. had a roller-coaster season. He struggled after enduring a concussion at the Fontana race in April — an injury he did not admit to until mid-September. In the three races following Fontana, he finished no better than 30th. However, Earnhardt, Jr. rallied to sweep both Talladega races (leading a dominating 133 of 188 laps in the spring race), a pair of Bud Pole Awards and an 11th-place finish in the standings with 11 top-five and 16 top-ten finishes.
In 2003, he became a true title contender, scoring a record-breaking fourth consecutive win at Talladega, after being involved in a 27 car crash on lap 4. He struggled for most of the race, and was at points a half-lap down, only catching back up to the pack through a caution. The win was controversial since with five laps to go, it appeared that Earnhardt, Jr. went below the yellow line to gain position, but NASCAR ruled that Matt Kenseth had forced Earnhardt below the line, making it a clean pass.
He later scored a victory at Phoenix in October, recording a career best 3rd place effort in the standings, with 13 top-five and 21 top-ten finishes. He also took home the NMPA Most Popular Driver award for the first time in his career.[2]

2004–2006

Jr. in the pits at the spring 2006 Bristol race.
In 2004, Earnhardt, Jr. won the Daytona 500, six years to the day after his father won his only title in the Great American Race (and 3 years after his father was killed in the 2001 race). Earnhardt, Jr. came very close to sweeping Speedweeks, as in addition to the Daytona 500, he also won his Gatorade Duel and the Busch Series race. However, he finished second in the Budweiser Shootout to Dale Jarrett.
On July 18, during an off-weekend from NASCAR, Earnhardt, Jr. crashed a Chevrolet Corvette C5-R during a practice for the American Le Mans Series Grand Prix of Sonoma at Infineon Raceway. The car slid off course and hit a concrete barrier during warm-up the day of the race, rupturing a fuel line and causing the car to burst into flames with him still inside. He suffered second and third degree burns on his neck, chin, and legs partially due to not wearing a protective balaclava with his helmet. The burns prevented him from finishing two races where he was relieved by Martin Truex Jr. (at New Hampshire) and his DEI teammate John Andretti (at Pocono) in the middle of the races. In the fall, Earnhardt, Jr. became the first driver to sweep a weekend at Bristol by winning both the Busch and Cup races in the same weekend.[citation needed]
Earnhardt Jr. was able to qualify for the NASCAR ten-race playoff, and had his fifth NEXTEL Cup win of the season (a career high) at Talladega. However, he was penalized 25 points for use of an obscenity during the television broadcast, in violation of a new NASCAR rule prohibiting participants from using obscene language[5] (the rule had been created the week after the Daytona 500, in the wake of the Super Bowl half-time show controversy). That incident, combined with two consecutive DNF's in the Chase, eventually dropped him out of the running, and he finished fifth in the 2004 NEXTEL Cup Chase despite a career-high 6 wins at Daytona, Atlanta, Richmond, Bristol, Talladega and defending his fall win at Phoenix (though under the non-Chase points system, Earnhardt, Jr. would have tied his third place points finish of the previous year). He closed off the 2004 season with six wins and 16 top-five and 21 top-ten finishes. He also picked up his 2nd consecutive Most Popular Driver Award.[citation needed]
At the close of the 2004 season it was revealed that Tony Eury, Sr. would be promoted to the team manager position for the DEI corporation, while Tony Eury, Jr. became the crew chief for Michael Waltrip for the 2005 season. Peter Rondeau, a Chance 2 employee who also helped Dale Jr. win the Busch Series race at Bristol in August, became the crew chief for Earnhardt, Jr. in 2005. Rondeau served as Earnhardt's crew chief until the Coca Cola 600 weekend when he was replaced with DEI chief engineer Steve Hmiel, who helped Earnhardt Jr. score his lone win of 2005 at Chicagoland in July, when he took the lead from Matt Kenseth on the last cycle of pit stops. Dale Jr. was eliminated from any possible competition for the NEXTEL Cup championship after suffering an engine failure at the California Speedway. Dale Jr. was reunited with his cousin, Tony Eury, Jr., after the fall Richmond weekend, and results improved immediately. Earnhardt finished the season fifth in points, 139 points behind champion Kurt Busch. For the 3rd straight year, he took home the NMPA Most Popular Driver Award.
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. merchandise hauler.
Earnhardt Jr.'s proficiency as a car owner continued. His race team outside of DEI, JR Motorsports, in 2005 fielded a car in the USAR Hooters ProCup Series, winning once and qualifying for the Four Champions playoff. Mark McFarland moved to the Busch Series in 2006, driving the No. 88 JR Motorsports US Navy Chevrolet, with Richard Childress Racing providing assistance; however, he was fired before the fall Michigan race, the Carfax 250. He was replaced by Robby Gordon and Martin Truex, Jr. for the rest of the year. Long-time short track racer Shane Huffman drove Earnhardt Jr.'s USAR Hooters ProCup car in 2006. In 2006, during the spring weekend at Talladega Superspeedway, Earnhardt Jr. and other DEI drivers drove with special black paint schemes on their cars, reminiscent of his late father's famous No. 3 paint scheme. On Father's Day 2006, he drove a vintage Budweiser car at Michigan International Speedway to honor both his grandfather (Ralph Earnhardt) and father, who at one point in both their careers used the number 8 car. After rain caused the race to be ended early, Dale Jr. finished 3rd with Kasey Kahne winning the race. After 17 races in the 2006 season, Dale Jr. sat 3rd in the championship standings with one win, coming at Richmond in May 2006.[citation needed]
During the race at New Hampshire, he experienced the second engine failure of his 2006 season, ultimately leading to a 43rd place finish. Following New Hampshire was the race at Pocono, where he was running in the middle of the pack when he crashed in turn 2. These two events catapulted him to 11th in the points standing, out of the Chase for the Cup. At Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Dale Jr. and his crew made a critical decision to stay out on the final pit stop to get a much needed top-ten finish to move him up to tenth in the points. He made the 2006 Chase for the NEXTEL Cup after finishing 17th in the Chevy Rock and Roll 400 at Richmond International Raceway on September 9, 2006. He came close to winning at Talladega, and was leading on the last lap when Brian Vickers made contact with Earnhardt's future teammate Jimmie Johnson, sending Johnson into Earnhardt and spinning both of them out. His points position going into the Chase was 6th. He finished the season 5th in the point standings, 147 points behind leader Jimmie Johnson.[citation needed]

