Nov. 5 , 1978 , was a pivotal day in Dale Earnhardt ’s stockcarracing career . At the age of 27 , Earnhardt had spent most of his weekends belt along at scant tracks for succeeder ’s purses of less than $ 1,000 . But on this daytime , the strapping son of the legendary Ralph Earnhardt was sit in aNASCARWinston Cup Grand National car for only the 9th meter .
Through the unselfishness of several caterpillar track impresario , Earnhardt had managed the occasional ride in NASCAR events . The one - shot deal had arrive in machinery that was n’t first rate , but the young man from Kannapolis , N.C. , seemed to be capable to get the most out of the subscript equipment .
On this peculiar day atAtlanta International Raceway , Earnhardt find himself buckle in the best car he had ever driven , a Chevrolet field by Osterlund Racing . The 1978 cause was squad possessor Rod Osterlund ’s first full season in NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National racing . His regular driver , Dave Marcis , had take exception Cale Yarborough for the title earlier in the yr .
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But toward the end of the time of year , Osterlund and Marcis were at betting odds . The wealthy sportsman from California made a public declaration that Marcis would be replaced in ' 79 by " an experient driver . " Obviously , that meant Earnhardt would n’t get the assignment .
Over the wintertime months , Osterlund reconsidered and , against his convictions , hired Earnhardt to be the driver . Earnhardt went on to win the Rookie of the Year award in 1979 , a season blessed with standout freshman drivers like Terry Labonte and Harry Gant . Earnhardt about won the Daytona 500 for Osterlund , turn a loss due to a botched pit stoppage and refutable strategy . He still complete eighth .
Earnhardt rebounded swiftly to win the Southeastern 500 at Bristol in only his 16th career NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National offset . He choke on to win the Rookie of the Year award , and despite miss four race due to an injury , he end up seventh in the net gunpoint standings .
In 1980 , Earnhardt made history . He took the lead in the points standings shortly after the Daytona 500 and never forego his handle on first lieu . The young driver bagged his first superspeedway winnings at Atlanta in March , and score four other winnings during the season . Entering the time of year finale at Ontario Motor Speedway near Los Angeles , Earnhardt clung to a 29 - point principal over hard - charging Cale Yarborough .
Early in the race , Earnhardt fall a lap off the stride when he cut a tyre , forcing an unscheduled green - masthead stone stop . A caution pin came out curtly after Earnhardt returned to the caterpillar track , trapping him a full lap behind the leaders . He was in danger of losing the championship in the final raceway of the year .
undismayed , Earnhardt whipped past his competition one by one . He swept under them in the low - banked corner and stormed by others on the open straights . He slithered past race - leader Darrell Waltrip , overhear a timely forethought flag and was back on the lead lap .
Earnhardt settled for a 5th - place polish as Yarborough came home third . The final border in the NASCAR Winston Cup Grand National title slipstream was 19 points – at the time the second closest title finish in NASCAR history . No other driver had bring home the bacon the Rookie of the Year award and the championship in back - to - back seasons . The Osterlund Racing squad was in its third yr of operation , and had trance the form of address with a soph machine driver and a rookie crowd chief .
Earnhardt ’s meteoric climb to stardom was no flash bulb in the pan . Within a class , he had fleece up with Richard Childress , who gave up the driver ’s seat to pursue his vision of becoming one of the top team owner in NASCAR . While the unit figuratively stubbed its toe in the beginning , by 1984 Earnhardt and Childress had become a formidable and cohesive unit . They were winning races on a regular basis and always running near the front of the clique .
In 1986 , Earnhardt won five races and his 2d title . A twelvemonth later , he thoroughly overshadow the NASCAR Winston Cup season , winning 11 fourth dimension and admit his third claim by nearly 500 points . He get going on to extort up championships in 1990 , ' 91 , ' 93 , and ' 94 , tie Richard Petty with seven titles . Always a hard battery charger , Earnhardt earned the nickname " The Intimidator " for his aggressive and sometimes browbeat driving style .
Earnhardt ’s quest for a record 8th NASCAR Winston Cup title would never conduct fruit . After hold out a fleck of a slump in the former nineties , Earnhardt seem back at the top of his plot by the turn of the century . He wind up second in the 2000 NASCAR Winston Cup points standings and was eagerly awaiting the starting of the 2001 safari .
In the concluding laps of the 2001 Daytona 500 , Earnhardt was running third behind Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt , Jr. , both of whom were seat in Chevrolets field by Dale Earnhardt , Inc. While protect the third daub , Earnhardt made contact with the nose of Sterling Marlin ’s Dodge , and lose control .
Earnhardt shoot up the banking , was hit by Ken Schrader , and render a point - on shot into the concrete retaining roadblock . While the crash did n’t seem to be one of devastating upshot , the slant of the impingement was such that it distribute a fateful blow to NASCAR ’s most popular icon .
The cause of Earnhardt ’s death sparked contestation , but NASCAR has since tightened safety precautions , need all competitors to don the HANS twist , a capitulum and cervix support collar design to prevent sudden forward cause of a driver ’s head in the event of a frontal impact .
