Ralph Dale Earnhardt^[2] (/ˈɜːrnhɑːrt/; April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001) was an American professionalstock car driver and racing team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called theNASCAR Cup Series), most notably driving the No. 3Chevrolet forRichard Childress Racing.^[3] His aggressive driving style earned him the nicknames "the Intimidator", "the Man in Black" and "Ironhead"; after his sonDale Earnhardt Jr. joined the Cup Series circuit in 1999, Earnhardt was generally known by the retronymsDale Earnhardt Sr. andDale Sr. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest drivers inNASCAR history and was named as one of theNASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers class in 1998.^[4][5]

Dale Earnhardt
Earnhardt atPhoenix International Raceway before the start of the1997 Dura Lube 500
Born	(1951-04-29)April 29, 1951 Kannapolis, North Carolina, U.S.
Died	February 18, 2001(2001-02-18) (aged 49) Daytona Beach, Florida, U.S.[1]
Cause of death	Basilar skull fracture sustained from 2001 Daytona 500 crash
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Achievements	1980,1986,1987,1990,1991,1993,1994 Winston Cup SeriesChampion Tied withRichard Petty andJimmie Johnson for mostNASCAR Cup Series Championships (7) 1990,1995,1999,2000IROC Champion 1998 Daytona 500 winner as driver 2001 Daytona 500 winner as owner[a] 1995Brickyard 400 winner 1987, 1989, 1990Southern 500 winner 1986,1992, 1993Coca-Cola 600 winner 1990, 1994, 1999,2000 Winston 500 winner The Winston winner (1987,1990,1993) LedWinston Cup Series in wins in1987 and1990 LedWinston Cup Series in poles in1990 Winner of the first everBudweiser Late Model Sportsman Series race in 1982
Awards	1979 Winston Cup SeriesRookie of the Year Named one ofNASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998) 2001 Winston Cup SeriesMost Popular Driver (posthumously) Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee (2002) International Motorsports Hall of Fame Inductee (2006) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2010 - Inaugural Class) Named one ofNASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023)
NASCARCup Series career
676 races run over 27 years
2001 position	57th
Best finish	1st (1980,1986,1987,1990,1991,1993,1994)
First race	1975 World 600 (Charlotte)
Last race	2001 Daytona 500 (Daytona)
First win	1979 Southeastern 500 (Bristol)
Last win	2000 Winston 500 (Talladega)
Wins Top tens Poles 76 428 22
NASCARXfinity Series career
136 races run over 13 years
Best finish	21st (1982)
First race	1982Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last race	1994All Pro 300 (Charlotte)
First win	1982Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Last win	1994Goody's 300 (Daytona)
Wins Top tens Poles 21 75 7
Signature

The third child of racing driverRalph Earnhardt and Martha Earnhardt, he began his career in 1975 in theWorld 600. Earnhardt won a total of 76 Winston Cup races over the course of his 26-year career, including crown jewel victories in fourWinston 500s (1990, 1994, 1999, and2000), threeCola-Cola 600s (1986, 1992, and 1993), threeSouthern 500s (1987, 1989, and 1990), theBrickyard 400 in 1995, and the1998Daytona 500. Along with his 76 career points wins, he has also won 24 non-points exhibition events, bringing his overall Winston Cup win total to 100, one of only four drivers in NASCAR history to do so. He is the only driver in NASCAR history to score at least one win in four different and consecutive decades (scoring his first career win in 1979, 38 wins in the 1980s, 35 wins in the 1990s, & scoring his final two career wins in 2000). He also earned seven Winston Cup championships, a record held withRichard Petty andJimmie Johnson.

On February 18, 2001, Earnhardtdied as a result of abasilar skull fracture sustained in a sudden last-lap crash during theDaytona 500. His death was regarded in the racing industry as being a crucial moment in improving safety in all aspects of car racing, especially NASCAR. He was 49 years old.^[1][6] Earnhardt has been inducted into numerous halls of fame, including theNASCAR Hall of Fame inaugural class in 2010.^[7]

Ralph Dale Earnhardt was born on April 29, 1951, in the suburb ofKannapolis, North Carolina, as the third child of Martha (née Coleman, 1930–2021) andRalph Earnhardt (1928–1973). Earnhardt's father was one of the best short-track drivers in North Carolina at the time and won his first and only NASCAR Sportsman Championship in 1956 atGreenville Pickens Speedway inGreenville, South Carolina. In 1963 at the age of 12, Dale Earnhardt secretly drove his father's car in one of his races and had a near victory against one of his father's closest competitors.^{[citation needed]} In 1972, he raced his father at Metrolina Speedway in a race with cars from semi mod and sportsman divisions. Although Ralph did not want his son to pursue a career as a race car driver, Dale dropped out of school to pursue his dreams. Ralph was a hard teacher for Dale, and after Ralph suddenly died of aheart attack at his home in 1973 at age 45, it took many years before Dale felt as though he had finally "proven" himself to his father. Earnhardt had four siblings: two brothers, Danny (died 2021) and Randy (died 2013);^[8] and two sisters, Cathy and Kaye.