2007

Dale Earnhardt, Jr. turning into the garage at Texas Motor Speedway in 2007
Dale Jr.'s No. 8 Sharpie Busch car at the Sharpie display at the 2007 Ford Championship Weekend at the Homestead-Miami Speedway.
Dale Jr. began the 2007 NEXTEL Cup season by finishing 32nd at the Daytona 500 as the result of a late race crash. His first top ten came at Bristol Motor Speedway in the Food City 500 when he finished 7th. His first Top 5 came at Martinsville Speedway in the Goody's Cool Orange 500. He led 136 laps and finished 5th. He collected his third top 10 of the season and his 8th at Talladega Superspeedway with his 7th place performance in the 2007 Aaron's 499. On May 14, he was docked 100 driver championship points, car owner Teresa Earnhardt was docked 100 owner points, and his crew chief, Tony Eury Jr., was fined $100,000 and suspended for 6 races due to the use of illegal mounting brackets used to attach the wing to his car. During the April race at Texas Motor Speedway he drove the last 10 laps in the No. 5 car of Kyle Busch owned by Rick Hendrick.
On May 27, 2007, Dale Jr. rode a camouflage No. 8 car in the Coca-Cola 600 on Memorial Day to raise money for the families of military troops. Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, Greg Biffle, Mark Martin, Ward Burton, Denny Hamlin, Casey Mears, Shane Huffman and Jon Wood also changed their paint schemes for the occasion.[6] He finished eighth, after leading with seven laps to go, but Casey Mears finished with the win.[7]
On August 5, 2007, Dale Jr. earned his first pole position in a race since 2002 at Pocono Raceway. Although Kurt Busch won the race, Earnhardt had a dramatic comeback to finish second after spinning out and experiencing shock troubles. Earnhardt led for eight laps before Busch took over.[8] On August 12 at Watkins Glen International, Dale Jr. was making the push into the Top 12 of the Nextel Cup standings from his No. 13 position. After being at the No. 2 position during the race, Dale Jr. had engine problems on lap 64 and had to end his race day. After the Glen, he tried furiously to reach the 12th spot in standings. However, a resurgence by Kurt Busch and a blown engine during the final race at Richmond ended his Chase hopes. That was Dale's last chance to participate for the Championship at Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI). After the 2007 season, Dale Jr. won the NMPA Chex Most Popular Driver award for the 5th consecutive time.[9]

Move to Hendrick Motorsports

After much speculation, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. announced on May 10, 2007, that he would leave Dale Earnhardt Inc., the company founded by his father, to drive for another team in 2008. Earnhardt expressed that his decision was based entirely on his desires to achieve his career goal of a Sprint Cup Championship, and his apparent belief that he would not be able to attain that objective while driving for DEI. He said that unless he could gain majority ownership, and therefore control, of DEI, that he was not confident in the organization’s ability to field the elite level equipment that would yield the elusive title.[10]
Dale Earnhardt Jr. (left) standing between two different paint schemes for the No. 88 Chevy, with Lt. Gen. Clyde A. Vaughn, director of the Army National Guard, and Rick Hendrick, in Dallas where the announcement was made on September 19, 2007.
On June 13, 2007, he announced at a press conference that he had signed a five-year contract with Hendrick Motorsports, replacing Kyle Busch. At the time, Hendrick consisted of Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson, and Casey Mears. One month later, on July 13, it was announced that his long-time primary sponsor Budweiser would not be with Earnhardt Jr. when he made the move to Hendrick. Other contractual agreements in place at Hendrick Motorsports are said to have prevented a relationship with Bud.[11]
On August 15, 2007, it was announced that Dale Jr. would not be taking his familiar No. 8 with him to Hendrick Motorsports in 2008. His late grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, used that number and Dale Jr. picked it when he entered the Cup Series in 1999. His father also used No. 8 early in his career. Dale Jr. blamed his stepmother for not allowing the No. 8 to move with him to Hendrick Motorsports. Earnhardt Jr. said negotiations broke down when Teresa Earnhardt asked for part of the licensing revenue, along with wanting the number back after he retired.[12] (The No. 8 team, after a successful season in 2008 with co-drivers Mark Martin and Aric Almirola, would end up being shut down in 2009 after DEI's merger with Ganassi Racing.)
Earnhardt Jr. moved to the No. 88 car with Tony Eury, Jr. coming to Hendrick to remain as his crew chief.[13] On September 19, the official announcement was made that Earnhardt Jr. would be driving the No. 88 Mountain Dew AMP/National Guard Chevrolet Impala for the 2008 season.[14]
The No. 88, according to NASCAR archives, was driven by Ralph Earnhardt, his paternal grandfather, in 1957. His maternal grandfather, Robert Gee, was one of the first employees of All Star Racing, initially a Late Model Sportsman (now Nationwide Series) team with Gee as Hendrick's partner, which is now Hendrick Motorsports. Hendrick said about Earnhardt and his uncles, "I can look at Robert Gee Jr., or Jimmy Gee, or Dale Jr., and all I see is Robert Gee. They're the spitting image of him. I go back and look and pictures from when we did things together, and I have to say, I owe Robert a lot."[15] Starting in the 2008 season, Hendrick Motorsports merged its Nationwide Series team to Earnhardt, Jr.'s JR Motorsports, with the cars coming from Earnhardt's shop, which employs his mother and uncles. Earnhardt, Jr. was the second Dale to drive a car with the number No. 88, as the number had previously been used by Dale Jarrett at Yates Racing.

