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Sprint Cup
Hall Of Fame Profile: Dale Earnhardt, Part 3 Of 5
Dale Earnhardt and Richard Childress won their first championship together in 1986, and Earnhardt won $1 million in a season for the first time...
Dale Earnhardt drove the No. 3 Wrangler-sponsored Chevrolet to his first All-Star victory in 1987. (Photo: Motorsports Images and Archives)
The NASCAR Hall of Fame will induct the five members of its inaugural class May 23. Leading up to the hall’s induction ceremony, SPEEDtv.com is profiling the first five racing legends chosen for this unique honor.
In 1984, team owner Richard Childress felt he was ready to build consistently impressive cars for Dale Earnhardt, and they became partners for a second time. The result was one of the best alliances ever at NASCAR’s top level.
Earnhardt and Childress won their first championship together in 1986, and Earnhardt won $1 million in a season for the first time.
Another championship followed in 1987 and a fourth in 1990. Earnhardt also won the Cup title in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994.
Earnhardt became known as the Intimidator, a nickname that sold truckloads of T-shirts.
Although few of his contemporaries admitted to buying into the Intimidator persona – and none would admit being intimidated by him, Earnhardt often validated the thinking that he would do anything to win. He smashed Terry Labonte on the last lap to win a race at Bristol.
He engaged Geoffrey Bodine in a classic series of “Southern boy versus Yankee” duels. He sent Rusty Wallace into a spectacular flipping crash at Talladega. He tangled with Georgia golden boy and fellow fan favorite Bill Elliott on the high ground of The Winston All-Star Race.
“He was good, but he had a lot of people who would just pull over and let him by because he had hit so many of them,” said retired driver David Pearson, who raced with and for Earnhardt. “He liked to have killed Rusty Wallace four or five times. When it came down to it, he was going to hit you or knock you out of the way and say he didn’t mean to or something like that. A lot of times, he’d spin people out when he didn’t have to.
“I borrowed some rims from him one time. He said, ‘You better put them on pretty good because I’m going to knock them off.’ He knew who he could run over.”
In an odd twist of history, the driver who finished 23rd in the 1975 World 600, one position behind Earnhardt in Earnhardt’s Cup debut, was Childress. A few years later, they would join forces to form one of the most potent teams in NASCAR history.
“To be part of Dale’s career and to watch the things he accomplished and the things he did to help carry our sport to another level, I think the Hall of Fame is well-deserved,” Childress said. “I’m just honored to have worked with him all those years.”
They became much more than work-day partners. They hunted together, fished together, partied together and remade the racing world after their design. Although Eanrhardt eventually would start a powerful NASCAR organization of his own, he never severed his driving relationship and strong friendship with Childress.
They put together six Cup championships (Earnhardt won his first with Californian Rod Osterlund) and made the black No. 3 a car to watch at virtually every stop.
When he had any shot at winning, he was there wrestling for first. He never lost the competitive fire.
“He was just as competitive about other things,” said Kevin Triplett, his public relations director in the early 1990s. “He and I went fishing a couple of times on the pond on his farm. And he absolutely outcast me four to one. He was not going to let anybody beat him even at fishing. You are not going to catch more fish than me.”
Earnhardt became a master at negotiating deals and, with the help of his wife, Teresa, turned the Earnhardt name and image into gold. During the glory years, the Earnhardts fielded hundreds of sponsorship and endorsement proposals and were able to pick and choose among the best.
“He was so street-smart and such a sharp guy,” Triplett said. “I don’t know that that’s the perception, but he was. He had a farm and he didn’t know anything about being a chicken farmer, so he learned. And he became a huge supplier to [poultry firm] Perdue. That’s the kind of thing he did. When he went after something, he went after it.
“He named his boat Sunday Money because he said it gave him motivation to pay for it.”
THURSDAY: Daytona 500 Finally Conquered
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame Grand Opening is set for May 11, 2010. Outdoor Opening Ceremonies are May 11th from 9 to 10 am ET free of charge, open to the public. Outdoor festivities including driver appearances and concerts May 11th from 10 am until 8 pm ET open to the public, free of charge. Tickets to enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame are on sale now at www.NASCARHall.com or by calling 877-231-2010. The countdown to the NASCAR Hall of Fame is on! Visit www.NASCARHall.com/50days for daily updates about the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
In 1984, team owner Richard Childress felt he was ready to build consistently impressive cars for Dale Earnhardt, and they became partners for a second time. The result was one of the best alliances ever at NASCAR’s top level.