Earnhardt was married three times. In 1968, at the age of 17, Earnhardt married his first wife, Latane Brown. With her, Earnhardt fathered his first son,Kerry, a year later. Earnhardt and Brown divorced in 1970. In 1971, Earnhardt married his second wife, Brenda Gee, the daughter of NASCAR car builder Robert Gee. In his marriage with Gee, Earnhardt had two children: a daughter,Kelley King Earnhardt, in 1972, and a son,Dale Earnhardt Jr., in 1974. Not long after Dale Jr. was born, Earnhardt and Gee divorced. Earnhardt then married his third wife,Teresa Houston, in 1982. She gave birth to their daughter, Taylor Nicole Earnhardt, in 1988.^[9]

Earnhardt began his professional career in the NASCARWinston Cup Series in 1975, making his points race debut atCharlotte Motor Speedway in North Carolina in the longest race on the Cup circuit—the1975 World 600. He had made his Grand National debut in 1974 in an unofficial invitational exhibition race atMetrolina Speedway, where with eight laps to go he got underRichard Childress and spun out when battling for third.^[10] He drove the No. 8Ed NegreDodge Charger and finished 22nd in that race, just one spot ahead of his future car owner,Richard Childress. Earnhardt competed in eight more races until 1979.

When he joined car ownerRod Osterlund Racing in a season that included a rookie class of future stars including Earnhardt,Harry Gant, andTerry Labonte in his rookie season, Earnhardt won one race atBristol, captured four poles, scored eleven Top 5s and seventeen Top 10s, and finished seventh in the points standings despite missing four races due to a broken collarbone, winningRookie of the Year honors.^[11]

During his sophomore season, Earnhardt, now with 20-year-oldDoug Richert as his crew chief, began the season winning theBusch Clash. With wins atAtlanta, Bristol,Nashville,Martinsville, and Charlotte, Earnhardt won his firstWinston Cup points championship. He is the only driver in NASCAR Cup history to follow a Rookie of the Year title with a NASCAR Winston Cup Championship the next season. He was also the third driver in NASCAR history to win both the Rookie of the Year and Winston Cup Series championship, followingDavid Pearson (1960, 1966) and Richard Petty (1959, 1964). Ten drivers have since joined this exclusive club:Rusty Wallace (1984, 1989),Alan Kulwicki (1986, 1992),Jeff Gordon (1993, 1995),Tony Stewart (1999, 2002),Matt Kenseth (2000, 2003),Kevin Harvick (2001, 2014),Kyle Busch (2005, 2015),Joey Logano (2009, 2018, 2022, 2024),Chase Elliott (2016, 2020), andKyle Larson (2014, 2021).

1981 would prove to be tumultuous for the defending Winston Cup champion. Sixteen races into the season,Rod Osterlund suddenly sold his team toJim Stacy, an entrepreneur fromKentucky who enteredNASCAR in 1977. After just four races, Earnhardt fell out with Stacy and left the team. Earnhardt finished out the year drivingPontiacs forRichard Childress Racing and managed to place seventh in the final points standings. Earnhardt departed RCR at the end of the season, citing a lack of chemistry.

Earnhardt was also a color commentator for theBusch Clash, while he also drove on that same day.

The following year, atChildress's suggestion, Earnhardt joined car ownerBud Moore for the 1982 and 1983 seasons driving the No. 15Wrangler Jeans-sponsoredFord Thunderbird (the only full-time Ford ride in his career). During the 1982 season, Earnhardt struggled. Although he won atDarlington, he failed to finish 18 of the 30 races and ended the season 12th in points, the worst of his career. He also suffered a broken kneecap atPocono Raceway when he flipped after contact withTim Richmond. In 1983, Earnhardt rebounded and won his first of 12Twin 125Daytona 500 qualifying races. He won at Nashville and atTalladega, finishing eighth in the points standings, despite failing to finish 13 of the 30 races.

After the 1983 season, Earnhardt returned toRichard Childress Racing, replacingRicky Rudd in the No. 3. Rudd went to Bud Moore's No. 15, replacing Earnhardt. Wrangler sponsored both drivers at their respective teams. During the 1984 and 1985 seasons, Earnhardt went to victory lane six times, at Talladega, Atlanta,Richmond, Bristol (twice), and Martinsville, where he finished fourth and eighth in the season standings respectively.

