Page "Richard Childress Racing" Paragraph 7

This time, Earnhardt was back for good, winning six championships over the next two decades, with crew chiefs Kirk Shelmerdine and Andy Petree, and Goodwrench replacing Wrangler as sponsor after 1987.

During the latter part of the 90's Earnhardt's performance began to slow down, and went through 1997 without a single victory.

In 1998, he won the Daytona 500 after 20 starts, all ending in losses.

The next year, he was able to capture wins at Talladega, as well as cause more controversy, after he spun Terry Labonte to win on the last lap at Bristol Motor Speedway.

In 2000, he looked like he was finally regaining his old form, winning twice and finishing runner-up to Bobby Labonte in points, and his many fans hoped he was gearing up for his record-breaking eighth championship.

Sadly, this was not to be.