Dale Earnhardt Jr.Full Name: Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Birthdate: Oct 10, 1974
Hometown: Kannapolis, N.C.
Resides: Mooresville, N.C.
Marital Status: Single
Primary Sponsors: AMP Energy, National Guard
Career Winnings: More than $53 million
Victories: 18, including the 2004 Daytona 500
Other Stats: Six “non-points” wins and eight pole positions
Proudest moment: Winning the Daytona 500 in 2004
Favorite Spy sunglass: The Dirty Mo
Favorite Food: Chicken and rice
Magazine Covers: Appeared on more than 100 covers including Rolling Stone, GQ and Sports Illustrated
TV Appearances: Numerous national TV appearances including “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “The Today Show,” and “Good Morning America”
Who knew? Dale has his own book “Shifting Gears”, a documentation of his move from Dale Earnhardt Inc. to Hendrick Motorsports in the 2007-08 seasons in the NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. He also owns Whisky River, a bar and nightclub located in uptown Charlotte. In 2008, BusinessWeek magazine named Earnhardt to their top 100 most influential people in sports.
Hobbies: Hanging out at home, computer gaming, go-karting
Playing in the I-pod: Matthew Good, Kings of Leon, Third Eye Blind
Links: dalejr.com; Thedalejrfoundation.org
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is a third-generation driver in a family forever connected to the sport of stock-car racing, and while his innate ability behind the wheel comes from Earnhardt DNA, his competitive driving style and keen business sense are all his own. His flair for originality and common-sense charisma has helped propel him to one of the most popular figures in sports.
Race fans have selected him six times as the winner of NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver award, joining Bill Elliott as the only drivers to win it six consecutive seasons since 1956.
Earnhardt is the only third-generation NASCAR champion, achieved when he won the 1998 and 1999 Nationwide Series titles.
With a successful driving career in motion, Earnhardt’s role as team owner and businessman has enjoyed its own ascent. In July 2007, Earnhardt announced a partnership deal with Hendrick Motorsports -- under the JRM banner with Hendrick Motorsports engines, chassis and vehicle engineering support -- to field two NASCAR Nationwide Series race teams.
JRM’s No. 88 team is in its fourth full-schedule season in the NASCAR Nationwide Series, while the No. 5 Chevrolet is scheduled for 21 events in 2009, with Earnhardt behind the wheel for seven races. |
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