| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
_(cropped).jpg) Earnhardt Jr. at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2023 | |||||||
| Born | Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr.[1] October 10, 1974 Kannapolis, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10.5 in (1.79 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 178.5 lb (81.0 kg) | ||||||
| Achievements | 1998, 1999 NASCAR Busch Series Champion 2004, 2014 Daytona 500 Winner 2000 The Winston Winner 2003, 2008 Budweiser Shootout Winner 2003, 2004, 2008, 2015, 2016 Can-Am Duel Winner 4 straight wins at Talladega Superspeedway (Fall 2001–Spring 2003) 2004, 2005, 2014, 2017, 2018 Xfinity Series Champion Owner | ||||||
| Awards | Bill France Award of Excellence (2017) Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame (2017) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2021)[2] 2003–2017 Cup Series Most Popular Driver (15 times) 1999 Busch Series Most Popular Driver Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023) | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 631 races run over 19 years | |||||||
| 2017 position | 21st | ||||||
| Best finish | 3rd (2003) | ||||||
| First race | 1999 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| Last race | 2017 Ford EcoBoost 400 (Homestead) | ||||||
| First win | 2000 DirecTV 500 (Texas) | ||||||
| Last win | 2015 Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 (Phoenix) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 147 races run over 28 years | |||||||
| Car no., team | No. 88 (JR Motorsports) | ||||||
| 2023 position | 48th | ||||||
| Best finish | 1st (1998, 1999) | ||||||
| First race | 1996 Carolina Pride / Red Dog 250 (Myrtle Beach) | ||||||
| Last race | 2024 Food City 300 (Bristol) | ||||||
| First win | 1998 Coca-Cola 300 (Texas) | ||||||
| Last win | 2016 ToyotaCare 250 (Richmond) | ||||||
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| Signature | |||||||
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| Statistics current as of September 20, 2024. | |||||||
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster. A third-generation driver, he is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative to many former and current drivers in the NASCAR ranks. Since retiring from full-time competition after the 2017 season, he has competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro for his team, JR Motorsports.
He became a color commentator for NASCAR on NBC in 2018 after retiring from driving full-time in NASCAR. After his contract with NBC expired after the 2023 season, he left for Amazon and TNT's new NASCAR coverage in NASCAR's next TV contract that begins in 2025.[3]
Earnhardt Jr. drove the No. 8 Budweiser-sponsored Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI), his father's team in the NASCAR Cup Series, from his debut in 1999 until 2007. In 2008, he moved to Hendrick Motorsports to drive their No. 88 car. He remained with Hendrick until his last season as a full-time driver in 2017. Earnhardt has 26 wins in the Cup Series, a total that ranks him tied (with Fred Lorenzen) for 32nd in NASCAR history as of May 2024. He is a two-time champion of the Xfinity Series, winning in 1998 and 1999 when the series was known as the Busch Series.[4]
Earnhardt's success at Daytona International Speedway and Talladega Superspeedway throughout his career earned him the nickname "the Pied Piper".[5] He is a two-time Daytona 500 winner (2004 and 2014), and won the Most Popular Driver Award fifteen consecutive times from 2003 to 2017.[6]
- ^ "DaleJr.com | Official Website of Dale Earnhardt Jr". www.dalejr.com. Retrieved March 20, 2022.
- ^ Albert, Zack (June 16, 2020). "Earnhardt Jr., Stefanik, Farmer elected to Hall of Fame's Class of 2021". NASCAR. Retrieved June 18, 2020.
- ^ "TNT Sports, Amazon Prime add Dale Earnhardt Jr. to broadcast team starting in 2025". NASCAR.com. NASCAR Digital Media, LLC. May 7, 2024. Retrieved May 9, 2024.
- ^ "All-Time NASCAR Cup Series Winners List - MRN". MRN - Motor Racing Network. Retrieved November 10, 2020.
- ^ Seelman, Jacob (February 24, 2014). "NASCAR Sprint Cup: Sunday is Dale's Day as Earnhardt Jr. Wins Second Daytona 500". Race Chaser Online. Archived from the original on April 4, 2016. Retrieved February 25, 2014.
- ^ "Dale Earnhardt Jr. ends full-time racing career with 15th consecutive MPD Award". NASCAR. November 27, 2017. Retrieved November 30, 2017.