Ralph Earnhardt

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Ralph Earnhardt
Born Ralph Lee Earnhardt
(1928-02-23)February 23, 1928
Kannapolis, North Carolina, U.S.
Died Script error: The function "death_date_and_age" does not exist.
Kannapolis, North Carolina, U.S.
Cause of death Heart attack
Achievements 1956 Sportsman Division Champion
Awards Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers (1998)
National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame (1989)
International Motorsports Hall of Fame (1997)
Oceanside Rotary Club of Daytona Beach Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame (2004)
National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame (2007)[1]
NASCAR Cup Series career
51 races run over 6 years
Best finish 17th (1961)
First race 1956 Buddy Shuman 250 (Hickory)
Last race 1964 Race No. 29 (Concord)
Wins Top tens Poles
0 16 1

Ralph Lee Earnhardt (February 23, 1928 – September 26, 1973) was an American stock car racer. He was the father of Dale Earnhardt, Sr.; the grandfather of Dale Earnhardt, Jr., Kelley Earnhardt Miller,Taylor Putnam, and Kerry Earnhardt, and great grandfather of Jeffrey Earnhardt and Bobby Dale Earnhardt. Earnhardt helped get Bobby Isaac his start in racing.[2]

Background

File:RalphEarnhardtReplica.jpg
Ralph Earnhardt replica car

Earnhardt had German ancestry.[3] He was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina as the son of Effie Mae Barber (August 30, 1895 - September 1979) and John Henderson Earnhardt (Mar 23, 1879 - Nov 5, 1953).[4] John Henderson Earnhardt's first wife was Florence Phillips (Oct 7, 1877 – Nov 18, 1922).[5] He and Florence had four daughters — Mary, Eula, Margie, and Octa Vayne.[6]

He spent many years working in a cotton mill in North Carolina. One of the only ways out of this poor living was racing. Ralph started his racing career on dirt tracks where he was famous for keeping his car in top condition throughout each race.

Racing career

Earnhardt began racing in 1949, and in 1953 it became his full-time occupation.[2]

In 1956, he won the NASCAR Sportsman Championship, and was runner-up in 1955 and third in 1957.[2] In 1967, he was the reigning South Carolina state champion, and track champion at Columbia Speedway and Greenville-Pickens Speedway.[2]

He won the pole and finished second in his first Grand National (predecessor to the Sprint Cup) race in 1956 at Hickory Speedway.[7] In 1961, Ralph had his highest finish by finishing 17th in the Grand National point standings. 1961 also saw Ralph fill in as a relief driver for Cotton Owens in the Daytona 500, running more than 300 miles and finishing 5th.[2]

Ralph Earnhardt was the first car builder/driver to understand and use tire stagger.[8]

Death

Earnhardt died from a heart attack on September 26, 1973 at the age of 45.[9]

In media

In the film 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story, Ralph Earnhardt was portrayed by J. K. Simmons. The film portrayed Earnhardt's death as the urban legend dictated, where Dale (Barry Pepper) found him dead of a heart attack in the garage.

References

  1. ↑ NDLMHOF Announces 2007 Class, written by Bill Holder on December 26, 2006, National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame, Retrieved March 14, 2007
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ http://www.wargs.com/other/earnhardt.html
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  6. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  7. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Biography at the Daytona Beach Stockcar Hall of Fame Archived September 28, 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

External links

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