American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver, team owner, author, and an analyst for NASCAR on NBC. He competes part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 8 Chevrolet Camaro for his team JR Motorsports. He is the son of Dale Earnhardt Sr., who was inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame. He is also the grandson of NASCAR driver Ralph Earnhardt, the brother of Kelley Earnhardt-Miller, the half-brother of former driver Kerry Earnhardt, the uncle of driver Jeffrey Earnhardt, and the stepson of Teresa Earnhardt.
His father, champion driver Dale Earnhardt, was killed on the track at Talladega, Florida on 18 February 2001. His father’s son, Dale Jr., on the following weekend carried on the family tradition, driving his red Chevy Monte Carlo at the North Carolina speedway. On the first lap, fans gasped as he was bumped from behind and spun into a concrete wall, just as his dad had done a week before. Dale Jr. walked away, which his dad had not been able to do.
Dale Jr. was the second child of Dale and Brenda, his second wife, who divorced when the boy was three. He and his dad became closer in more recent years, sharing the same sport that they loved. The family was all about racing, starting with Ralph and continuing through three generations. Dale Jr. accomplished the Busch Series Grand National Division Championship in 1998, becoming hands-down the most popular driver in the Busch series.
The racer won the Daytona 500 on 15 February 2004. It was a particularly emotional triumph given that his father died on the same course three years prior.
The racer survived a horrifying accident on 18 July 2004 on Infineon Raceway in Sonoma, California. Just as he rounded a turn on his first lap, his car spun out, slammed into a concrete wall, and burst into a smoky blaze. Within 15 seconds, Earnhart had pried himself out of the driver’s side window, and a track volunteer helped him get clear of the fire. Earnhardt sustained second degree burns to the inside of both thighs and his chin. He was released from the hospital the following day.
The racer announced on 10 May 2007 that he was leaving the team run by his stepmother, with whom he has had a rocky relationship. Called the Brad Pitt of the NASCAR world, Earnhardt wanted to be a free agent.
Earnhardt’s success at Daytona International Speedway throughout his career earned him the nickname “Pied Piper” of Daytona. He is a two-time Daytona 500 winner (2004 and 2014), and has won the Most Popular Driver Award fifteen consecutive times from 2003 to 2017.
Earnhardt married his longtime girlfriend Amy Reimann on New Year’s Eve of 2016. Their daughter, Isla Rose Earnhardt, was born on 30 April 2018. The couple welcomed their second child, Nicole Loraine, on 12 October 2020.
Link to Wikipedia biography