The 1986 season saw Earnhardt win his second career Winston Cup Championship and the first owner's championship for Richard Childress Racing. He won five races and had 16 top-fives and 23 top-10s. Earnhardt successfully defended his championship the following year, going to victory lane 11 times and winning the championship by 489 points overBill Elliott. In the process, Earnhardt set a NASCAR modern-era record of four consecutive wins and won five of the first seven races. In the 1987 season, he earned the nickname "the Intimidator", due in part to the1987 Winston All-Star Race. During this race, Earnhardt was briefly forced into the infield grass but kept control of his car and returned to the track without giving up his lead. The maneuver is now referred to as the "Pass in the Grass", even though Earnhardt did not pass anyone while he was off the track. After The Winston, an angry fan sentBill France Jr. a letter threatening to kill Earnhardt atPocono,Watkins Glen, orDover, prompting theFBI to provide security for Earnhardt on the three tracks. The investigation was closed after the races at the three tracks finished without incident.^[12] Many of Earnhardt's competitors on the racetrack disliked his personal driving style. Earnhardt's relentless pursuit of victory on the racetrack combined with his uniquely offensive driving ability led to many rivalries with fellow drivers and fines levied byNASCAR. In 1987,NASCAR began to implement a measure that was designed to incentivize less aggressive driving styles by forcing drivers who cause these undesired hazardous racing conditions to be subjected to time at the garage region during the race.^[13]

The 1988 season saw Earnhardt racing with a new sponsor,GM Goodwrench, afterWrangler Jeans dropped its sponsorship in 1987. During this season, he changed the color of his paint scheme fromblue andyellow to the signatureblack in which the No. 3 car was painted for the rest of his life. He won three races in 1988, finishing third in the points standings behind Bill Elliott in first and Rusty Wallace in second. The following year, Earnhardt won five races, but a late spin out atNorth Wilkesboro arguably cost him the 1989 championship, asRusty Wallace edged him out for it by 12 points (Earnhardt won thefinal race, but Wallace finished 15th when needing to finish at least 18th to win). It was his first season for theGM GoodwrenchChevrolet Lumina.

The 1990 season started for Earnhardt with victories in theBusch Clash and his heat of theGatorade Twin 125's. Near the end of theDaytona 500, he had a dominant forty-second lead when the final caution flag came out with a handful of laps to go. When the green flag waved, Earnhardt was leadingDerrike Cope. On the final lap, Earnhardt ran over a piece of metal, which was later revealed as abell housing, in turn 3, cutting down a tire. Cope, in an upset, won the race while Earnhardt finished fifth after leading 155 of the 200 laps. The No. 3 Goodwrench-sponsored Chevy team took the flat tire that cost them the win and hung it on the shop wall as a reminder of how close they had come to winning the Daytona 500.^[14] Earnhardt won nine races that season and won his fourth Winston Cup title, beatingMark Martin by 26 points. He also became the first multiple winner of the annual all-star race,The Winston. The 1991 season saw Earnhardt win his fifth Winston Cup championship. This season, he scored four wins and won the championship by 195 points overRicky Rudd. One of his wins came atNorth Wilkesboro, in a race whereHarry Gant had a chance to set a single-season record by winning his fifth consecutive race, breaking a record held by Earnhardt. Late in the race, Gant lost his brakes, which gave Earnhardt the chance he needed to make the pass for the win and maintain his record.

Earnhardt's only win of the 1992 season came at Charlotte, in theCoca-Cola 600, ending a 13-race win streak by Ford teams. Earnhardt finished a career-low 12th in the points for the second time in his career, with three last place finishes (Daytona and Talladega in July and Martinsville in September),^[15] and the only time he had finished that low since joining Richard Childress Racing. He still made the trip to the annual Awards Banquet with Rusty Wallace but did not have the best seat in the house. Wallace stated he and Earnhardt had to sit on the backs of their chairs to see, and Earnhardt said, "This sucks, I should have gone hunting."^[16] At the end of the year, longtime crew chiefKirk Shelmerdine left to become a driver.Andy Petree took over as crew chief. Hiring Petree turned out to be beneficial, as Earnhardt returned to the front in 1993. He once again came close to a win at the Daytona 500 and dominatedSpeedweeks before finishing second toDale Jarrett on a last-lap pass. Earnhardt scored six wins en route to his sixth Winston Cup title, including wins in the first prime-time Coca-Cola 600 andThe Winston, both at Charlotte, and thePepsi 400 at Daytona. He beat Rusty Wallace for the championship by 80 points. On November 14, 1993, after the season-ending Hooters 500 at Atlanta, the race winner Wallace and 1993 series champion Earnhardt ran a dualPolish Victory Lap together while carrying #28 and #7 flags commemorating1992 Daytona 500 winnerDavey Allison and1992 NASCAR Winston Cup Series championAlan Kulwicki respectively, who both had died in separate plane accidents during the season.

In 1994, Earnhardt achieved a feat that he himself had believed to be impossible—he scored his seventh Winston Cup championship, tyingRichard Petty. He was very consistent, scoring four wins, and afterErnie Irvan was sidelined due to a near-deadly crash at Michigan (the two were neck-and-neck at the top of the points up until the crash), won the title by over 400 points over Mark Martin. Earnhardt sealed the deal at Rockingham by winning the race overRick Mast. It was his final NASCAR championship and his final season for theGM GoodwrenchChevrolet Lumina. Earnhardt started off the 1995 season by finishing second in the Daytona 500 toSterling Marlin. He won five races in 1995, including his firstroad course victory atSears Point. He also won theBrickyard 400 atIndianapolis Motor Speedway, a win he called the biggest of his career. But in the end, Earnhardt lost the championship toJeff Gordon by 34 points. TheGM Goodwrench racing team changed toChevrolet Monte Carlos.