Earnhardt and Childress won their first championship together in 1986, and Earnhardt won $1 million in a season for the first time.
Another championship followed in 1987 and a fourth in 1990. Earnhardt also won the Cup title in 1990, 1991, 1993 and 1994.
Earnhardt became known as the Intimidator, a nickname that sold truckloads of T-shirts.
Although few of his contemporaries admitted to buying into the Intimidator persona – and none would admit being intimidated by him, Earnhardt often validated the thinking that he would do anything to win. He smashed Terry Labonte on the last lap to win a race at Bristol.
He engaged Geoffrey Bodine in a classic series of “Southern boy versus Yankee” duels. He sent Rusty Wallace into a spectacular flipping crash at Talladega. He tangled with Georgia golden boy and fellow fan favorite Bill Elliott on the high ground of The Winston All-Star Race.
“He was good, but he had a lot of people who would just pull over and let him by because he had hit so many of them,” said retired driver David Pearson, who raced with and for Earnhardt. “He liked to have killed Rusty Wallace four or five times. When it came down to it, he was going to hit you or knock you out of the way and say he didn’t mean to or something like that. A lot of times, he’d spin people out when he didn’t have to.
“I borrowed some rims from him one time. He said, ‘You better put them on pretty good because I’m going to knock them off.’ He knew who he could run over.”
In an odd twist of history, the driver who finished 23rd in the 1975 World 600, one position behind Earnhardt in Earnhardt’s Cup debut, was Childress. A few years later, they would join forces to form one of the most potent teams in NASCAR history.
“To be part of Dale’s career and to watch the things he accomplished and the things he did to help carry our sport to another level, I think the Hall of Fame is well-deserved,” Childress said. “I’m just honored to have worked with him all those years.”
They became much more than work-day partners. They hunted together, fished together, partied together and remade the racing world after their design. Although Eanrhardt eventually would start a powerful NASCAR organization of his own, he never severed his driving relationship and strong friendship with Childress.
They put together six Cup championships (Earnhardt won his first with Californian Rod Osterlund) and made the black No. 3 a car to watch at virtually every stop.
When he had any shot at winning, he was there wrestling for first. He never lost the competitive fire.
“He was just as competitive about other things,” said Kevin Triplett, his public relations director in the early 1990s. “He and I went fishing a couple of times on the pond on his farm. And he absolutely outcast me four to one. He was not going to let anybody beat him even at fishing. You are not going to catch more fish than me.”
Earnhardt became a master at negotiating deals and, with the help of his wife, Teresa, turned the Earnhardt name and image into gold. During the glory years, the Earnhardts fielded hundreds of sponsorship and endorsement proposals and were able to pick and choose among the best.
“He was so street-smart and such a sharp guy,” Triplett said. “I don’t know that that’s the perception, but he was. He had a farm and he didn’t know anything about being a chicken farmer, so he learned. And he became a huge supplier to [poultry firm] Perdue. That’s the kind of thing he did. When he went after something, he went after it.
“He named his boat Sunday Money because he said it gave him motivation to pay for it.”
THURSDAY: Daytona 500 Finally Conquered
Mike Hembree is NASCAR Editor for SPEEDtv.com and has been covering motorsports for 28 years. He has written several books on NASCAR, including "NASCAR: The Definitive History of America's Sport" and "Then Tony Said To Junior: The Best NASCAR Stories Ever Told". He is a six-time winner of the National Motorsports Press Association Writer of the Year Award.
The NASCAR Hall of Fame Grand Opening is set for May 11, 2010. Outdoor Opening Ceremonies are May 11th from 9 to 10 am ET free of charge, open to the public. Outdoor festivities including driver appearances and concerts May 11th from 10 am until 8 pm ET open to the public, free of charge. Tickets to enter the NASCAR Hall of Fame are on sale now at www.NASCARHall.com or by calling 877-231-2010. The countdown to the NASCAR Hall of Fame is on! Visit www.NASCARHall.com/50days for daily updates about the NASCAR Hall of Fame.
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