Dale Earnhardt, Jr., the most popular driver in NASCAR for five consecutive years, is the sport’s only third-generation champion. Like many young drivers today, racing is in his blood.

His grandfather, Ralph Earnhardt, won the NASCAR Sportsman’s Championship in 1956 and his father, Dale Sr. followed in his footsteps and was a seven-time cup champion and won 76 races. Both Ralph and Dale Sr. have been selected to be among NASCAR’s 50 Greatest Drivers of All Time. Now, Dale Jr. has made a name for himself in the racing world and already has 17 wins in his less than 10-year career. The three Earnhardts together have won 10 NASCAR championships.

Dale Jr. was born in Kannapolis, NC and didn’t start his racing career until he was 17 years old. It was then that he got involved in racing in the Street Stock division at Concord Motorsport Park. It didn’t take him long to develop his driving skills and move to the next level. Within two seasons he was racing in the Late Model Stock Car division. Then he got a shot at the Nationwide Series and brought home back-to-back championships in ’98 and ’99. In 2000, Jr. participated full-time in the Winston Cup series and competed with his father and his half-brother Kerry in the Pepsi 400 at Michigan. It was a milestone in NASCAR history, only the second time a father had competed against two sons. Lee, Richard, and Maurice Petty were the first to accomplish this feat.

The year 2001 was an emotional year for Dale Jr. His father was involved in a serious accident on the last lap of the Daytona 500 in Turn 4. Jr. was the first to race alongside his father after the accident, but Earnhardt Mr. did not survive. . Jr. tried to bounce back the following week at Rockingham, but finished 43rd. However, he returned to victory lane at Dover and Talladega that year and scored an emotional victory in the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, where he lost his father earlier that year. He was able to finish eighth in points.

In 2004, Jr. won the Daytona 500. It was six years after his father had won the “Great American Race.” However, the year was not all fun and games for the young Earnhardt. During an off-weekend practice, Jr. was involved in an accident at Infineon Raceway. His car skids off course, hits a concrete barrier and bursts into flames. Jr. suffered second- and third-degree burns to his neck, chin, and legs, preventing him from finishing two races. Martin Truex Jr. and John Andretti had to fill in for him in the middle of the races. By the fall of 2004, Jr. was back in business and became the first driver to sweep the weekend at Bristol, winning both Nationwide and Sprint Cup races.

In 2002, Jr. decided to expand his talents outside of the seat of his race car. He started his own company, JR Motorsports. It consisted of just 6 employees and a Camaro to race local short tracks. Since then, JRM has grown to over 100 employees and now has multiple cars competing in the Nationwide Series and other late-stage local divisions.

In May 2007, Jr. announced that he was leaving his father’s company, DEI, to join the Hendrick Motorsports team. He said his decision was based solely on a desire to advance in the sport and achieve a Sprint Cup Championship. He wouldn’t be bringing his No. 8 sponsor and Budweiser, for which he was so well known, with him. However, he brought along his cousin and crew chief Tony Eury, Jr. It didn’t take Jr. long to make his own way and his fans followed the #88 Mountain Dew AMP/National Guard Chevrolet no questions asked. .

In July 2007, Dale JR Motorsports joined Hendrick Motorsports to run two full-time Nationwide teams using HMS engines, chassis and technology. In addition to the racing arena, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. owns Hammerhead Entertainment, a company that produces the television show “Back In the Day” on SPEED and “Shifting Gears” on ESPN2. He is also involved in a project for a new track. Alabama Motorsports Park is located near Mobile and will have stock car and KART racing as well as a speedway.

One of his most recent endeavors is a bar called “Whisky River” in downtown Charlotte, NC. This complete kid actually has a candy bar called Big Mo’ and recently started his own Navy recruiting division called the Dale Jr. Division. His sister Kelley, with whom he is very close, owns a real estate company with him called DEJ Realty Inc. The 2008 season marks Jr.’s ninth season in the NASCAR Cup Series and through 2007 he has earned more than $46 million. in career earnings.