Earnhardt almost was ready to leave the #3 at the end of the 1995 season, according to his former crew chiefLarry McReynolds. At the time, McReynolds was the crew chief for the #28HavolineFord Thunderbird atRobert Yates Racing.^[17] Earnhardt had actually been approached by Yates to drive the #28 for the 1995 season in place ofErnie Irvan, who was injured in a crash during the 1994 season. Instead, Robert Yates signedDale Jarrett to a one-year deal to drive the #28. During the 1995 season, Yates was being pressed by his manufacturer to start a second team and sent a contract to Earnhardt to drive it.^[18] Earnhardt never returned the contract, and according to McReynolds the reason he did not sign was because he only wanted to drive the #28 for Yates; the team fully intended to put Irvan back behind the wheel of his old car once he was able to resume driving. Instead, Earnhardt stayed with RCR and the #3, while Jarrett was signed to drive Yates' new car, numbered 88.

1996 for Earnhardt started just like it had done in 1993—he dominated Speedweeks, only to finish second in theDaytona 500 toDale Jarrett for the second time. He won early in the year, scoring consecutive victories atRockingham and Atlanta. On July 28 in theDieHard 500 at Talladega, he was second in points and looking for his eighth season title, despite the departure of crew chief Andy Petree. Late in the race,Ernie Irvan lost control of his No. 28Havoline-sponsored Ford Thunderbird, made contact with the No. 4 Kodak-sponsored Chevy Monte Carlo ofSterling Marlin, and ignited a crash that saw Earnhardt's No. 3 Chevrolet hit the tri-oval wall nearly head-on at almost 200 mph. After hitting the wall, Earnhardt's car flipped and slid across the track, in front of race traffic. His car was hit in the roof and windshield. This accident, as well as a similar accident that led to the death ofRussell Phillips at Charlotte, led NASCAR to mandate the "Earnhardt Bar", a metal brace located in the center of the windshield that reinforces the roof in case of a similar crash. This bar is also required in NASCAR-ownedUnited SportsCar Racing and its predecessors for road racing.

Rain delays had canceled the live telecast of the race, and most fans first learned of the accident during the night's sports newscasts. Video of the crash showed what appeared to be a fatal incident, but once medical workers arrived at the car, Earnhardt climbed out and waved to the crowd, refusing to be loaded onto a stretcher despite a broken collarbone, sternum, and shoulder blade. Although the incident looked like it would end his season early, Earnhardt refused to stay out of the car. The next week at Indianapolis, he started the race but exited the car on the first pit stop, allowingMike Skinner to take the wheel. When asked, Earnhardt said that vacating the No. 3 car was the hardest thing he had ever done. The following weekend atWatkins Glen, he drove the No. 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet to the fastest time in qualifying, earning the "True Grit" pole. T-shirts emblazoned with Earnhardt's face were quickly printed up, brandishing the caption, "It Hurt So Good". Earnhardt led for most of the race and looked to have victory in hand, but fatigue took its toll and he ended up sixth behind race winnerGeoff Bodine. Earnhardt did not win again in 1996 but still finished fourth in the standings behindTerry Labonte,Jeff Gordon, andDale Jarrett, with 2 wins, 13 top fives, 17 top tens, and his last 2 career poles, with an average finish of 10.6. David Smith departed as crew chief of the No. 3 team and RCR at the end of the year for personal reasons, and he was replaced byLarry McReynolds.

In 1997, Earnhardt went winless for only the second time in his career. The only (non-points) win came during Speedweeks at Daytona in the Twin 125-mile qualifying race, his record eighth-straight win in the event. Once again in the hunt for the Daytona 500 with 10 laps to go, Earnhardt was taken out of contention by a late crash which sent his car upside down on the backstretch. He hit the low point of his year when he blacked out early in theMountain Dew Southern 500 atDarlington in September, causing him to hit the wall. Afterward, he was disoriented, and it took several laps before he could find his pit stall. When asked, Earnhardt complained of double vision which made it difficult to pit.Mike Dillon (Richard Childress's son-in-law) was brought in to relieve Earnhardt for the remainder of the race. Earnhardt was evaluated at a local hospital and cleared to race the next week, but the cause of the blackout and double vision was never determined. Despite no wins, Earnhardt finished the season fifth in the final standings with 7 top fives and 16 top tens, with an average finish of 12.1.

