In the final lap of the 2001 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500, Harvick beat Jeff Gordon by. 006 seconds, the same margin that Earnhardt had won over Bobby Labonte at the same race a year prior, and the images of Earnhardt's longtime gas man, Danny " Chocolate " Myers, crying after the victory, Harvick's tire-smoking burnout on the frontstretch with three fingers held aloft outside the driver's window, and the Fox television call by Mike Joy, Larry McReynolds, and Darrell Waltrip, concluding with " Gordon got loose, but he ( Harvick ) is gonna get him though, it's Harvick!

Stewart earned his first & only win of the season in the AMP Energy 500 at Talladega on October 5 driving for sponsor Subway as his last win on Joe Gibbs Racing ( Stewart then would move to his own racing team Stewart-Haas Racing ) On the final lap Stewart was passed by Regan Smith the rookie of Dale Earnhardt Inc who beat Stewart to the line.

Newman also became the second rookie since Dale Earnhardt, Jr. to win The Winston, and beat out Jimmie Johnson for the Rookie of the Year award on the strength of rookie records in top-fives ( 14 ) and top-tens ( 22 ), even though Johnson had more wins.

In just his third start, Harvick beat out Jeff Gordon by mere inches to win the Cracker Barrel 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, dedicating the win to Earnhardt.

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.

Earnhardt still made the trip to the annual Awards Banquet with Rusty Wallace but did not have the best seat in the house.

1995 was a dramatic affair as the lead changed 32 times, the most since 1988, and the battle for the lead became a spirited multilap affair between Bobby Labonte, Dale Earnhardt, Rusty Wallace, and Sterling Marlin.

From April, 1989, through November 21, 1996, Langley served as the official pace car driver for all Winston Cup events ( and during the caution laps, been known to be playing with Dale Earnhardt and Rusty Wallace ).

It was extra security for Dale Earnhardt to win the championship ; he needed to finish above 34th spot to defeat title rival Rusty Wallace.

Foyt, Al Unser, Bobby Unser, Mario Andretti, Bobby Rahal, Jim Clark, Darrell Waltrip, Alan Kulwicki, Emerson Fittipaldi, Bobby Allison, Davey Allison, Nigel Mansell, Michael Andretti, Alex Zanardi, Harry Gant, Rusty Wallace, and Walker Evans, as well as current racing stars Danica Patrick, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Dario Franchitti, Jeff Gordon, Tony Kanaan, Scott Dixon, Hélio Castroneves and many others.

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 ".

After the final race of the season, series champion Dale Earnhardt and race winner Wallace drove a side by side Polish Victory Lap carrying flags for fallen drivers Alan Kulwicki and Allison.

In January, Stewart teamed with Andy Wallace and Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in a Boss Motorsports Chevrolet to take fourth in the 24 Hours of Daytona sports car endurance race.

In 1989, Wallace won the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship, with crew chief Barry Dodson, by finishing 15th at the Atlanta Journal 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, to beating out close friend and fierce rival Dale Earnhardt who won the race, by twelve points.

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.

Earnhardt was visibly shaken by the incident and did make sure Wallace was okay by checking on him after the race had concluded.

In September 1988, Dale Earnhardt gave Wallace the seat for his first-ever NASCAR start, in which he finished eleventh in the Busch Series race at Martinsville Speedway, driving the # 8 GM Goodwrench Chevrolet.

Wallace pushed Earnhardt to the front in four laps to the lead.

The car has been driven by Dale Earnhardt, Jody Ridley, Kenny Wallace, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Hank Parker Jr, Steve Park, Tony Stewart, Martin Truex Jr and Kerry Earnhardt.

Davis announced Kenny Wallace would join the team shortly afterward after running a part-time schedule as an injury replacement for Steve Park at Dale Earnhardt, Inc., as a replacement for a suspended Kevin Harvick at Martinsville, and as Innovative Motorsports ' driver for its limited schedule.

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.

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.

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 ).

The 1986 season saw Earnhardt win his second career Winston Cup Championship and the first owner's championship for RCR.

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 1990 season started for Earnhardt with victories in the Busch Clash and his heat of the Gatorade Twin 125s.

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 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.

1996 for Earnhardt started just as it had done in 1993 – he dominated Speedweeks only to finish second in the Daytona 500 to Dale Jarrett for a second time.

In 1997, Earnhardt went winless for only the second time in his career.

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.

Mike Dillon ( Richard Childress's son-in-law ) was brought in to relieve Earnhardt for the remainder of the race.

Earnhardt began the season by winning his Twin 125-mile qualifier race for the ninth straight year.

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 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.

Some angry fans of Earnhardt wrote hate letters and death threats to Sterling Marlin, blaming him for causing the crash.

Fans began honoring Earnhardt by holding three fingers aloft on the third lap of every NASCAR Cup race, and the television coverage of NASCAR on Fox and NASCAR on NBC went silent for each third lap from Rockingham to the following year's race there in honor of Earnhardt For the first three weeks after Earnhardt's death, on-track incidents brought out the caution flag on lap three.

With wins at Atlanta, Bristol, Nashville, Martinsville, and Charlotte, Earnhardt won his first Winston Cup championship.

Earnhardt successfully defended his championship the following year, visiting victory lane eleven times and winning the championship by 489 points over Bill Elliott.

The 1991 season saw Earnhardt win his fifth Winston Cup championship.

In 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.

Although Earnhardt continued to dominate in the seasons ahead, this would be his final NASCAR championship.

But in the end, Earnhardt lost the championship to Jeff Gordon by just 34 points.

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 No. 18 team with Bobby Labonte, denied Earnhardt the coveted eighth championship title.

Dale Earnhardt won the championship.

The reason the team gave for removing the car from the race was a blown engine, however Bonnett was teamed with points leader Dale Earnhardt, and the car was retired to assist Earnhardt in winning the season's championship.

Earnhardt needed to maximize his finishing position, and by Bonnett quitting the race he was assured of those three championship points.

Dale Earnhardt Sr. won four, including the 2000 championship, before his death in February 2001.

He gained the championship points lead one-third into the season and held onto it for 16 races before dropping it to Dale Earnhardt with two races to go.

Martin was one of three drivers ( Earnhardt and Sterling Marlin ) to be ranked in the top five for all 31 races ; none of them won the championship.

Curb was also a sponsor for Dale Earnhardt during his 1980 Winston Cup championship winning season, and sponsored Darrell Waltrip's # 12 Toyota Tundra in the Craftsman Truck Series, driven by Joey Miller in 2006.

** Earnhardt raced two throwbacks in 2006, one dedicated to his father, using a black paint scheme reminiscent of his father's Busch cars, and a second using a cream-colored design, similar to his late grandfather Ralph's 1956 Sportsman championship.

Yarborough barely missed out on his fourth championship in five years, losing the championship to Dale Earnhardt by 19 points.