Dale Earnhardt vs Bill Elliott
The Pied Piper of restrictor-plate racing and a two-time Daytona 500 champion.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, broadcaster for Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports, podcaster, and businessman. He is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt.
Quick Facts
- Dale earnhardt titles
- 7 Winston Cup Championships
- Peak competition era
- Late 1980s to early 1990s
- Key track rivalry
- Daytona and Talladega Superspeedways
- Dale career wins
- 76 Winston Cup wins
- Bill career wins
- 44 Winston Cup wins
Lore & Background
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was born and raised in Kannapolis, North Carolina. He is a third-generation driver. He drove the No. 8 Budweiser-sponsored Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. from 1999 to 2007, then moved to Hendrick Motorsports to drive the No. 88 car from 2008 until his last full-time season in 2017. He has 26 Cup Series wins and is a two-time champion of the O'Reilly Auto Parts Series (1998 and 1999). He won the Daytona 500 in 2004 and 2014, and won NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award fifteen consecutive times from 2003 to 2017.
Reader's Guide
Earnhardt Jr. began his racing career at age 17 in the Street Stock division. He competed in the Busch Series full-time in 1998 and won consecutive championships in 1998 and 1999. He made his Cup Series debut in 2000 and scored his first win at Texas Motor Speedway. After retiring from full-time competition after 2017, he became a color commentator for NASCAR on NBC in 2018, then left for Amazon Prime Video and TNT Sports as part of new NASCAR coverage beginning in 2025.
Did You Know?
- His first race car was a 1979 Monte Carlo that he co-owned with his half-brother Kerry.
- He earned an associate degree in automotive technology from Mitchell Community College.
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