On February 15, 1998, Earnhardt finally won theDaytona 500 in his 20th attempt after failing to win in his previous 19 attempts.^[19] He began the season by winning his Twin 125-mile qualifier race for the ninth straight year, and the week before was the first to drive around the track under the newly installed lights, for coincidentally 20 laps. On race day, he showed himself to be a contender early. Halfway through the race, however, it seemed thatJeff Gordon had the upper hand. But by lap 138, Earnhardt had taken the lead and thanks to a push by teammateMike Skinner, he maintained it. Earnhardt made it to the caution-checkered flag beforeBobby Labonte. Afterwards, there was a large show of respect for Earnhardt, in which every crew member of every team linedpit road to shake his hand as he made his way tovictory lane. Earnhardt then drove his No. 3 into the infield grass, starting a trend of post-race celebrations. He spun the car twice, throwing grass and leaving tire tracks in the shape of a No. 3 in the grass. He then spoke about the victory, saying, "I have had a lot of great fans and people behind me all through the years and I just can't thank them enough. The Daytona 500 is ours. We won it, we won it, we won it!" The rest of the season did not go as well, and the Daytona 500 was his only victory that year. Despite that, he did almost pull off a Daytona sweep, where he was one of the contenders for the win in the first nighttime Pepsi 400, but a pit stop late in the race in which a rogue tire cost him the race win. He slipped to 12th in the point standings halfway through the season, and Richard Childress decided to make a crew chief change, takingMike Skinner's crew chiefKevin Hamlin and putting him with Earnhardt while giving SkinnerLarry McReynolds (Earnhardt's crew chief). Earnhardt finished the 1998 season eighth in the final points standings, with 1 win, 5 top fives, and 13 top tens, with an average finish of 16.2.

Before the 1999 season, fans began discussing Earnhardt's age and speculating that with his son,Dale Jr., making his Winston Cup debut, Earnhardt might be contemplating retirement. Earnhardt swept both races for the year at Talladega, leading some to conclude that his talent had become limited to the restrictor plate tracks, which require a unique skill set and an exceptionally powerful racecar to win. But halfway through the year, Earnhardt began to show some of the old spark. In the August race atMichigan, he led laps late in the race and nearly pulled off his first win on a non-restrictor-plate track since 1996. One week later, he provided NASCAR with one of its most controversial moments. At theBristol night race, Earnhardt found himself in contention to win his first short track race since Martinsville in 1995. When a caution came out with 15 laps to go, leader Terry Labonte got hit from behind by the lapped car ofDarrell Waltrip. His spin put Earnhardt in the lead with five cars between him and Labonte with five laps to go. Labonte had four fresh tires, and Earnhardt was driving on old tires, which made Earnhardt's car considerably slower. Labonte caught Earnhardt and passed him coming to thewhite flag, but Earnhardt drove hard into turn two, bumping Labonte and spinning him around. Earnhardt collected the win while spectators booed and made obscene gestures. "I didn't mean to turn him around, I just wanted to rattle his cage," Earnhardt said of the incident. He finished seventh in the standings that year, with 3 wins, 7 top fives, and 21 top tens, with an average finish of 12.0.

In the 2000 season, Earnhardt had a resurgence, which was commonly attributed to neck surgery he underwent to correct a lingering injury from his 1996 Talladega crash. He scored what were considered the two most exciting wins of the year—winning by 0.010 seconds overBobby Labonte at Atlanta, then gaining seventeen positions in the final four laps to win at Talladega, claiming his onlyNo Bull million-dollar bonus along with his record 10th win at the track. Earnhardt also had second-place runs at Richmond and Martinsville, tracks where he had struggled through the late 1990s. On the strength of those performances, Earnhardt got to second in the standings. However, poor performances at the road course of Watkins Glen, where he wrecked coming out of thechicane, a wreck withKenny Irwin Jr. while leading the spring race at Bristol, and mid-pack runs at intermediate tracks like Charlotte and Dover in a season dominated by theFord Taurus in those tracks fromRoush,Yates, andPenske, coupled with Bobby Labonte's extreme consistency, denied Earnhardt an eighth championship title. Earnhardt finished 2000 with two wins, 13 top fives, 24 top tens, an average finish of 9.4, and was the only driver besides Labonte to finish the season with zero DNF's.

During theDaytona 500 atDaytona International Speedway on February 18, 2001, Earnhardt was killed in a three-car crash on the final lap of the race. He collided withKen Schrader after making small contact withSterling Marlin and hit the outside wall head-on. He had been blocking Schrader on the outside and Marlin on the inside at the time of the crash. Earnhardt's and Schrader's cars both slid off the track's asphalt banking into the infield grass just inside of turn 4. Seconds later, his driverMichael Waltrip won the race, with Waltrip's teammate and Earnhardt's sonDale Earnhardt Jr. finishing second.^[20][21] Earnhardt was pronounced dead at theHalifax Medical Center at 5:16 pmEastern Standard Time (22:16UTC); he was 49 years old.NASCAR presidentMike Helton confirmed Earnhardt's death in a statement to the press.^[22] An autopsy conducted on February 19, 2001, concluded that Earnhardt sustained a fatalbasilar skull fracture.^[23] Four days later, on February 22, public funeral services for Earnhardt were held at theCalvary Church inCharlotte, North Carolina.^[24][25][26]

Several press conferences were held in the days following Earnhardt's death. After driver Sterling Marlin and his relatives received hate mail and death threats from angry fans, Waltrip and Earnhardt Jr. absolved him of any responsibility.