2008

Earnhardt at Daytona
Dale Earnhardt, Jr. addresses the media at Hendrick Motorsports headquarters on January 23, 2008.
Earnhardt started the season by winning the 2008 Budweiser Shootout a non-points paying exhibition. It was his first race for Hendrick. He led for a total of 47 of 70 laps, a Budweiser Shootout record. He followed that up five days later with a win in the Gatorade Duel. This was his third career win in the duels, however he was unable to follow it up with victory in the Daytona 500, finishing 9th. Ryan Newman was the winner of the event.
Earnhardt Jr. was docked 50 points because his rear spoiler did not meet the specified height in the Nationwide Series. His crew chief Chad Walter was fined $35,000, suspended for 6 races and was placed on probation until December 31, 2008. Team owner Rick Hendrick was also docked 50 owner points along with Jr.[16]
Dale Jr. started 15th for the Auto Club 500 because qualifying was rained out and the lineup was determined by owner points from last season. However on lap 21, teammate Casey Mears went up into the wall due to water on the track. When he came back down the track he took out Jr. When the cameras caught up with him in the garage, he was irritated about the fact that they were even out on the track in those conditions. It had been raining all weekend and water was "weeping" out of the cracks on the track causing slick spots in the corners. The race was later rain delayed until Monday and Dale Jr. finished the race 40th.[citation needed]
A string of four top-5 and top-10 finishes over the following weeks improved his position in the points standings from 23rd to fourth. Despite winning the pole for the Samsung 500 at Texas, Dale Jr. finished the race a lap down in 12th position. He made his 300th career Sprint Cup start at the Aaron's 499 at Talladega Superspeedway. Despite running a strong race (including leading 46 laps, second most behind Tony Stewart's 61 laps), his involvement in two late-race crashes in the last 20 laps left him with a 10th place finish in the race. A string of three top-5 finishes in the next four races continued Earnhardt Jr.'s consistency, and maintained his 3rd place position in the points standings.[citation needed]
At Michigan, Dale Jr. broke his 76-race winless streak, managing to stretch his fuel mileage enough to allow him to win under a caution on the last lap of a green-white-checkered (overtime) finish. He did not find much success after the Michigan win. He then went back to Talladega Superspeedway for the AMP Energy 500 where he was en route to a possible win before being caught up in "The Big One" late in the race. He headed to Martinsville Speedway where he finished second to teammate Jimmie Johnson. He ended the season in the garage area at Homestead Miami Speedway in The Ford 400 after losing his brakes with just a few laps to go in the race. Earnhardt finished the season 12th in points, 557 points behind champion Jimmie Johnson. Earnhardt Jr in 2008 won his 6th consecutive NASCAR most popular driver award after he set a NASCAR record for merchandise sales.[citation needed]

2009

In the season-opening Daytona 500, Earnhardt, Jr. began well, even leading for a lap. However multiple misfortunes, including a missed pit stop and a 1-lap penalty for pitting outside of his pit box, sent him far into the back of the running order. Earnhardt, Jr. was then directly involved in a controversial crash on lap 124, when, while fighting to return to the lead lap, he came in contact with Brian Vickers while fighting to be the first driver one lap down (who gets a free pass should the caution flag come out), causing a ten car pileup which included Denny Hamlin, Scott Speed, Jimmie Johnson, Kyle Busch, Kurt Busch, Robby Gordon, Jamie McMurray, and Carl Edwards. Vickers and Kyle Busch later criticized Earnhardt who denied purposely clipping Vickers. Earnhardt, Jr. criticized Vickers for blocking him on the inside. When the race concluded early due to the rain, Earnhardt ended with a 27th place finish. After a blown engine at California and falling to 35th in the owners points, he finished 10th at Las Vegas and reached 29th place in points. He finished 8th at Martinsville. He had a string of poor finishes including 20th at Texas, and 31st at Phoenix after being spun out by Casey Mears. He gained confidence in his team with a very strong performance at Talladega, leading for 20 laps, and finishing second to his protege Brad Keselowski after Keselowski sent Carl Edwards flying into the catch fence in one of the year's biggest upsets. However, two weeks later at Richmond, Dale Jr. finished 27th. He was again spun out late in the race at Darlington and ended the race in 27th place. He then finished 10th in the All-Star race at Lowe's Motor Speedway. Dale Jr.'s poor performance continued as he finished in 40th at the Coke 600 due to an ill-handling race car.
On Thursday, May 28, 2009, Tony Eury, Jr. was let go as crew chief of the No. 88 team. Lance McGrew was named interim crew chief, and was scheduled to take over starting with the June 7, 2009 Pocono Race with team manager Brian Whitesell calling the shots at Dover the previous week.[17] McGrew was scheduled to work with Brad Keselowski at Dover, but after a failed qualifying attempt by Keselowski, was able to take on his duties for the No. 88 team a week early. Dale Jr. managed to finish 12th at Dover for the Autism Speaks 400 with his new crew chief after contending for the lead. At Pocono Raceway, however, he again ended with a 27th-place finish. After the change in crew chiefs, Earnhardt Jr. was consistently better, finishing fifteenth at Chicagoland Speedway; however, during that time he also had one DNF at Daytona International Speedway where he was taken out of the race early in a large pileup.
At the Carfax 400 at Michigan, Earnhardt charged to the front near the end of the race and managed to finish third; he also earned his second top five finish this season in the same race. One week later at Bristol, Earnhardt finished 9th in the Sharpie 500, but his bad luck continued at the Auto Club Speedway, when he was involved in a multi-car incident. After a 39th qualifying run at Lowe's Motor Speedway, he said "I'm about to the end of my rope".[18] At the fall Talladega race, Earnhardt Jr. had a solid run, including leading several laps, before finishing in 11th place. Lance McGrew had the "interim" taken off of his title, and he continued working with the No. 88 team through the end of the 2010 season.[19] Earnhardt Jr. ended 2009 winless, and finished a career low 25th in the standings.

