The gold Gargoyle sunglasses, the perfectly trimmed moustache, the charisma of a superstar, and the no-bullshit attitude to match his immense skill behind the wheel is what made Dale Earnhardt Senior the face of NASCAR in the late 20th Century.
Born in 1951 and raised trackside in North Carolina along with his four siblings, they watched their father – Ralph “Ironheart” Earnhardt – race stock cars. It was clear that Dale was destined to get behind the wheel at some point in his life. This was apparent as- much to his parents’ dismay- Dale dropped out of school in his 9th year, hopeful with the aspiration of pursuing his career in motorsport. In 1975, Earnhardt began his professional career in the NASCAR Winston Cup, scoring his first career points at the longest race in the series, the World 600 held at Charlotte Motor Speedway.
In 1979, Earnhardt joined Rod Osterland Racing, and in the following year he won his first of 76 Winston Cup races out of a total of 676 over a career spanning 26 years. During his career in NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt Sr. built on his family’s racing brand, amassing over forty-million dollars in earnings.
Although Dale Sr. became a cultural icon around the world during his peak from the mid-eighties to the late 1990’s, he knew that popularity wouldn’t win races, and his racing style reflected his cutthroat mindset. Because he had no issue with intentionally (and skilfully) wrecking other drivers to gain positions on track, Dale Sr. started to become referred to as “The Intimidator” in the paddock. Some drivers would rather yield their position over spinning out and potentially hurting themselves in a wreck. In reaction to a newspaper article criticising him for aggressive driving, Earnhardt Sr. famously quoted, “you win some, you lose some, you wreck some”– highlighting just how much he didn’t care about how he raced, just as long as he finished in first.
Some could argue that it was Dale Earnhardt Senior’s hubris that eventually led to his death in 2001. As the HANS device had only just been introduced as an optional safety precaution in NASCAR, some drivers (including Earnhardt Sr.) chose not to use it. On the final lap of the 43rd Daytona 500, Earnhardt collided with the wall at 180mph after making contact with fellow drivers Sterling Marlin and Ken Schraeder. Earnhardt was killed instantly by a basilar skull fracture, the exact injury the HANS device was designed to prevent.
Dale Earnhardt Senior is survived by his wife Teresa, and children Dale Jr, Kerry, Taylor Nicole, and Kelley. Dale Earnhardt Jr. chose to continue his father’s legacy and continues to race in NASCAR to this day.
Now my opinion: Earnhardt was one of the greatest racers of his generation of motorsport. He was up there with others of his time such as NASCAR’s Richard “The King” Petty, Australian Super Tourer driver Peter Brock, and legendary Brazilian F1 driver Aryton Senna. Earnhardt became one of the few to rise above the many- becoming a worldwide household name while still only racing in a sport that was usually confined to only a few states in the USA. The man lived on the edge, and his recklessness eventually caught up with him. In retrospect, you’d just know that had he survived that wreck in 2001, he would have dusted himself off and gone straight back out on track to do it all again.
Noah
Writer & Editor – HellYeah
Photographer – FourWheel Media
Hell Yeah 