TheDaytona Beach Police Department and NASCAR opened two investigations about the crash; nearly every detail of the crash was made public. The allegations of seatbelt failure resulted inBill Simpson's resignation from the company bearing his name, which manufactured the seatbelts used in Earnhardt's car and nearly every other NASCAR driver's car.^[27] In October 2001, NASCAR mandated drivers from its three national series to use theHANS device, which Earnhardt had refused to wear after finding it restrictive and uncomfortable.^[28]

Team owner Richard Childress made a public pledge that the number 3 would never again adorn the side of a black race car with a GM Goodwrench sponsorship, and the car was re-numbered as the #29. Childress's second-year Busch Series driverKevin Harvick was named as Earnhardt's replacement, beginning with the2001 Dura Lube 400 atNorth Carolina Speedway. Special pennants bearing the No. 3 were distributed to everyone at the track to honor Earnhardt, and the Childress team wore blank uniforms out of respect, something which disappeared quickly and was soon replaced by the previous GM Goodwrench Service Plus uniforms.

Harvick's car always displayed the Earnhardt stylized number 3 on the "B" posts (metal portion on each side of the car to the rear of the front windows) above the number 29 until the end of 2013, when he departed forStewart-Haas Racing. The number 3 returned for the2014 season, this time not sponsored by GM Goodwrench (which was rebrandedGM Certified Service in 2011), driven by Childress's grandsonAustin Dillon.

Fans began honoring Earnhardt by holding three fingers aloft on the third lap of every race, a black screen of No. 3 in the beginning ofNASCAR Thunder 2002 before theEA Sports logo, and the television coverage ofNASCAR on Fox andNASCAR on NBC went silent for each third lap from Rockingham to the following year's race there in honor of Earnhardt, unless on-track incidents brought out the caution flag on the third lap. Three weeks after Earnhardt's death, Harvick, driving a car that had been prepared for Earnhardt, scored his first career Cup win at Atlanta. On the final lap of the2001 Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500, he beatJeff Gordon by .006 seconds (the margin being 0.004 of a second closer than Earnhardt had won overBobby Labonte at the same race a year ago) in an identical photo finish, and the images of Earnhardt's longtime gas manDanny "Chocolate" Myers crying after the victory, Harvick's tire-smoking burnout on the front stretch with three fingers held aloft outside the driver's window. Harvick would win another race at the inaugural event at Chicagoland en route to a ninth-place finish in the final points and won Rookie of the Year honors along with the 2001 NASCAR Busch Series Championship.

Dale Earnhardt, Inc. won five races in the 2001 season, beginning withSteve Park's victory in the race at Rockingham just one week after Earnhardt's death. Earnhardt Jr. and Waltrip finished first and second in the series' return to Daytona in July for thePepsi 400, a reverse of the finish in the Daytona 500. Earnhardt Jr. also won the fall races at Dover (first post 9/11 race) and Talladega and came to an eighth-place points finish.

Earnhardt's remains were interred at his estate in Mooresville, North Carolina after a private funeral service on February 21, 2001.^[24][26]

Earnhardt drove the No. 3 car for the majority of his career, spanning the latter half of the 1981 season, and then again from 1984 until he died in 2001. Although he had other sponsors during his career, his No. 3 is associated in fans' minds with his last sponsorGM Goodwrench and his last color scheme — a predominantly black car with bold red and silver trim. The black and red No. 3 continues to be one of the most famous logos in North American motor racing.

A common misconception was that Richard Childress Racing "owned the rights" to the No. 3 in NASCAR competition (fueled by the fact that Kevin Harvick's car had a little No. 3 as an homage to Earnhardt from 2001 to 2013 and the usage of the No. 3 on theCamping World Truck Series truck ofTy Dillon when he ran in that series), but NASCAR, and no specific team, owns the rights to this or any other number. According to established NASCAR procedures, Richard Childress Racing had priority over other teams if they chose to reuse the number, which they did whenAustin Dillon was promoted to the Cup series in 2014. While Richard Childress Racing owns the stylized No. 3 logos used during Earnhardt's lifetime (and used presently with Dillon), those rights would hypothetically not prevent a future racing team from using a different No. 3 design (also, a new No. 3 team would most likely, in any case, need to create logos which fit with their sponsor's logos).