2010

On Saturday, February 6, 2010, Earnhardt Jr. qualified second overall for the 52nd 2010 Daytona 500 after losing the pole position to teammate Mark Martin. He started 1st in the Gatorade Duel No. 2 on Thursday, February 11, 2010. He finished 11th in the 2010 Budweiser Shootout after struggling with an ill-handling car for most of the race.
On February 13, 2010 while running in the front of the pack at the Daytona Nationwide Series race, Dale Jr. was caught up in a multi-car wreck, causing his car to flip upside down on the backstretch. He walked away from the wreck uninjured. His driver Danica Patrick was caught up in another wreck before Earnhardt flipped. With 2 laps to go in the Daytona 500 the following day, he went from 10th to 2nd in one lap but couldn't pass Jamie McMurray and finished in second place. He was unable to follow up on this strong performance the following week in California when a broken axle left him with a 32nd-place finish, 12 laps down. The next weekend in Las Vegas he qualified 4th for the Shelby American, however after falling a lap down late in the race he could only settle for a 16th place finish. Following another poor finish at Atlanta settling for a 15th place finish. The next weekend at Bristol, Dale Jr. started 18th. He slowly made his way up the pace to 5th. Then a speeding penalty on pit road sent him to the tail end of the longest line. He charged his way up the pack to settle for a 7th place finish. He later qualified 8th at Martinsville after qualifying was rained out. After facing some handling problems, he ended up with a 15th place finish. Dale Earnhardt, Jr. qualified 5th for the Subway Fresh Fit 600. Early in the race, Dale Jr. had a splitter brace issue, that sent him to mid-pack. He later finished 12th. After qualifying 9th in the Samsung Mobile 500, Dale Jr. had a strong car for most of the race, and led 46 laps. However, the 88 slipped back from 3rd to finish 8th on the last restart, after facing a handling issue, and later moved up to 7th in the Sprint Cup points standings. Dale Jr. was determined to get a good finish at Talladega, and started 7th due to severe weather, but made his presence known by running up front in the early stages of the race, even leading 8 laps.[citation needed]
Due to multiple green/white/checker attempts, he slipped back on the final restart and finished 13th. Following this, he qualified 25th for the Heath Calhoun 400 at Richmond. During the race, he cut a tire after contact with Paul Menard and Bobby Labonte. Dale Jr. never recovered and finished 32nd three laps down, and fell to 13th in the Sprint Cup standings. Dale Jr. did not have high hopes at Darlington the next week, stating that it would one day cause him to quit racing in NASCAR. Dale Jr. qualified 19th, and although running as high as 5th, Dale Jr. faced an ill-handling condition, causing him to finish 18th, but move back up into the top 12 in points.[citation needed]
On Friday March 5, 2010, he won the pole for the Kobalt Tools 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway and now holds the record for fastest recorded qualifying time of 28.76 in a Car of Tomorrow at 192.8 mph (310.3 km/h). Two days later, on March 7, he ended with a 15th place finish after tire issues and other mishaps. On July 2, 2010, Dale raced the No. 3 blue and yellow Wrangler Chevrolet (painted to pay tribute to his father and fans) and drove it to victory lane in the Nationwide Series Subway Jalepeño 250 at Daytona. The next day on July 3 in the Coke Zero 400 Dale Jr. finished in 4th place, improving his position in the point standings from 13th to 11th. Then at the night race at Chicagoland Speedway he finished 23rd which dropped him back into 13th place in points, dropping him 15 points out of the top 12. He finished the 2010 Season on November 21, 2010, ranking 21st. On Tuesday, November 23, 2010, Hendrick Motorsports announced Dale Jr.'s new Crew Chief, Steve Letarte. On December 2, 2010 it was announced that Dale Jr. won the NMPA Most Popular Driver award for the 8th consecutive time.[citation needed]

