Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Biography

1998 - 1999
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2008 - Present
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Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Biography

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a third-generation driver in a family forever connected to the sport of stock-car racing, and while his innate ability behind the wheel comes from Earnhardt DNA, his competitive driving style and keen business sense are all his own. His flare for originality and common-sense charisma has helped propel him to one of the most popular figures in sports. Race fans have selected him five times as the winner of NASCAR's Most Popular Driver award, joining Richard Petty and Bill Elliott as the only drivers to win it five consecutive seasons since 1956. His appeal is not limited to race fans, as he has appeared numerously on Harris Interactive's annual polling of America's Top 10 Favorite Athletes, frequenting lists with such names as Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods, Brett Favre, and Derek Jeter.

The 2008 season marks Dale Jr.'s ninth in NASCAR Sprint Cup Series competition. Through 2007, the 32-year-old native of Kannapolis, N.C., has amassed more than $46 million in career winnings and 17 victories, including the 2004 Daytona 500. His 17 victories rank him 39th on NASCAR's all-time race winners list. He also has four "non-points" or all-star wins, and seven pole positions.

Dale Jr. is the only third-generation NASCAR champion, achieved when he won the 1998 and 1999 Nationwide Series titles. He follows his legendary father, Dale Earnhardt, a seven-time Cup champion and winner of 76 races. His grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, was the 1956 NASCAR Sportsman champion, and in 2007 was posthumously inducted into the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame. Both his father and grandfather were selected among NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers of all time in 1999. All together, the three Earnhardts account for 10 NASCAR championships.

Until 2008, Dale Jr.'s career as a full-time driver was solely within the confines of the family-owned business, Dale Earnhardt Inc., in which he accumulated 39 victories in the Nationwide and Sprint Cup Series from 1998-2007. But the 2008 season marked one of significant change, as Earnhardt made the boldest decision of his young career by signing with renowned team owner Rick Hendrick to drive the No. 88 Chevrolets for Hendrick Motorsports. High-powered sponsorship deals soon followed, as Pepsi-Cola's Mountain Dew AMP brand and the Army National Guard agreed to a co-primary sponsorship with Hendrick Motorsports to partner with Dale Jr. and the No. 88 team.

With a successful driving career in motion, Dale Jr.'s role as team owner and businessman has enjoyed its own ascent. In 2002, JR Motorsports consisted of only six employees and a street-stock Camaro raced at the local short tracks. Today it encompasses a full stable of cars that compete in the NASCAR Nationwide Series and local weekly late model divisions. More than 100 employees now call JR Motorsports home. In July 2007, Dale Jr. announced a partnership deal with Hendrick Motorsports that will campaign two full-time NASCAR Nationwide race teams -- the Nos. 5 and 88 Chevrolets -- under the JRM banner with Hendrick Motorsports engines, chassis and vehicle engineering support.

Dale Jr.'s first turn at ownership began with Chance 2, a team started in 2002 and jointly operated with Dale Earnhardt Inc. With that team, Dale Jr. was co-owner of the 2004 and 2005 Nationwide Series championship teams with driver Martin Truex Jr. Truex's accomplishments mirrored those of Dale Jr., who dominated the 1998 and 1999 Nationwide Series seasons, winning two championships, 13 races and more than $3 million. As a driver, he has an additional nine Nationwide Series victories in 25 starts since 1999, and his 22 total victories tie him for fifth on the all-time Nationwide Series win list. Fans and media selected him as one of the top-three Nationwide Series drivers of all-time in a 2006 NASCAR poll.

From magazines to television, Dale Jr. garners worldwide attention. He has appeared on more than 150 magazine covers and has been featured in high-profile publications such as Rolling Stone, GQ, Men’s Journal, Sports Illustrated, People magazine and TV Guide. He has been a guest on "60 Minutes," "The Late Show with David Letterman," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Late Night with Conan O’Brien," "The Today Show," "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart," "The Jimmy Kimmel Show," "Good Morning America," "Live with Regis and Kelly," and "Larry King Live."

In its May 2004 issue, RACER magazine called Dale Jr. the most influential person in motor sports. The Charlotte (N.C.) Observer backed that up in 2007 by listing him among the top-10 most powerful people in NASCAR. In recent polls and surveys, he received a top-five "Q" rating among all athletes, and rated among the top-five athletes in corporate endorsements by Forbes magazine.

With crossover appeal unmatched by any other athlete, his eclectic taste in music is reflected in the diverse list of artists that have featured him in their music videos, including Jay-Z, Staind, Sheryl Crow, Three Doors Down, Trace Adkins, O.A.R., the Matthew Good Band and Nickelback. He has played cameo roles in major motion pictures "Talladega Nights" and "Cars," and was the subject of an episode of MTV’s "Diary" and VH-1’s "Driven." In 2001 he added best-selling author to his résumé with "Driver 8," a documentation of his rookie season in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. The book landed on the New York Times best-seller list for 17 weeks, and online retailer Amazon.com named "Driver 8" the top-selling sports book of the year.

With fellow NASCAR driver Ken Schrader, Dale Jr. is part-owner of a dirt track in Paducah, Ky., and a new multi-purpose motor sports complex being developed near Mobile, Ala.

He enjoys hanging out at home and working on his ever-growing collection of street cars and race cars. His hobbies include music, computers and computer gaming. He has a small golf course, go-kart track and a vintage Western-style town on his property near Mooresville, N.C.

Biography Courtesy of Hendrick Motorsports

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