Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born October 10, 1974) is an American stock car racing driver. He competes occasionally in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro for his team JR Motorsports. A third generation driver, he is the son of 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative to many former and current drivers in the NASCAR ranks.
| Dale Earnhardt Jr. | |||||||
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Earnhardt Jr. at Daytona International Speedway in 2020 | |||||||
| Born | Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. October 10, 1974 Kannapolis, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||
| Height | 5 ft 10.5 in (1.79 m) | ||||||
| Weight | 178.5 lb (81.0 kg) | ||||||
| Achievements | 1998, 1999 NASCAR Busch Series Champion 2004, 2014 Daytona 500 Winner 2000 The Winston Winner 2003, 2008 Budweiser Shootout Winner 2003, 2004, 2008, 2015, 2016 Can-Am Duel Winner 4 straight wins at Talladega Superspeedway (Fall 2001–Spring 2003) 2004, 2005, 2014, 2017, 2018 Xfinity Series Champion Owner | ||||||
| Awards | Bill France Award of Excellence (2017) Texas Motorsports Hall of Fame (2017) NASCAR Hall of Fame (2022) 2003–2017 Cup Series Most Popular Driver (15 times) 1999 Busch Series Most Popular Driver Named one of NASCAR's 75 Greatest Drivers (2023) | ||||||
| NASCAR Cup Series career | |||||||
| 631 races run over 19 years | |||||||
| 2017 position | 21st | ||||||
| Best finish | 3rd (2003) | ||||||
| First race | 1999 Coca-Cola 600 (Charlotte) | ||||||
| Last race | 2017 Ford EcoBoost 400 (Homestead) | ||||||
| First win | 2000 DirecTV 500 (Texas) | ||||||
| Last win | 2015 Quicken Loans Race for Heroes 500 (Phoenix) | ||||||
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| NASCAR Xfinity Series career | |||||||
| 146 races run over 27 years | |||||||
| Car no., team | No. 88 (JR Motorsports) | ||||||
| 2022 position | 58th | ||||||
| Best finish | 1st (1998, 1999) | ||||||
| First race | 1996 Carolina Pride / Red Dog 250 (Myrtle Beach) | ||||||
| Last race | 2023 Contender Boats 300 (Homestead) | ||||||
| First win | 1998 Coca-Cola 300 (Texas) | ||||||
| Last win | 2016 ToyotaCare 250 (Richmond) | ||||||
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| Signature | |||||||
| Statistics current as of August 19, 2023. | |||||||
After driving the No. 8 Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI), his father's team in the NASCAR Cup Series, for much of his early Cup career, he moved to Hendrick Motorsports to drive the No. 88 in 2008. He remained with Hendrick until his last season as a full-time driver in 2017. Earnhardt has 26 wins in the Cup Series, a total that ranks him tied for 32nd in NASCAR history (with Fred Lorenzen) as of March 2023. He is a two-time champion of the Xfinity Series, winning in 1998 and 1999. Since his last season in Cup, Earnhardt has worked as a broadcaster for NASCAR on NBC.
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 won the Most Popular Driver Award fifteen consecutive times from 2003 to 2017.