2011

Wikinews has related news: NASCAR: Dale Earnhardt, Jr. earns 2011 Daytona 500 pole
Earnhardt at Bristol
He began the season by drawing the pole position at the 2011 Budweiser Shootout, where he finished 19th in the race.[20] On February 13, he earned his first pole position at Daytona International Speedway, as well as his first at a track that uses restrictor plates. Due to a practice crash, he had to start at the back of the field for both the duel race and the 500. He finished 24th in the Daytona 500 after being wrecked with 4 laps to go.[21] Over the next seven races Earnhardt, Jr. would achieve 5 top ten finishes including a 2nd place finish at Martinsville after losing the lead to Kevin Harvick with 4 laps to go, and a 4th place finish at Talladega in a photo finish with Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon, Mark Martin, Clint Bowyer and Kevin Harvick. Earnhardt, Jr. came within half a lap of snapping his then-104 race winless streak at the Coca-Cola 600 at the Charlotte Motor Speedway when he ran out of fuel during a green-white-checkered finish, finishing 7th. The following week at Kansas, Earnhardt finished 2nd to Brad Keselowski. He followed this up with a solid 6th place finish at Pocono. Over the course of the next three races, Jr would slide to 7th in the Championship points, finishing 21st at Michigan, 41st at Infineon, and 19th at Daytona. On September 1, 2011 Dale Earnhardt Jr. announced he had signed a five-year contract extension with Hendrick Motorsports to drive the 88 until 2017. On September 19, 2011, Junior Made his first Chase for the Sprint Cup appearance since 2008 at Chicagoland. At the season finale at Homestead, he finished 11th and finished 7th in the final points standings. On December 1, 2011, it was announced that Dale Jr. won the Most Popular Driver award for the 9th consecutive time.

2012

Earnhardt, Jr. started 8th in the Budweiser Shootout, led for several laps, and finished 20th after being caught up in a six car crash on lap 55 that also involved Matt Kenseth, Joey Logano and Kevin Harvick. In the Gatorade Duel, Earnhardt, Jr. performed strong, starting on the outside pole in the first duel race. He led a few laps in the early part of the race before finishing second to Tony Stewart after his Nationwide Series teammate Danica Patrick smashed hard into the inside wall in a last lap crash on the back straightaway. In the postponed Daytona 500, he finished in second place behind Matt Kenseth, after passing Greg Biffle on the last lap. At Phoenix, Earnhardt's car struggled most of the race and came out with a 14th place finish.
At Las Vegas, Earnhardt led 70 laps early but finished 10th based on bad pit strategy. At Bristol, Earnhardt finished 15th following a late race contact with teammate Jeff Gordon, and a speeding penalty. Earnhardt would back this up with a pair of back to back 3rd place finishes at Auto Club and Martinsville Speedway, leaving him second in the standings.
In the following weeks, Earnhardt would bring a string of top 10's: 10th at Texas, 7th at Kansas, 2nd at Richmond, and 9th at Talladega, where he led ten laps. The following week, Earnhardt, Jr. struggled for most of the race at Darlington, and had to settle with a 17th place finish. At the All-Star Race, Earnhardt won the Sprint Showdown, leading all 40 laps to race his way into the big event. In the event, Earnhardt won the 4th segment and in the final 10 lap shootout, had to settle for a 5th place finish. The following two weeks, Earnhardt, Jr. would post of finishes of 6th at Charlotte and 4th at Dover heading into the summer months. At the newly repaved Pocono Raceway, Earnhardt led 36 laps during the race, but made a late race fuel pit stop from 3rd place with just over 20 laps to go, finishing eighth and standing 2nd in points. At the 2012 Quicken Loans 400 at Michigan, Earnhardt dominated the race, leading 95 laps, and won, snapping a 143-race winless streak, almost four years to the day after his last win on June 15, 2008.[22] Earnhardt, Jr. would suffer a 23rd place finish at Sonoma after being wrecked in a green-white-checkered finish, but was still able to cross the finish line intact and on the lead lap, continuing his streak of being the only driver to finish all races on the lead lap. He would back this up with a fourth place finish in the Quaker State 400 at Kentucky Speedway.
The following week at Daytona, a last lap crash resulted in a 15th place finish for Earnhardt, Jr. but still kept his streak of being the only driver to finish every single lap in every race. Earnhardt backed up with a couple of top 5 finishes, finishing 4th at both Loudon and Indianapolis, where he gained the points lead for the first time since 2004, after points leader Matt Kenseth was taken out in a late race crash. Back at Pocono, Earnhardt Jr. was running in the 2nd position, but a break in the transmission sent the 88 to the garage, but he came back out 18 laps down and finished 32nd, due to rain that came and ended the race and a late race wreck involving Jimmie Johnson, Matt Kenseth, and Denny Hamlin. His streak of completing on the lead lap came to an end, but he still maintained the points lead with 5 races until the chase cutoff. At Watkins Glen, Earnhardt had a steady top 10 going in the final laps but a late race spin resulted in a 28th place finish, this would drop the 88 team from 1st to 4th in the points.
Returning to Michigan for the Pure Michigan 400, Earnhardt, Jr. had to start in 42nd place after a crash in practice forced him to move to a backup car. He led for a number of laps mid-race and finished on the lead lap in fourth place. Earnhardt, Jr., Ryan Newman and Kasey Kahne also escaped engine difficulties that plagued Jimmie Johnson, Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. At Bristol Motor Speedway Earnhardt started 16th after a qualifying rainout; he led 13 laps in the race before pit road penalties resulted in a 12th place finish. The finish locked him into the 2012 Chase for the Sprint Cup, alongside Greg Biffle, and teammate Jimmie Johnson. At Atlanta Motor Speedway, Earnhardt went a lap down early but recovered to earn a 7th place finish. The following week at Richmond International Raceway, Earnhardt earned his 1st pole of the season. He would go on to lead 69 laps, but a late race pit stop resulted in the 88 team getting a 14th place finish, and being seeded 7th in the standings. In the first race of the chase at Chicagoland Speedway, Earnhardt finished eighth despite having to start at the rear of the field due to an engine change. Finishes of 13th and 11th at Loudon and Dover, left the 88 team 7th in the standings.

