Dale Earnhardt Jr.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Earnhardt Jr. at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 2023
Born	Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr.[1] (1974-10-10) October 10, 1974 (age 49) 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)
Wins Top tens Poles 26 260 15
NASCAR Xfinity Series career
146 races run over 27 years
Car no., team	No. 88 (JR Motorsports)
2022 position	58th
Best finish	1st (1998, 1999)
First race	1996 Carolina Pride / Red Dog 250 (Myrtle Beach)
Last race	2023 Contender Boats 300 (Homestead)
First win	1998 Coca-Cola 300 (Texas)
Last win	2016 ToyotaCare 250 (Richmond)
Wins Top tens Poles 24 95 10
Signature
Statistics current as of August 19, 2023.

Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American stock car racing driver, team owner and broadcaster. A third generation driver, he is the son of 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 JR Motorsports team.

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]