Dale Earnhardt - "The Intimidator" Bio/Stats
3Widealley.com by leftturns190

The Man!

The Car!

Damn Straight! He looks just like a good friend of mine from my teenage years in this pic! That guy could drive too.. but more on two wheels than four!

Pic of Dale's Silver and Orange care he drove in the '95 Winston... Thanks JRB!

Died: February 18, 2001 during the last lap of the Daytona 500

Home Town: Kannapolis, NC

Car number: 

Manufacturer: Chevy Baby!!

Rookie of the year in 1979 and won his first Cup Title the next year!

Cup Championships: 7! He was Champion in 1980, 1986, 1987, 1990, 1991, 1993, 1994 and would've got his 8th in 2001 and then more, but God had other plans for him.

Career Cup Starts: 676

Wins: 76

Top 5's: 281

Top 10's: 428

Other notable stats:

Five-time NMPA Driver of the Year ('80, '86, '87, '90, '94)

Only three-time winner of "The Winston" ('87, '90, '93)

Only 6 time Busch Clash winner ('80, '86, '88, '91, '93, '95)

4 time IROC champion ('90, '95, '99, '00)

For me, Dale was the sport. I loved his driving style... aggressive, but not reckless. Yes, he had his moments, but no more than any other driver. He was a much cleaner driver than the media and his detractors often insinuate. They love to portray him as this wild, crazy man who would wreck anyone to get up front. Simply not true! Dale had the respect of all the drivers, and you don't gain that by being a reckless fool!  Dale didn't try to wreck other drivers, he moved them, and only then if he was faster, or of course if it was the last lap! If he didn't patent the "Bump and Run", he sure perfected it! He had a code that any true racer or fan of racing could understand: Move the guy if you're faster, but don't wreck him! Yes, wrecks happened, and sometimes it could be said that Dale might at least be partially at fault, but mostly it was clean. A lot of those drivers I swear he didn't even touch! I think they wrecked themselves outta the fear of seeing the #3 in their mirror!

You'll see the bump and run used nowadays, but seldom with the deft touch the Intimidator had, and too often the attempts today could be described more accurately as a "Wreck & Run"! So, help support the legend of the true Intimidator: A hard driving, passionate racer with car control, not a wild man!

You couldn't find a better driver to follow: If he wasn't winning, he was driving the wheels off his car trying to! When you see old footage/pictures of races of other drivers leading a race or crossing the finish line, you'll often see the black #3 close behind doing his damndest to get to the front! I miss him today more than in 2001. It doesn't hurt as bad, but the sport seems to be getting farther and farther away from what it was when Dale was around, and I miss what he gave us all on race day!. 

Contributed by Leftturns190