In 2004,ESPN released a made-for-TV movie entitled3: The Dale Earnhardt Story, which used a new (but similarly colored) No. 3 logo. The movie was a sympathetic portrayal of Earnhardt's life, but the producers were sued for using the No. 3 logo. In December 2006, the ESPN lawsuit was settled, but details were not released to the public.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. made two special appearances in 2002 in a No. 3Busch Series car: these appearances were at the track where his father died (Daytona) and the track where he made his first Winston Cup start (Charlotte). Earnhardt Jr. won the first of those two races, which was the season-opening event at Daytona. He also raced a No. 3 sponsored by Wrangler on July 2, 2010, for Richard Childress Racing at Daytona. In a green-white-checker finish he outranJoey Logano to win his second race in the No. 3.

Otherwise, the No. 3 was missing from the national touring series until September 5, 2009, whenAustin Dillon, the 19-year-old grandson of Richard Childress, debuted an RCR-owned No. 3 truck in theCamping World Truck Series.^[29] Dillon and his younger brotherTy Dillon drove the No. 3 in various lower level competitions for several years, including theCamping World East Series.^[30] In 2012, Austin Dillon began driving in the Nationwide Series full-time, using the No. 3; he had previously used the No. 33 while driving in that series part-time.

Richard Childress Racing entered a No. 3 in the Daytona truck race on February 13, 2010, with sponsorship from Bass Pro Shops driven by Austin Dillon. It was involved in a wreck almost identical to that which took the life of Earnhardt: being spun out, colliding with another vehicle, and being turned into the outside wall in turn number four.^[31] Dillon again returned to a No. 3 marked racecar when he started fifth in the 2012 Daytona Nationwide Series opener in an Advocare-sponsored blackChevrolet Impala. On December 11, 2013, RCR announced that Austin Dillon would drive the No. 3 car in the upcoming 2014 Sprint Cup season, bringing the number back to the series for the first time in 13 years.^[32]

Only the formerInternational Race of Champions actually retired the No. 3, which they did in a rule change effective in 2004. Until the series folded in 2007, anyone wishing to use the No. 3 again had to use No. 03 instead.^{[citation needed]}

Formula One driverDaniel Ricciardo chose the number 3 as his permanent racing number when F1's rules changed to allow drivers to choose their own numbers for2014 and stated on Twitter that part of the reason for his choice was that he was a fan of Earnhardt's,^[33] while his helmet design features the number stylized in the same way.

"Earnhardt Tower", a seating section at Daytona International Speedway was opened and named in his honor a month before his death at the track.^[34]

Earnhardt has several roads named after him, including a street in his hometown Kannapolis. Dale Earnhardt Boulevard (originally Earnhardt Road) is marked as exit 60 offInterstate 85 in North Carolina, northeast ofCharlotte. Dale Earnhardt Drive is also the start of The Dale Journey Trail,^[35] a self-guided driving tour of landmarks in the lives of Earnhardt and his family. TheNorth Carolina Department of Transportation switched the designation of a road between Kannapolis andMooresville near the headquarters of DEI (that used to be called NC 136) withNC 3, which was inCurrituck County. In addition, exit 72 offInterstate 35W, one of the entrances toTexas Motor Speedway, is named "Dale Earnhardt Way".^[36]

Between the 2004 and 2005 JGTC (renamedSuper GT from 2005) season,Hasemi Sport competed in the series with a sole black G'Zox-sponsoredNissan 350Z with the same number and letterset as Earnhardt on the roof.

During the NASCAR weekend races atTalladega Superspeedway on April 29, 2006 – May 1, 2006, the DEI cars competed in identical special black paint schemes on Dale Earnhardt Day, which is held annually on his birthday—April 29.Martin Truex Jr., won theAaron's 312 in the black car, painted to reflect Earnhardt's Intimidating Black No. 3 NASCAR Busch Grand National series car. In the Nextel Cup race on May 1, No. 8 Dale Earnhardt Jr.; No. 1 Martin Truex Jr.; and No. 15Paul Menard competed in cars with the same type of paint scheme.

On June 18, 2006, at Michigan for the3M Performance 400, Earnhardt Jr. ran a special vintageBudweiser car to honor his father and his grandfatherRalph Earnhardt. He finished third after rain caused the race to be cut short. The car was painted to resemble Ralph's 1956 dirt cars, and carried 1956-era Budweiser logos to complete the throwback look.

In the summer of 2007,Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) with the Dale Earnhardt Foundation, announced it will fund an annualundergraduate scholarship atClemson University inClemson, South Carolina, for students interested inmotorsports andautomotive engineering. Scholarship winners are also eligible to work at DEI in internships.^[37] The first winner was William Bostic, a senior at Clemson majoring inmechanical engineering.^[38]

In 2008, on the 50th anniversary of the first Daytona 500 race,DEI andRCR teamed up to make a specialCOT sporting Earnhardt's1998 Daytona 500 paint scheme to honor the tenth anniversary of his Daytona 500 victory. In a tribute to all previous Daytona 500 winners, the winning drivers appeared in a lineup on stage, in chronological order. The throwback No. 3 car stood in the infield, in the approximate position Earnhardt would have taken in the processional. The throwback car featured the authentic 1998-era design on a current-era car, a concept similar to modern throwback jerseys in other sports. The car was later sold in 1:64 and 1:24 scale models.

