Earnhardt, Dale (1951-2001), an American stock car driver, won the Winston Cup (now NASCAR Cup) Championship seven times, tying the record set by Richard Petty. Earnhardt won the championship in 1980, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994. The NASCAR Cup Championship is the national racing championship for stock cars—American sedans with many modifications to increase their speed and power. Earnhardt was noted for his aggressive driving style and his consistently high finishes in stock car races.
In 1979, Earnhardt was named Winston Cup Rookie of the Year by the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). In 1980, he became the only driver to win the Winston Cup Championship as a second-year competitor.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt was born on April 29, 1951, in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Earnhardt began his racing career when he was 19 years old and soon earned the nickname “Ironhead” because of his strong-willed personality. He was the son of stock car pioneer Ralph Earnhardt. Dale Earnhardt was killed in a crash on Feb. 18, 2001, during the final lap of that year’s Daytona 500 race. He was inducted into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006 and into the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2010. His son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., was also a leading stock car driver until he retired after the 2017 NASCAR racing season.
