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American automobile
racer, seven-time winner of the National Association for Stock Car
Auto Racing (NASCAR) championship. Nicknamed the Intimidator for his
aggressive and keen driving abilities, Earnhardt was a fan favorite
across the United States.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt
was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina.
As the son of NASCAR driver Ralph Earnhardt, the young
Earnhardt began automobile racing when he was a teenager. He first
raced NASCAR vehicles in 1975 and slowly worked his way into the
Winston Cup circuit. (The Winston Cup circuit is the major annual
series in stock-car racing.) Earnhardt’s first NASCAR Winston Cup
win came in his 16th Winston Cup race, when he claimed the
Southeastern 500 at Bristol, Tennessee, in 1979. After being named
NASCAR rookie of the year in 1979, he won the NASCAR championship in
1980, becoming the first driver to win rookie of the year honors and
the NASCAR championship in successive seasons. Earnhardt also won
the NASCAR championship in 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, and 1994,
joining American automobile racer Richard Petty as the only
seven-time winners of the championship.
Despite his overall
success, for many years Earnhardt had repeated and well-publicized
disappointments at the Daytona 500, the premier event in stock-car
racing. In 1990 he led for most of the race, but he suffered a cut
tire on the last lap, which prevented him from winning. In 1995 he
finished second, trailing winner Sterling Marlin by only 0.61
seconds. In 1996 he placed second by an even smaller margin,
trailing winner Dale Jarrett by 0.12 seconds. In 1998 Earnhardt
entered his 20th Daytona 500 and finally won the event, cementing
his reputation as one of the greatest NASCAR drivers ever. In 2001
Earnhardt was killed after he crashed his car into a wall during the
last lap of the Daytona 500.
You either loved him or hated
him... but noone wanted for that to happen. A very sad day
indeed.
|
Year |
Races |
Wins |
Top-5 |
Top-10 |
Bud Poles |
Money |
Point Standing |
|
1975 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1,925. |
- |
|
1976 |
2 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
3,085. |
- |
|
1977 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
1,375. |
- |
|
1978 |
5 |
0 |
1 |
2 |
0 |
20,145. |
43 |
|
1979 |
27 |
1 |
11 |
17 |
4 |
264,086. |
7 |
|
1980 |
31 |
5 |
19 |
24 |
0 |
588,926 |
1 |
|
1981 |
31 |
0 |
9 |
17 |
0 |
347,113 |
7 |
|
1982 |
30 |
1 |
7 |
12 |
1 |
375,325 |
12 |
|
1983 |
30 |
2 |
9 |
14 |
1 |
446,272 |
8 |
|
1984 |
30 |
2 |
12 |
22 |
0 |
616,788 |
4 |
|
1985 |
28 |
4 |
10 |
16 |
1 |
546,596 |
8 |
|
1986 |
29 |
5 |
16 |
23 |
1 |
1,783,880 |
1 |
|
1987 |
29 |
11 |
21 |
24 |
1 |
2,099,243 |
1 |
|
1988 |
29 |
3 |
13 |
19 |
0 |
1,214,089 |
3 |
|
1989 |
29 |
5 |
14 |
19 |
0 |
1,425,730 |
2 |
|
1990 |
29 |
9 |
18 |
23 |
4 |
3,083,056 |
1 |
|
1991 |
29 |
4 |
14 |
21 |
0 |
2,396,685 |
1 |
|
1992 |
29 |
1 |
6 |
15 |
1 |
915,436 |
12 |
|
1993 |
30 |
6 |
17 |
21 |
2 |
3,353,789 |
1 |
|
1994 |
31 |
4 |
20 |
25 |
2 |
3,300,733 |
1 |
|
1995 |
31 |
5 |
19 |
23 |
3 |
3,154,241 |
2 |
|
1996 |
31 |
2 |
13 |
17 |
2 |
2,285,926 |
4 |
|
1997 |
32 |
0 |
7 |
16 |
0 |
2,151,909 |
5 |
|
1998 |
33 |
1 |
5 |
13 |
0 |
2,990,749 |
8 |
|
1999 |
34 |
3 |
7 |
21 |
0 |
3,048,236 |
7 |
|
2000 |
34 |
2 |
13 |
24 |
0 |
4,918,886 |
2 |
|
2001 |
1 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
296,833 |
- |
|
Total |
676 |
76 |
281 |
428 |
22 |
41,538,362 |
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