Sidelined by a concussion

On the morning of October 11, Hendrick Motorsports announced that Earnhardt would have to sit out the Bank of America 500 at Charlotte and the Hollywood Casino 400 at Kansas due to a concussion from a 23-car crash on the last lap at Talladega on October 7. That weekend Earnhardt finished 20th at Talladega when he took a hard lick in a crash after making contact with Bobby Labonte. Prior to this, Earnhardt had suffered a concussion during an August 29 test at Kansas Speedway. Regan Smith was announced to replace him at those two races.[23] Prior to the concussion, Earnhardt, Jr. had competed in 461 consecutive races, dating back to the 1999 Atlanta event. The 2012 Bank of America 500 marked the first race since the 1979 Southern 500 that an Earnhardt had not competed in the Sprint Cup Series as Dale Earnhardt had competed in every race from that one up until his death in the 2001 Daytona 500.[24] On October 23, Earnhardt was cleared for the Tums Fast Relief 500 at Martinsville after missing two races. He started strong in the race, but a late race spin with Carl Edwards placed for a 21st place finish.[25] His first top ten finish after returning to the track was a seventh place finish at Texas. At Phoenix, Dale fought an ill-handling car, and finished 21st. At the season finale, at Homestead-Miami Speedway, Dale would finish 10th. This is his first top 10 finish at the 1.5-mile track, and his 20th this season. Dale closed the season 12th in the final standings. On November 29, 2012, it was announced that Dale Jr. won the NMPA Most Popular Driver Award for the 10th consecutive year. This ties Bill Elliott's streak of 10 consecutive wins in the award.

2013

Earnhardt, Jr. on pit road during the 2013 STP Gas Booster 500 at Martinsville Speedway
Earnhardt, Jr. started the 2013 season with an eighth place finish in the rechristened Sprint Unlimited. He qualified 11th for the Budweiser Duel, but due to an engine failure in practice, he was forced to drop to the rear of he field. After narrowly missing a three car wreck between Carl Edwards, Trevor Bayne and Regan Smith, he finished ninth. He finished fourth at the DRIVE4COPD 300. In the Sprint Cup Series, Earnhardt hit a resurgence, and in the first five races of the season recorded three top-five and five top-ten finishes. It began with a second place finish at the Daytona 500 behind Jimmie Johnson, Earnhardt's third runner up finish in the 500 since 2010. The following week at Phoenix, he led for 47 laps, but was shuffled back in traffic during caution flag pit stops, which allowed Carl Edwards to assume the lead while Earnhardt finished in fifth place. This was followed by two more top tens: 7th at Las Vegas and 6th at Bristol. At Fontana, Earnhardt started mid-pack, and after a couple of mistakes including a lengthy pit stop caused by missed lug nuts on a right rear tire, came home in second place, assuming the points lead as a result of Brad Keselowski going off pace and falling back. Two weeks later in Martinsville, Earnhardt struggled throughout the race, and spun out after Danica Patrick was hit by Brian Vickers and sent into Earnhardt, and ended up finishing 24th, 2 laps down, losing the points lead to Jimmie Johnson.[26]
At Texas Earnhardt ran near the front until lap 187 when his battery alternator quit and ended up finishing 29th. At Kansas Earnhardt ran near the front until a caution happened while they were on pit road. They would go a lap down, take the wave-around,and finish 16th. At Richmond Earnhardt but finishes 10th. At Talladega Earnhardt finishes 17th and through 10 races Earnhardt is sitting 3rd in points. The following week at Darlington, Earnhardt raced inside the top 10 much of the night, before settling for a 9th place finish. The following week in the Sprint All-Star Race, Earnhardt battled a tight handling car much of the night, before finishing 7th. The following week for the Coca-Cola 600, Earnhardt lost an engine and finsihed 39th, his first DNF since 2011. The next two weeks see a rebound, with finishes of 10th and 3rd at Dover and Pocono. At the Quicken Loans 400, Earnhardt led 23 laps, but suffered an engine failure, and finished 37th.[27]

Business interests

Earnhardt, Jr. owns Hammerhead Entertainment, a media production company that created and produces the TV show Back In the Day, which aired on SPEED. Hammerhead also produced "Shifting Gears", a show on ESPN2 that chronicled his 2008 team switch.
He is partners with a group of investors who are building Alabama Motorsports Park, a Dale Earnhardt Jr. Speedway.[28] The track is located near Mobile, Alabama and will feature stock car racing, kart racing and a road course. This will join with his partial ownership of Paducah International Raceway. Earnhardt has also opened a bar named Whisky River in downtown Charlotte, North Carolina in April 2008; he later opened a second Whisky River in Jacksonville, Florida.[29]
As of 2013, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. has his own signature line of eyeglass frames, partnering with NY Eye Inc.[30]
In August 2012, Earnhardt, Jr. entered the automobile dealer business, opening Dale Earnhardt Jr. Chevrolet and Dale Earnhardt Jr. Buick-GMC-Cadillac in Tallahassee, Florida in association with car owner Rick Hendrick.[31]

Media appearances

A Dale Earnhardt Jr. autograph

Television

He hosted Back in the Day a show that took a step back in time to races in the '60s and '70s with trivia and information. The show debuted on the Speed Channel on February 6, 2007. He has also appeared in an episode of the TV show Yes, Dear. He has also been on two episodes of MTV Cribs. The first episode originally aired in 2001. The second episode featuring the Western town Dale Jr. built originally aired in 2009. His production company Hammerhead Entertainment also assisted in creating a DirecTV special called "Fast Lane For Fun", in which Earnhardt Jr.'s Whisky River was shown in one episode. He appeared in an episode of Shaq Vs., where he was racing against Shaquille O'Neal.

