Kerry Dale Earnhardt (born December 8, 1969)^[1] is an American formerNASCAR driver and the eldest son of seven-timeNASCAR Cup Series championDale Earnhardt. He is the half-brother of former NASCAR Cup Series driverDale Earnhardt Jr. andKelley Earnhardt Miller. He was employed byDale Earnhardt, Inc. as a consultant specializing in driver development until 2011. His younger son,Jeffrey Earnhardt, began racing for DEI in 2007 and currently competes in the NASCAR Xfinity Series. Kerry Earnhardt is known for his physical similarity to his father.^[2][3]

Earnhardt's mother, Latane Brown, wasDale Earnhardt's first wife.^[2][3] Dale Earnhardt was eighteen years old and a localNorth Carolinadirt racer at the time of Kerry's birth.^[3][4][5] The couple divorced when Kerry was one year old.^[2] Brown eventually married Jack Key, who adopted Kerry; Kerry used his stepfather's surname for much of his life. Until he was sixteen, he saw little of his biological father.^[2][4]

Prior to his racing career, Earnhardt dropped out of high school and worked several odd jobs to support his family. This included working at aPizza Hut and in theCannon Mills inKannapolis, North Carolina, where his grandfather,Ralph Earnhardt, also worked.^[2][4]

Earnhardt began racing in 1992 driving street stocks. That same season, he raced in the NASCARGoody's Dash Series. He raced at various tracks in 1993, including the East Carolina Motor Speedway nearRobersonville, North Carolina andLangley Speedway inHampton, Virginia. He scored two top fives and eight top 10s in 11 races and was the 1992 Rookie of the Year.

Earnhardt won a pole position and recorded eight top-fives and forty top-tens as well as 1994 Rookie of the Year honors at his local track, Hickory Motor Speedway, in the NASCARDodge Weekly Racing Series. His first NASCAR start came in the Busch Series at Myrtle Beach in 1998. After select Busch races in 1998 and 1999, he raced in theAutomobile Racing Club of America'sARCA Racing Series in 2000 and 2001 forDale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) using DEINASCAR Cup Series (known as the Winston Cup Series to 2003) equipment formerly used bySteve Park.^[4] During this stint, he won four of his eleven starts, with seven top-fives and eight top-tens.^[3]

In 2000, Earnhardt made his Winston Cup debut at Michigan driving forMarcis Auto Racing, racing against both his father and his half-brother,Dale Earnhardt Jr.^[4][6] He wrecked out of the race on lap five. It was the first of his seven Winston Cup starts. In 2001, the same year his father waskilled atDaytona, Earnhardt was involved in a massive crash on October 4 in an ARCA race atCharlotte Motor Speedway. On lap 63 of 67, Earnhardt had to dodge a lapped car by hitting his brakes, which causedBlaise Alexander's No. 75 car to catch up to Earnhardt. Alexander began to inch into the lead when Earnhardt's car made contact with Alexander's, sending Alexander's car head-on into the wall and back into Earnhardt's car, causing Earnhardt to flip over onto his roof and slide into the grass. Earnhardt managed to climb out by himself. Alexander was given a red flag and the race director called it official, which gave Earnhardt the victory. Alexander was pronounced dead in the infield care center at 10:20 p.m.^[3]

In late November 2001, it was announced that Earnhardt would run the full2002Busch Series forFitzBradshaw Racing, owned byArmando Fitz andTerry Bradshaw. The entry was sponsored bySupercuts and10-10-220, with a technical alliance with DEI. The car was initially numbered 8, but later numbered 12.^{[7][8][9][10]} He finished 22nd in points, scoring three top-fives and six top-tens. This was one of his two full seasons in any of NASCAR's top three series (Cup, Busch, and Truck). He also attempted to make several Winston Cup races in 2002 and 2003 in the No. 83Aaron's, Inc./Hot Tamales Chevrolet for FitzBradshaw, but failed to qualify for every race he attempted.^{[11][12][13][14][15]} Midway through the 2003 season, Earnhardt was released by FitzBradshaw, replaced byTim Fedewa.^[2][3][11]

In 2004 and 2005, Earnhardt raced in six Cup Series races forRichard Childress Racing in the No. 33 car.^[16][17] All six starts were restrictor plate races (Daytona and Talladega). His highest finish was a 17th-place run at Talladega in the 2005 Aaron's 499. Also in 2004, Earnhardt made eight starts in theK&N Pro Series West forBill McAnally Racing, scoring two top fives and five top 10s.^[18]

In 2005, Earnhardt joinedBilly Ballew Motorsports in theCraftsman Truck Series, replacingShane Hmiel.^[18] Earnhardt won the pole position for the season openingFlorida Dodge Dealers 250, but he lost his ride after two races due to lack of sponsorship, with Hmiel returning.^[19] For the 2006 season, he signed withThorSport Racing and drove the No. 13Chevrolet the full season with occasional sponsorship from theNational Pork Board. The season was a struggle, and his best finish that year was an 11th place at Nashville and Las Vegas. At the conclusion of the season, he and ThorSport Racing went their separate ways.^[20]

In December 2007, Earnhardt announced his retirement as a competitive driver in a letter to fans on his website.^{[citation needed]}

Earnhardt was still an active test driver for DEI and occasionally drove in the Nationwide Series (NNS). His last appearance in a national touring series was the NNS'Subway Jalapeño 250 on July 3, 2009 atDaytona International Speedway driving the No. 31 car forRick Ware Racing. In 2016, he drove one of his father's original race cars, a No. 3 1995 ChevroletMonte Carlo, at theGoodwood Festival of Speed inEngland.^[21]

Earnhardt and wife, René, married in 1999. They have a daughter, Kayla. From their previous marriages, Kerry has two sons, Bobby and Jeffrey, and René has a daughter, Blade.^[2][3][4][5] In 2017,Bobby Earnhardt raced part-time in theARCA Racing Series, driving the number 3Chevrolet for Hixson Motorsports and the number 96Ford for Brian Kaltreider Racing. He made his NASCAR debut in the Xfinity Series driving the No. 40 Chevy Camaro forMBM Motorsports at Richmond in 2017.^[22] As of 2022,Jeffrey Earnhardt races in theNASCAR Xfinity Series forSam Hunt Racing andRichard Childress Racing, and has previously raced in theNASCAR Cup Series.^[23][24] Bobby and Jeffrey are the fourth generation of Earnhardts in professional motorsports.^[25]

In May 2016, Earnhardt's stepmother,Teresa Earnhardt, sued him for using the Earnhardt name when he and his wife were planning to market a line of homes and furniture under the name "The Earnhardt Collection".^[26][27] On July 27, 2017, Teresa Earnhardt won an appeal which required the U.S. Trademark Trial and Appeal Board to clarify its decision to allow him to use the name "Earnhardt Collection" in his business. Kerry ultimately won the case and the right to use “Earnhardt” in his business venture as you cannot trademark a surname.^[28][29]

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

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

• Official website
• Kerry Earnhardt driver statistics at Racing-Reference

• 1969 births
• ARCA Menards Series drivers
• Earnhardt family
• ISCARS Dash Touring Series drivers
• Living people
• NASCAR drivers
• Sportspeople from Kannapolis, North Carolina
• Racing drivers from Charlotte, North Carolina
• Dale Earnhardt Inc. drivers
• Richard Childress Racing drivers
• Michael Waltrip Racing drivers

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
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