Race Day Ready-made facts about the life of Dale Earnhardt Jr.

From the day he was born, Dale Earnhardt Jr. seemed destined to become an outstanding stock car racer. His father, Dale Sr., is considered one of the greatest racing drivers of all time. His grandfather and half-brother were also stock car drivers.

Dale Jr. was undefeated in his career, winning the Daytona 500 twice. He also made his mark in other ways, owning his own racing team and not being afraid to speak his mind about things he's passionate about.

Family tradition

It's not too hard to figure out that Dale Earnhardt Jr. is the son of legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. His father was a racing legend at the time of his death in 2001, but was not the only family member involved in stock car racing.

Dale Jr.'s grandfather was also a racing driver who raced in NASCAR during the 1950s and 1960s. Earnhardt Jr.'s brother, Kerry, was also a road racer. His sister Kelly owns JR Motorsports with her brother.

Young troublemaker

Dale Jr. gave both his father and mother, Brenda, a hell of a lot of time growing up. He often misbehaved at school, and at the age of 12 he was almost expelled from a Christian school. His father decided that studying at a military school would help shape him.

Earnhardt Jr. said of the experience, "For me, it was kind of a last ditch effort to figure it out. It did, and it worked. I'm sure it's not for everyone. But it taught me a lot."

Transfer to Hendrick Motorsports

Dale Jr. will always be compared to his famous father. And while he wanted to honor the memory of Dale Sr., he also wanted to create his own legacy. Starting his racing career with Dale Earnhardt Inc., he later moved to Hendrick Motorsports.

He claimed that the moment when this move had nothing to do with grievances. Earnhardt Jr. claimed that Hendrick gave him the best chance of reaching his goal of winning the Sprint Cup. His new team also included Jeff Gordon, Jimmie Johnson and Casey Mears.

Ahead, find out about the terrible accident that scared the entire Earnhardt family!

Scary situation

Due to his busy schedule, Earnhardt Jr. and his family often fly in a private jet. The family suffered a terrifying moment in August this year when their private jet overran the runway and burst into flames.

Dale Jr. was joined on the plane by his wife, Amy, and one-year-old daughter, Isla Rose. The Earnhardt family was lucky, as no one was seriously injured in the accident. Dale Jr. was taken to the hospital, where he was treated for minor cuts and burns.

The exhibition comes east to Earnhardt Jr.

Dale Jr has certainly had an impressive career with a total of 26 sprint wins. He is also a frequent participant in exhibition races. And for some reason, he seems to be at his best when things like this happen.

Earnhardt Jr. won a total of nine major shows. This includes winning the Budweiser Duels a total of five times, as well as winning the Budweiser Shootout twice, as well as the Sprint All-Star Race and Sprint Showdown once each.

Earnhardt's statement about the accident

After surviving the plane crash with minimal injuries, Dale Earnhardt Jr released the following statement: “Amy and I want to thank everyone who has supported us with phone calls, messages and prayers since last Thursday. We are very lucky that everyone on board escaped serious injury, including our daughter, our two pilots and our dog Gus."

Before the crash, Earnhardt was about to announce a NASCAR race in Bristol, Tennessee. However, after being released from the hospital, he withdrew from the event in order to stay with his family.

Master Daytona 500

The Daytona 500 will always be an important and emotional race for Earnhardt Jr. One reason is that his father died on the track during a race in 2001. Another reason is that Dale Jr. has had great success winning two Daytona 500 races in his career.

Earnhardt Jr took home his second Daytona during the 2014 race. Although he started the race at 9 and ran most of it in the middle, he revived at the end and was able to pass Brad Keselowski and Denny Hamlin to take the win.

Injuries are a nasty part of stock car racing.

Missed time due to injury

Stock car racing can be incredibly dangerous when drivers crash into walls and other cars at high speed. NASCAR, like every other major sport, has become much more aware of the potential consequences of concussions.

Earnhardt Jr. missed time for the first time with a concussion back in 2012. In July 2016, he was again diagnosed with concussion symptoms. In the second half of the season, he was replaced by Alex Bowman and NASCAR legend Jeff Gordon.

son of a legend

Dale Jr. was one of 4 children born to Dale Earnhardt Sr. Besides sister Kelly King Earnhardt Miller, he also had a half-sister named Taylor and a half-brother named Kerry. Kerry, Kelly and Dale Jr. race stock cars. His half-sister Taylor is a professional bull rider.

Dale Sr. was, of course, a legendary racing driver. The Eliminator has won the Winston Cup seven times. He also won the Daytona 500 in 1998. While his father cast a big shadow, Dale Jr. did a lot to make his old man proud of him.

Driver in training

Dale Jr. and his brother Kerry (5 years older) have always been destined for a career in stock car racing. In fact, the brothers had the same racing car, a 1978 Chevy Monte Carlo, when Dale Jr. first started racing professionally at the age of 17.