Radio

Earnhardt, Jr. hosted a show on Sirius XM Radio's Sirius XM Sports Nation called Dale Earnhardt, Jr.'s Unrestricted.[32]
Beginning the 2013 season, Dale Jr.'s Hammerhead Entertainment began producing Dirty Mo Radio, a weekly podcast recapping Dale Jr.'s race weekend. It is hosted by Taylor Zarzour and Mike Davis.[citation needed]

Films

He appeared in the 2006 film Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. In the movie, he is seen asking Ricky Bobby (Will Ferrell) for his autograph, and tells Ricky "don't tell any of the other drivers." There is also a deleted scene on the DVD where he calls Ricky a "dirty liar" and asks him for money he owed him. The No. 8 car also appeared in Herbie: Fully Loaded in the final race where Herbie overtook him. His No. 88 car also appeared in the 2011 film Transformers: Dark of the Moon as Roadbuster of the Wreckers, a trio of NASCAR stock cars equipped with armor on the front that can transform into heavy artillery tanks (the other Wreckers were based on the No. 42 and No. 48 cars driven respectively by Juan Pablo Montoya and Jimmie Johnson).[33] The Wrecker versions of these cars circled the track during the opening pace laps of the 2011 Daytona 500 (Josh Duhamel, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley and Michael Bay were also the grand marshals for that race, in which Earnhardt crashed on lap 203 after making contact with Ryan Newman).

Voice work

  • He voiced himself in Disney/Pixar's movie Cars as an No. 8 car (painted in resemblance to Earnhardt's actual car) named "Junior" with the DEI logo on the hood. The Budweiser logos were censored from the No. 8 to prevent alcoholic advertising to gain a "G" (General) rating.
  • His voice was used for the character Chase Davis in an episode of the Disney Channel's Handy Manny. Chase helps Manny compete in the Wood Valley 500 auto race in Handy Manny's Big Race.

Music video appearances

He has made appearances in several music videos, including:

Other

Dale Jr. appeared on the cover of EA Sports' NASCAR Thunder 2003. Dale Jr. is helping design Alabama Motorsports Park with his brother Kerry Earnhardt, and sister Kelley Earnhardt Miller. He appeared in the EA Sports video game, NASCAR Rumble in the No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Inc./Dale Jr. Chevrolet as a guest driver, while his father of course, appeared in his No. 3 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet as a full-time driver. Dale Jr. also got to be on the cover of the new video game NASCAR The Game: Inside Line for 2012, making a 2nd appearance on a NASCAR game cover. He was featured in the video Playboy: Celebrity Photographers (2003) where he photographed The Dahm Triplets.[35]
Earnhardt Jr. is a passionate Washington Redskins fan and has been known to have Redskins scores relayed to him during races.[36][37] "During the race season, [if] I'm under caution, I'm getting stats and numbers told to me over the radio during the race," Earnhardt said. "I've got to know. I can't concentrate on what I'm doing if I don't know what the Redskins are doing. My fans tell me if I lose, it ruins their week. But if the Redskins lose, it ruins my week." Earnhardt once dreamed of playing football for the Redskins, but states that he "wasn't built" for it. "I was 5–3 when I got my driver's license at the age of 16," he said, "so I wasn't going to make much of a football player."[37]

Career Cup Series statistics

Season Races Wins Top 5 Top 10 Poles Winnings ($) Position Finish Team(s)
1999 5 0 0 1 0 162,095 48th 21.4 Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
2000 34 2 3 5 2 2,583,475 16th 20.9
2001 36 3 9 15 2 5,384,630 8th 15.2
2002 36 2 11 16 2 4,570,980 11th 17.1
2003 36 2 13 21 0 4,923,500 3rd 12.7
2004 36 6 16 21 0 7,201,380 5th 12.1
2005 36 1 7 13 0 5,761,830 19th 20.5
2006 36 1 10 17 0 5,466,100 5th 13.5
2007 36 0 7 12 1 5,221,970 16th 18.6
2008 36 1 10 16 1 4,611,290 12th 14.1 Hendrick Motorsports
2009 36 0 2 5 0 4,097,190 25th 23.2
2010 36 0 3 8 1 4,572,928 21st 18.6
2011 36 0 4 12 1 4,082,538 7th 14.5
2012 34 1 10 20 1 4,763,460 12th 10.3
2013 15 0 4 9 0 2,808,808 7th 14.4

Totals 484 19 109 191 11 77,554,550 14.0 16.3
Sources:[38][39]

Daytona 500 Results

Year Manufacturer Start Finish Team
2000 Chevrolet 8 13 DEI
2001 6 2
2002 5 29
2003 2 36
2004 3 1
2005 5 3
2006 7 8
2007 5 32 (accident)
2008 3 9 Hendrick
2009 14 27
2010 2 2
2011 1 24 (accident)
2012 5 2
2013 18 2

