Dale Earnhardt, Jr. | Dale Earnhardt, Jr .' s Budweiser car in 2007

In 1971, Earnhardt married his second wife, Brenda Gee ( the daughter of NASCAR car builder Robert Gee ), with whom he had a daughter, Kelley King, in 1972, and a son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., in 1974.

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.

The team, which was composed of Earnhardt, Earnhardt, Jr., Andy Pilgrim, and Kelly Collins, finished 4th overall and 2nd in class.

Michael Waltrip won first place in the race, with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in second place.

The carnage resulted in Schrader and Earnhardt, Jr. rushing to Earnhardt, Sr. Earnhardt was extricated from his car and taken to Halifax Medical Center.

In response, Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. absolved Marlin of any responsibility.

* Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Pepsi 400 on July 7, 2001.

Earnhardt, Jr. went on to also win in the fall at Dover and Talladega.

* Every three years since Earnhardt's death, someone associated with Earnhardt has won the Daytona 500 ( his son Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in 2004, Earnhardt's replacement Cup driver Kevin Harvick in 2007, and Earnhardt Ganassi's Jamie McMurray in 2010.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. made two special appearances in 2002 in a No. 3 Busch Series car: these appearances were at the track where his father died ( Daytona ) and the track where his father made his first Winston Cup start ( Charlotte ).

Earnhardt Jr. won the first of those two races, which was the season-opening event at Daytona.

* 1974 – Dale Earnhardt, Jr., American racecar driver

Dale Earnhardt Jr. wins the event and celebrates by driving around the track with an American flag out the window.

** Dale Earnhardt, Jr., American race car driver

Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. ( April 29, 1951February 18, 2001 ) was an American race car driver, best known for his involvement in stock car racing for NASCAR.

Considered one of the best NASCAR drivers of all time, Earnhardt won a total of 76 races over the course of his career, including one Daytona 500 victory in 1998.

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.

Earnhardt was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, on April 29, 1951, to Martha Coleman and Ralph Lee Earnhardt, who was then one of the best short-track drivers in North Carolina.

Although Ralph did not want his son to follow in his footsteps, Earnhardt would not be persuaded to give up his dream of racing, dropping out of school to race.

Ralph was a hard teacher for Earnhardt, and after Ralph died of a heart attack at his home in 1973, it took many years before Earnhardt felt as though he had finally " proven " himself to his father.

Earnhardt had four siblings, Danny, Randy, Cathy, and Kaye.

When Earnhardt was 17, he married his first wife, Latane Brown, in 1968.

Brown gave birth to Earnhardt's first son, Kerry Earnhardt, in 1969.

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.

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.

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 No. 15 Wrangler Jeans Ford Thunderbird ( Earnhardt's only full-time Ford ride in his career ).

Born to race car driver Ralph Lee Earnhardt, Earnhardt began his career in 1975 when he drove in the 1975 World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway as part of the Winston Cup Series ( later the Sprint Cup Series ).

Hours later, Mike Helton, president of NASCAR announced the officials, drivers and fans that Earnhardt has died from the accident.

Just 2 months later at the Winston 500 at Talladega, racing to the checkered flag, Wallace was clipped by Dale Earnhardt, and flew into the air before violently flipping past the start-finish line, resulting in a broken wrist.

A year later, Earnhardt continued the trend at the 1996 running of The Winston with an 1996 Atlanta Olympics themed car.

Truex started his first career Cup race for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. in the # 1 at Atlanta Motor Speedway later that year, qualifying 33rd and finishing 37th.

Three days later at the Daytona 500, Marlin appeared to make contact with Dale Earnhardt, causing Earnhardt to crash into the Turn 4 wall, an impact that would kill him.

In 2007, Carmichael signed a driver development contract with Ginn Racing, which would later be merged with Dale Earnhardt, Inc.

Although the team started 2003 with a Daytona 500 pole, Green and the team failed to jell as Childress had hoped and later that season, in what amounted to a trade between organizations, Green was replaced by the former driver of the # 1 car at Dale Earnhardt, Inc., Steve Park ( Green took Park's ride at DEI following his firing ).

After acting as spotter to Bill Elliott and then later to Kerry Earnhardt, he was ironically hired by FitzBradshaw Racing in 2003 to replace Earnhardt in the # 12 SuperCuts / Cottman Transmission Dodge.

With 26 laps left, Bobby Allison changed the right side tires, and in a process that Petty later described as " follow the leader ", Buddy Baker, Dale Earnhardt and Ricky Rudd did the same.