In 2010, theIntimidator 305 roller coaster opened atKings Dominion inDoswell, Virginia.^[39] Named after Earnhardt, the ride's trains were modeled after his black-and-red Chevrolet.^[40] AnotherIntimidator coaster also opened atCarowinds in North Carolina the same year.^[41] Both were themed to Earnhardt's legacy, featuring signs, flags, various artwork, as well as replicas of the cars he drove at each location. The "Intimidator" name and all Earnhardt branding were removed from both rides in 2024 as a result of an expiring licensing agreement.^[42][43]

Atlanta Braves assistant coachNed Yost was a friend of Earnhardt, and Richard Childress. When Yost was namedMilwaukee Brewers manager, he changed jersey numbers, from No. 5 to No. 3 in Earnhardt's honor. (No. 3 is retired by the Braves in honor of outfielderDale Murphy, so Yost could not make the change while in Atlanta.) When Yost was namedKansas City Royals assistant coach, he wore No. 2 for the 2010 season, even when he was named manager in May 2010, but for the 2011 season, he switched back to No. 3.

During the third lap of the2011 Daytona 500 (a decade since Earnhardt's death), and2021 Daytona 500 (two decades since Earnhardt's death) the commentators on FOX fell silent while fans raised three fingers in a similar fashion to the tributes throughout 2001.^[44]

The north entrance to New Avondale City Center in Arizona will bear the name Dale Earnhardt Drive. Avondale is where Earnhardt won a Cup race in 1990.^[45]

His helmet from the 1998 season is at theNational Museum of American History in theSmithsonian museum in Washington D.C.^[46]

Weedeater, asludge metal band from North Carolina, paid tribute to Earnhardt on their 2003 albumSixteen Tons, with the song "No. 3".^[47] The song is played with audio clips from television broadcasts about Earnhardt mixed in the background.^[48] He is also mentioned in a 2001 song composed byJohn Hiatt entitledThe Tiki Bar Is Open, along with his legendary race number.

On February 28, 2016, after winning theFolds of Honor QuikTrip 500 at Atlanta Motor Speedway, during his victory lap, driverJimmie Johnson held his hand out of his window, with three fingers extended in tribute to Earnhardt.^[49][50] This was following Johnson's 76th Cup Series win, which tied the career mark of Earnhardt's. This is also the track where Earnhardt claimed his sixth Winston Cup Series title.^[51]

In the week of the2021 United States Grand Prix,McLaren driverDaniel Ricciardo drove the iconic Wrangler car from 1984 as Ricciardo has been a fan of Earnhardt since he was a child. The opportunity came after he won theItalian Grand Prix that year, and McLaren CEOZak Brown, who owns the car, promised him that he would give him a chance to drive it.^[52]

A star is named after him through International Star Registry. The star, officially named "Dale Earnhardt, Sr.," is located in the Aquila constellation at coordinates RA 19h 1m 36.36s D 16° 34′ 25.00″.^[53]

Earnhardt appeared as himself in the movie,Stroker Ace.

He also voiced himself inKing of the Hill in the episode titled, "Life in the Fast Lane, Bobby's Saga".

• He was awarded theOrder of the Long Leaf Pine byNorth Carolina GovernorJim Hunt in 1994.^[54]: 634
• He was inducted into theNorth Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1994.^[55]
• Earnhardt was named one ofNASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers in 1998.
• Earnhardt was posthumously named "NASCAR's Most Popular Driver" in 2001. This was the only time he received the award.
• He was posthumously inducted into theMotorsports Hall of Fame of America^[56] in 2002, a year after his death.
• He was posthumously inducted in the Oceanside Rotary Club Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame at Daytona Beach in 2004.^[57]
• He was posthumously inducted in theInternational Motorsports Hall of Fame in 2006.
• Earnhardt was named first on ESPN's list of "NASCAR's 20 Greatest Drivers" in 2007 in front ofRichard Petty.
• He was posthumously inducted into theAutomotive Hall of Fame in 2006.
• He was posthumously inducted in the Inaugural Class of theNASCAR Hall of Fame on May 23, 2010.
• He was posthumously inducted into theIndianapolis Motor Speedway Hall of Fame in 2020.^[58]

(key) (Bold – Pole position awarded by qualifying time.Italics – Pole position earned by points standings or practice time. * – Most laps led.)

• Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
• Ralph Earnhardt, father
• Teresa Earnhardt, wife
• Dale Earnhardt Jr., son
• Kelly Earnhardt Miller, daughter
• Jeffrey Earnhardt, grandson
• Kerry Earnhardt, son
• Bobby Earnhardt, grandson
• Richard Childress Racing
• List of Daytona 500 winners
• List of Daytona 500 pole position winners
• List of NASCAR Sprint Cup Series champions
• List of all-time NASCAR Cup Series winners
• List of members of the NASCAR Hall of Fame