References

  1. ^ "Ancestry of Dale Earnhardt Jr.".
  2. ^ a b "Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Drive Bio on Nascar.com". Nascar.com. February 20, 2011. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  3. ^ Kerry Earnhardt website
  4. ^ "NASCAR Sprint Cup Standings 2001". NASCAR.com. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  5. ^ Associated Press (October 6, 2004). "Post-Talladega expletive costs Earnhardt". ESPN. Retrieved April 4, 2013.
  6. ^ Fox Sports on MSN – NASCAR – Dale Jr. camo car, other schemes honor troops
  7. ^ "Mears stretches fuel to win Coca-Cola 600, first Cup race"
  8. ^ ESPN – Kurt Busch makes statement with dominating win at Pocono – Nascar
  9. ^ Mike Irwin (November 29, 2007). "Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Wins Fifth Consecutive NASCAR NMPA Chex® Most Popular Driver Award". Motor Sports News. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  10. ^ "Dale Earnhardt Jr., the Gravest Loss in the History of NASCAR?"
  11. ^ "This Bud's for ... ? Dale Jr., longtime sponsor to split"
  12. ^ "Dale Jr.: Teresa Earnhardt made 'ridiculous' requests for No. 8"
  13. ^ "Eury to remain Earnhardt's crew chief; Mears to drive No. 5"
  14. ^ "Earnhardt 'amped' about car, future with Hendrick". nascar.com. September 19, 2007. Retrieved May 15, 2011.
  15. ^ "Earnhardt and Hendrick Come from the Same Place". NASCAR.COM. June 13, 2007. Retrieved January 2, 2008.
  16. ^ "Post-Daytona penalties handed down" by Jaymes Song, Seattle Times, February 21, 2008
  17. ^ staff and wire reports (May 28, 2009). "Eury Jr. out as crew chief for slumping Earnhardt". NASCAR. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  18. ^ "Earnhardt Jr. Beyond Frustration". Allleftturns.com. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  19. ^ Ryan, Nate (October 30, 2009). "Hendrick keeping McGrew as Earnhardt's crew chief in 2010". USA Today. Retrieved April 30, 2010.
  20. ^ Sporting News Wire Service (February 11, 2011). "Earnhardt draws Shootout pole". NASCAR. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  21. ^ "Nascar.Com". NASCAR. February 20, 2011. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  22. ^ "Junior ends skid, wins at Michigan". Fox Sports. Associated Press. June 17, 2012. Retrieved June 17, 2012.
  23. ^ "Junior was caught up in last-lap crash". Fox Sports. Associated Press. October 11, 2012. Retrieved October 11, 2012.
  24. ^ Racing-Reference.Info. "Dale Earnhardt, Sr. NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Statistics". Retrieved October 21, 2012.
  25. ^ Nascar.Com. "Earnhardt Jr. set for Martinsville return". NASCAR. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  26. ^ Bruce, Kenny (April 7, 2013). "Earnhardt loses spot atop standings". NASCAR. Retrieved April 11, 2013.
  27. ^ Bruce, Kenny (June 16, 2013). "Trouble snares Hendrick quartet at Michigan". NASCAR. Retrieved June 16, 2013.
  28. ^ About Alabama Motorsports Park
  29. ^ "Earnhardt Jr. branches out into bar business"
  30. ^ http://www.newyorkeye.net/dalejr/index.html
  31. ^ Hodges, Dave (August 14, 2012). "Earnhardt, Hendrick settle in as new GM dealers in Tallahassee". Tallahassee Democrat. Tallahassee, FL. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  32. ^ Corey, Deitz. "NASCAR Drivers Doing Weekly XM Satellite Radio Shows". About.com. Retrieved September 12, 2012.
  33. ^ "Nelson: NASCAR Trio Are The Wreckers". Comicbookmovie. July 30, 2010. Retrieved July 30, 2010.
  34. ^ MatthewGoodBandVEVO. "Matthew Good Band - Anti-pop". YouTube. Retrieved October 24, 2012.[unreliable source?]
  35. ^ Playboy:Celebrity Photographers(2003)
  36. ^ Gluck, Jeff. "Dale Earnhardt Jr.: I Understand How My Fans Feel". SB Nation. Retrieved October 24, 2012.
  37. ^ a b http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P1-112073688.html
  38. ^ Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Stats from Nascar.com
  39. ^ "Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Career Statistics". racing-reference.info. Retrieved June 6, 2011.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Sporting positions
Preceded by Randy LaJoie NASCAR Busch Series Champion
1998, 1999		 Succeeded by Jeff Green
Preceded by Terry Labonte The Winston XVI winner
2000		 Succeeded by Jeff Gordon
Preceded by Tony Stewart Budweiser Shootout winner
2003		 Succeeded by Dale Jarrett
Preceded by Tony Stewart Budweiser Shootout winner
2008		 Succeeded by Kevin Harvick
Preceded by Michael Waltrip Daytona 500 winner
2004		 Succeeded by Jeff Gordon
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Bill Elliott NASCAR Sprint Cup Series Most Popular Driver
2003-2012		 Succeeded by Incumbent
Preceded by Jeff Gordon NASCAR EA cover athlete 2003 Succeeded by Tony Stewart
Preceded by Jimmie Johnson Mark Martin NASCAR The Game cover athlete 2012 Succeeded by Current
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