Dale Earnhardt Sr. was born on April 29, 1951 in Kannapolis, North Carolina and sadly died at age 49 on February 18, 2001 as a result of massive head trauma from a crash on the last lap of the Daytona 500 from 2001. Dale Sr. was also known as The Intimidator but those who knew him would say otherwise. He was a philanthropist and never found the need for the media to cover his giving.

His father, Ralph Earnhardt, was one of North Carolina’s best-known short-track drivers. He didn’t encourage his son’s ambition to race cars much, and even when he dropped out of high school to race, Ralph was hard on his son. Ralph taught his son everything he knew and set the stage for him to become the driver he became. His father realized that his driving ability came naturally, and as such, she made his son view his mistakes with as open a mind as possible. Earnhardt Sr. appreciated everything his father did for him and greatly missed his presence when he died of a heart attack in 1973.

Although Sr. began racing professionally at age 23, he ran his first race at the Metolina Fairgrounds in Charlotte in the 1970 season, where he finished in 10th place. In 1971, he finally won his first race, which would net him 26 more wins while he was still racing at Metolina and Concord Motor Speedway. After leaving school, he worked at various places such as for an insulation company and was also a welder and also did brake work. Dale’s decision to compete in a race came after the death of his father. He bought a blacktop car when he was still racing Metrolina. Although money was tight, Earnhardt Sr. always found a way to get through it.

He began his Winston Cup career in 1975. In 1978, things picked up when he met Teresa Houston, who helped pave the way for Dale to success in NASCAR. Once out of his rookie season, he began the season with a win in the Busch Clash. He became the first and only driver to date to win Rookie of the Year and then win the NASCAR Winston Cup Championship. He eventually raced for Richard Childress Racing in 1981 and then teamed up with Bud Moore for the 1982 and 1983 seasons. After that, he returned to Richard Childress Racing and in that time went on to win 6 times at Talladega, Atlanta, Richmond, Bristol and Martinsville.

He went on to carve NASCAR history over the next two decades. It talks about the greatest things that could have been accomplished had Earnhardt Sr. survived the fatal crash that took a NASCAR legend. His number 3 car was retired by his team owner, who vowed not to allow another car from his team to be similarly styled. Although he was loved and hated in NASCAR, he has remained one of the most popular drivers in the sport. Dale made sure his private life was kept private. When he wasn’t on the tracks, he was with his family, hunting, fishing, working on his farm and known as generous among his friends. In 2004, his life story was made into a TV movie, titled “3: The Dale Earnhardt Story” and in 2007, a documentary-style film was released in theaters. Even in death, many still remember the great things Dale Sr. accomplished and tributes in song, film and book have been dedicated to the passing of NASCAR’s brightest star.