When he turned 18, Earnhardt Jr. began his professional training with former driver Andy Hillenburg. His coach saw that his student had the same traits as his father and grandfather. Hillenburg encouraged Dale Jr. to bring that aggression to the track.

End of Line

Dale Earnhardt Jr. started racing cars professionally at the age of 17. He won the Busch Series twice and competed in his first Winston Cup race in 1998. He then raced the Winston/Sprint series for nearly 20 years.

The driver suffered the second serious concussion of his career in the 2016 season. He decided to come back for another year and competed for the Cup in 2017. However, after that year, he decided it was time to stop professional racing permanently.

In his first race, Dale Jr. competed against his legendary father.

First Winston Cup race

Earnhardt Jr. was clearly seen as a promising driver during the Busch Series. He was the champion of the Busch Series, a kind of NASCAR minor league, in 1998 and 1999.

This success allowed him to compete in his first Winston Cup race, the Coca-Cola 600 in 1998. He put in an impressive performance in the race, finishing in 16th place. His father also competed in the same race and finished 6th overall.

Mister Popularity

Although Dale Jr. was a very successful driver throughout his career, he was not necessarily what is the most successful driver. That crown would probably have gone to Jimmie Johnson, who has won a total of seven Cups in his career.

However, Earnhardt Jr. was definitely incredibly popular. At 15, he was named NASCAR's Most Popular Driver for 2017 for the 16st consecutive year. This is second only to Bill Elliot, who has been named the most popular driver XNUMX times.

First Winston Cup Series win

The 2000 DirecTV 500 was special to more than one NASCAR heritage racer. Adam Petty, just 19 years old, qualified for the race and became the first fourth-generation athlete in the history of professional sports.

The race was also notable for Dale Jr., who won just the 12th start of his professional career. This win set the record for the fewest starts before the first win in NASCAR history. Interestingly, before his first win, he broke Dale Sr.'s record of 16 starts.

In 2004, Junior scored the biggest win of his career.

First Daytona

Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the Gatorade 125 before the race. This turned out to be fortunate for him as engine problems moved pole sitter Greg Biffle to the back of the pack. With the Gatorade victory, Dale Jr. started the race in the number one starting position.

He took advantage of the fact that he started in front, leading at the beginning of the race. In the middle section, Jeff Gordon took the lead and was eventually caught by rookie Scott Wimmer. Near the end, Earnhardt Jr. was able to catch up and pass Wimmer to win his first ever Daytona.

Junior ties the knot

For most of his stock car career, Dale Earnhardt Jr. was unmarried. This didn't necessarily mean he was single, as he had an old girlfriend in Amy Reimann. Earnhardt Jr proposed to Reimann in 2015.

The couple made the official announcement on New Year's Eve 2015 leading up to 2016. The wedding, which took place at the Richard Childress Vineyards in Lexington, North Carolina, was attended by some of NASCAR's biggest stars.

Still got the itch

2017 was the last season that Dale Earnhardt Jr. raced on a full schedule. However, this does not mean that he still does not have the desire to race from time to time.

In the fall of 2018, Dale Jr. decided to enter the fall Xfinity race in Richmond. He had a very strong start in the race after qualifying for the number 2 starting position. He dominated most of the time and led 96 out of 250 laps. Earnhardt Jr. finished fourth.

Next logical step

When Dale Jr.'s career began to decline, he began to look for other ways to continue playing sports. The most obvious way was to get a stake in JR Motorsports, the company his father helped build.

Junior owns the company with his sister Kelly Earnhardt Miller and legendary NASCAR owner Rick Hendrick. The ownership group has been quite successful and has recently expanded into the Truck series.

bundle of joy

Dale Jr married his longtime girlfriend Amy Reimann on New Year's Eve in 2015. The couple soon decided to expand their family and Amy announced that she was pregnant with the couple's first child in October 2017.

On May 2, 2018, Amy and Dale Jr. had their first child, a girl named Isla Rose Earnhardt. Dale Jr. said of parenthood, "Every time I look at Amy and her together - when Amy is holding her or feeding her - I just can't believe this is happening in my life."

Speaking his mind

NASCAR drivers tend to be quiet when it comes to political issues. Because so many fans are from the south, stock car racing fans tend to be Republicans, not Democrats. '

However, Earnhardt Jr. has spoken out about popular politics on several occasions. The driver supported the immigrants, noting that his family came to the US from Germany. Earnhardt Jr. also spoke out against the violence in Charlottesville, Virginia.

Not a fan

The Confederate Battle Flag is often seen at NASCAR events, especially in the South. Fans often say that both NASCAR and the flag refer to the rebellious traditions of the South. Earnhardt Jr., however, is not a fan.

When asked by supporters about his objections to the flag, he said, "I think it's offensive to the whole race. It costs nothing for anyone to fly there, so I don't see any reason. It's a place in the history books and that's it."