Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Biography

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Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Biography

Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. was born on October 10th, 1974 in Kannapolis, North Carolina to Brenda Lorraine Gee Earnhardt and Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. Dale Jr's older sister Kelley, was born in 1972. He has one older brother, Kerry, from his father's first marriage and one younger sister, Taylor Nicole, from his father's third marriage to wife Teresa. Dale Jr's Grandfather is the dirt track racing legend Ralph Earnhardt, he was selected among NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers of all-time in 1999. His maternal Grandfather, Robert Gee, was a renowned NASCAR fabricator and mechanic. In 1973, Ralph tragically died of heart failure in his own garage while working on his race car. Robert Gee passed away in 1994.

The Earnhardt family lived poorly in assorted apartments and trailers, they rode around in old fixer-upper cars and at times would barely scrape by to pay the bills. Dale Sr. worked hard to support his family by working at Punch Whitaker's wheel alignment shop on Route 9, he also worked as a welder for the Great Dane Trucking Company. He picked up a used race car and drove in local races as part of the old Sportsman division which later became the Busch Series, now named the Nationwide Series.

In 1975 Dale Sr. was offered a ride in Ed Negre's number 8 Dodge for the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway, he finished 22nd. In 1979 Rod Osterland hired Earnhardt to drive his number 2 Buick (also raced a Monte Carlo), he won his first race in his seventh start at Bristol, he went on to win 1979's Rookie of the Year, the following season he won his first of seven NASCAR championships. Because of his hard charging driving style, Dale Earnhardt Sr. would eventually earn his nickname, the "Intimidator."

Dale Sr's racing career was beginning to take off, but his marriage with Brenda would soon come to an end, in 1977 the parents separated. Dale Jr. now 4 and his older sister Kelley 6 went to live with their mother, Brenda. Kelley says, "we lived with our mom, who worked really hard (third shift). I was cooking food, taking care of Dale, doing whatever while Mom was trying to provide a house for us.

A few years later, fire destroyed their house, times were hard and Brenda lacked the resources to care for her children. Dale Jr. and Kelley went to live with Dale Sr. and his new wife, Teresa. Brenda Jackson remarried and moved away to Norfolk, Virginia. She remained in her children's lives. "I've always been in constant touch with them, and I've made many, many trips down (Interstate) 85," she said, "sometimes back and forth in a day." "We've always stayed very close."

In 1980 Dale Earnhardt Inc. (D.E.I.) was founded, a company Dale Sr. envisioned passing on to his four children. Dale Sr. was on the NASCAR curcuit racing most weekends as he continued to build his career, his wife Teresa Earnhardt, was on the road as well. During this time Dale Jr's father wasn't home much, the times that he was, he was preoccupied with racing and the new company. When Dale Sr and Teresa were away, the children were shuffled around to various nannies or relatives, Kelley always being there to watch over her younger brother.

Kelley and Dale Jr. formed a bond that exists to this day. "We didn't have close, strong relationships with our dad and Teresa, and being peddled around nanny to nanny or relative," says Kelley, "That wasn't a bad situation, but it just didn't allow us to be nurtured by a consistent face and voice and relationship." "We were always the two constants, and time with our dad was very rare then, and so I think that, too, played a role in our closeness and just the way we are now."

As a youngster Dale Jr. was attending a private Christian grade school, he was more interested in goofing off than growing up, one day he was asked to leave the school, "not for anything serious," says Jr, "a couple of fights, talking in class, sleeping in class." His dad and step mom decided to send him to the Oak Ridge Military Academy for a lesson in discipline, he was in the seventh grade. Kelley chose to go, too, making sure Dale Jr. felt safe in his new surroundings. Dale Jr says, "When I went she went with me because she was worried about me. Nobody goes to military school willingly."

Dale Jr. did learn from the experience, he says, "I was ten times the person after that experience. Good and bad, it made me smarter, stronger and less likely to get my (butt) kicked." Two years later Dale and his sister returned to the public Mooresville High School, though it would seem that because of who his daddy was, Dale Jr. would have been popular in high school, that wasn’t how it was. He hung out with a small group of friends who pretty much hung tight and away from the so called "in crowd", Jr. says, "It wasn't cool to be Dale Earnhardt's son."

In 1991 Dale graduated, then he took a two-year course in automotives at Mitchell Community College in Statesville, North Carolina. After earning an associate degree in automotive technology he went to work as a mechanic at his father's dealership, Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet, where he gained a reputation for his quick oil changes, he earned a little over $15,000 a year. "That was a job I liked, working with friends in the shop. We'd go to the same place for lunch every day and party at night." Jr. says, "This went on a few years."

For a time, Kerry and Dale Jr. shared a home on the Earnhardt farm, Dale Jr. says, "I'd have parties in the doublewide trailer I lived in, and we'd get (real) rowdy we'd break the doors off. You would tackle a guy and push him through a door for the hell of it. I'd have to go buy new hinges and put my doors back on." Always looking out for her younger brother, Kelley would stop by to check on Dale Jr. and made sure he had his bills paid.

Early Career

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