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Ralph Lee Earnhardt (February 23, 1928 – September 26, 1973) was an American stock car racer and patriarch of the Earnhardt racing family. He was the father of seven-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt , grandfather of Kerry Earnhardt , Kelley Earnhardt Miller , and Dale Earnhardt Jr. .
Ralph Dale Earnhardt was born on April 29, 1951, in the suburb of Kannapolis, North Carolina, as the third child of Martha (née Coleman, 1930–2021) and Ralph Earnhardt (1928–1973). Earnhardt's father was one of the best short-track drivers in North Carolina at the time and won his first and only NASCAR Sportsman Championship in 1956 at ...
Ralph, a minor legend in Southern stock-car racing, inspired Dale to follow his own passion for racing. After dropping out of high school to race, Dale started out in his father's shadow and struggled to establish himself for more than a decade, especially when tangling with legends in the sport such as Darrell Waltrip .
Drivers such as Junior Johnson, Ned Jarrett, and Ralph Earnhardt also became track champions in the 1950s, with Earnhardt winning five of them. In 1953, NASCAR's Grand National Series visited the track for the first time. Tim Flock won the first race at the speedway, which became a regular part of the Grand National schedule. After winning his ...
Changes made to the sport by the late 1960s brought an end to the "strictly stock" vehicles of the 1950s. Ralph Earnhardt drove the #47 car for Jack Smith. The car had "Jack" written on the roof, but Earnhardt drove the race and was involved in a spin entering turn one.
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.
Earnhardt is the surname of the following people: An American auto racing family, almost all drivers: Ralph Earnhardt (1928–1973), family patriarch; Dale Earnhardt Sr. (1951–2001), son of Ralph; Teresa Earnhardt (born 1958), owner and CEO of Dale Earnhardt, Inc., widow of Dale Sr. and stepmother of Kerry and Dale Jr.
Ralph Earnhardt was competitive early, leading four times and finishing 11th. [ 2 ] A terrible crash occurred to driver Reds Kagle ; he would lose a leg in this race when his car penetrated the outside guard rail.