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.

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.

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.

One of his wins that year came at North Wilkesboro, in a race where Harry Gant had a chance to set a single-season record by winning his fifth consecutive race, breaking a record held by Earnhardt.

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.

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 ".

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.

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.

But by lap 138, Earnhardt had taken the lead, and thanks to a push by teammate Mike Skinner, he was able to maintain it.

Earnhardt then spoke about the victory, saying " I have had a lot of great fans and people behind me all through the years and I just can't thank them enough.

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.

Labonte had four fresh tires and Earnhardt was driving on old tires, which made Earnhardt's car considerably slower.

In the 2000 season, Earnhardt had a resurgence, which some attributed to neck surgery he underwent to correct a lingering injury from his 1996 Talladega crash.

Following Earnhardt's death, a police investigation and a NASCAR-sanctioned investigation commenced ; nearly every detail was made public, from the finding of a torn seatbelt inside Earnhardt's car to graphic descriptions of the injuries Earnhardt had suffered at the moment of impact.

Three weeks after Earnhardt's death, Harvick scored his first career Cup win at Atlanta driving a car that had been prepared for Earnhardt.

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!

* Las Vegas, the 3rd race of the 2001 season, was noted for the fact that Mike Skinner, Earnhardt's teammate at Richard Childress Racing, took over Earnhardt's slot in the No Bull 5 million dollar eligibility for this race since Earnhardt had qualified for the No Bull 5 prize after his final victory in the 2000 Winston 500 at Talladega.

A similar controversy had befallen Earnhardt, Jr. himself after his father's death in the Daytona 500 a year earlier.

In NASCAR, the 6-point harness became popular after the death of Dale Earnhardt, who was wearing a five-point harness when he suffered his fatal crash ; as it was first thought that his belt had broken, some teams ordered a six-point harness in response.

Earnhardt came out on top, but Stewart had nonetheless impressed quite a few people with his performance.

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

In the process, Earnhardt set a NASCAR modern era record of four consecutive wins and won five of the first seven races.

Earnhardt was very consistent, scoring four wins, and after Ernie Irvan was sidelined due to a near-deadly crash at Michigan ( the two were neck-and-neck at the top of the points up until the crash ), won title by over 400 points over Mark Martin.

Earnhardt, Sr. and Schrader slid off the track's asphalt banking toward the infield grass just inside of turn four.

Oddly, the number 3 was involved in a wreck almost identical to that which took the life of Earnhardt: being spun out, colliding with another vehicle and being turned into the outside wall in turn number four.

Earnhardt Jr. won four races in a row at Daytona International Speedway with Nabisco sponsorship.

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

Dale Earnhardt cruised to victory, in a race that was slowed only once for four laps under yellow.

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

Earnhardt won his first championship with Doug Richert, then won his next four with Kirk Shelmerdine, and his final two with Andy Petree ( now at ESPN ) at the top of the pit box.

He joined Dale Earnhardt, Jr .' s JR Motorsports for the 2009 campaign as the driver of the # 5 Fastenal Chevy, signing on for four appearances for the year.

Baker is one of eight drivers to have won a Career Grand Slam, by winning the sport's four majors – the Daytona 500, Aaron's 499, Coca-Cola 600, and the Southern 500 .; Richard Petty, David Pearson, Bobby Allison, Darrell Waltrip, Dale Earnhardt, Jeff Gordon, and Jimmie Johnson are the other seven to have accomplished the feat.

Driving with new sponsorship from Lycos, Kenseth won three times and finished second in points to Dale Earnhardt Jr. DeWalt Tools became the sponsor in 1999, with Kenseth getting an additional four wins and a third place finish in points.

The team currently fields four Sprint Cup Series cars, including the # 5 Farmers Insurance Group / Quaker State Chevrolet Impala for Kasey Kahne, the # 24 Drive to End Hunger / DuPont Chevrolet Impala for four-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jeff Gordon, the # 48 Lowe's / Kobalt Tools Chevrolet Impala for five-time Sprint Cup Series champion Jimmie Johnson, and the # 88 Diet Mountain Dew / United States National Guard Chevrolet Impala for Dale Earnhardt, Jr.

Earnhardt had 46 wins, 142 Top 5 finishes, and 246 Top 10 finishes en route to four championships with Kirk.

Bowyer led only two laps, going to the front after Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kyle Busch got together with less than four laps remaining in the race.

Using the # 8, Earnhardt, Jr. set a record by winning four consecutive races at Talladega.

He ran four more races that season splitting time between NEMCO Motorsports and Dale Earnhardt, Inc., finishing fifth twice.

Five drivers that won the NASCAR Nationwide Series race at Milwaukee went on to win the Busch Series championship in the same year ( Steve Grissom-1993, Randy LaJoie-1997, Dale Earnhardt, Jr .- 1998, Jeff Green-2000, Greg Biffle-2002 ).

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

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.

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 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 ).