Kerry Dale Earnhardt (born December 8, 1969) is a former NASCAR driver and the elder son of seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt. He is the half-brother of NASCAR Sprint Cup star Dale Earnhardt, Jr. He is also the older half-brother of Kelley Earnhardt and Taylor Nicole Earnhardt. He is also the older stepson of Teresa Earnhardt (Dale Earnhardt's wife and Tommy Houston's niece). He is employed by Dale Earnhardt, Inc. as a consultant, specializing in driver development. His younger son, Jeffrey Earnhardt, began racing for DEI in 2007. Kerry is known for his physical similarity to his father.
Kerry's mother, Latane Brown, was Dale Earnhardt's first wife; the couple divorced when Kerry was only one year of age. Brown eventually married Jack Key, who adopted Kerry. Until he was 16, Kerry saw little of his biological father.[1]
Racing career
Earnhardt had driven race cars in the early 1990s, he entered the racing world as a competitor in 1992 racing street stocks. That same season Earnhardt raced in the NASCAR Goody's Dash Series Earnhardt raced various tracks in 1993 including the East Carolina Motor Speedway near Robersonville, North Carolina and Langley Speedway in Hampton, VA. He has scored 2 top 5s and 8 top 10s in 11 races, also was the 1992 Rookie of the Year.
He won a pole and recorded 8 top 5s and 40 top 10s as well as 1994 Rookie of the Year Honors at his local track, Hickory Motor Speedway in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series.
Earnhardt's first NASCAR start came in the Busch Series at Myrtle Beach in 1998.
After select Busch races in 1998 and 1999. Earnhardt raced in the ARCA series in 2000, and 2001. During this stint he won 4 of his 11 starts, with 7 top 5s and 8 top 10s.
In 2000 Earnhardt made his Winston Cup debut at Michigan driving for Marcis Auto Racing, racing against his father Dale Earnhardt, and half-brother Dale Earnhardt, Jr. It was the first of his seven Cup series starts.
In 2001, the same year his father was killed at Daytona, Earnhardt was involved in a massive crash. On October 4, Earnhardt was racing an ARCA race at Charlotte Motor Speedway. At Lap 63 of 67, Earnhardt had to dodge a lapped car by hitting his brakes, which caused Blaise Alexander's #75 to catch up to Earnhardt's #2. Alexander began to inch into the lead when Earnhardt's car made contact with Alexander's, sending Alexander's car head-on into the wall and back into Earnhardt's car causing Earnhardt to flip over onto his roof and slide into the grass. Earnhardt managed to climb out by himself. However a red flag flew for Alexander and seconds later the race director called it official which gave Earnhardt the victory. Alexander was pronounced dead in the in-field care center at 10:20 PM.
His 2002 run for FitzBradshaw Racing in the Busch Series was one of only two full season in any of NASCAR's Big 3 series (Cup, Busch/Nationwide, and Truck), and he finished 22nd in the points. He scored 3 top 5s and 6 top 10s. In the 2003 Winston Cup season, Kerry Earnhardt drove the #83 Hot Tamales Chevrolet for FitzBradshaw, but failed to qualify for every race he attempted.
2004 Earnhardt made 8 starts in the West Series, scoring 2 Top-5's, and 5 Top-10's.
In 2004 and 2005, he raced in six NEXTEL Cup races, for Richard Childress Racing in the #33 car. All six starts were restrictor plate races (Daytona and Talladega). His highest finish was a 17th place run at Talladega in the 2005 Aaron's 499.
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series, he won the pole for the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 in 2005, but he lost his ride after 2 races due to lack of sponsorship. For the 2006 season, Earnhardt signed with ThorSport Racing and drove the #13 Chevrolet the full season with occasional sponsorship from the National Pork Board. His best finish of the season was an 11th at Nashville and Las Vegas. At the conclusion of the season, Kerry and ThorSport Racing went their separate ways.
In December 2007, he announced, in a year-end letter to his fans on his website, kerryearnhardtonline.com, that he had retired as a competitive driver. He is still an active test driver for DEI, and occasionally drives in the Nationwide Series (NNS).
His last appearance in a national touring series was the Nationwide Series' Subway Jalapeño 250 on July 3, 2009 at Daytona International Speedway driving, the #31 car for Rick Ware Racing.
Kerry drove one of his father's original race cars, a #3 1995 Chevrolet Monte Carlo, at the Goodwood Festival of Speed in England.
Family life
He and wife René married in 1999. They have a daughter, Kayla.
From their previous marriages, Kerry has two sons, Bobby and Jeffrey, and René has a daughter, Blade.
Bobby Earnhardt currently races in the ARCA Truck Series out of Charleston, WV and won the ARCA Truck Series Rookie of the Year. He has also raced dirt and asphalt late model cars over the past couple years.
Jeffrey Earnhardt currently races in the Xfinity Series and marks a fourth generation of Earnhardts in professional motorsports.
References
External links
- Official website
- Kerry Earnhardt driver statistics at Racing-Reference
Interesting Informations
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