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Career Photos

Dale Earnhardt's Legacy:

• 1951: Born in Kannapolis
• 1973: Earnhardt's father, Ralph, dies at age 45 of a heart attack while working on a race car.
• 1975: Earnhardt makes his Winston Cup debut in the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  He started 33rd and finished 22nd in a Dodge owned by Ed Negre.  He earned $2,245 and finished one spot ahead of his future boss, Richard Childress.
• 1979: He wins the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year title while driving for Rod Osterlund, the season that includes his first victory at Bristol.
• 1980: Earnhardt wins five races en route to his first Winston Cup championship.  He's the only driver to win a series championship after being Rookie of the Year.
• 1981: Earnhardt struggles, failing to win a race or a pole.  Osterlund sells the team in mid-season and Earnhardt quits.  He drives for Childress the rest of the season.
• 1982: He joins Bud Moore's team.  He wins at Darlington in April but fractures a knee in a crash at Talladega.  He doesn't miss a race.
• 1983: He wins two races before bolting back to a car owned by Childress, with whom he'd spend the rest of racing career.
• 1984: He wins two races including one at Atlanta where newcomer Terry Schoonover is killed.  "i'm sorry it happened, real sorry," Earnhardt said.  "It's something, you don't want to think about happening, and I try not to."
• 1985: Earnhardt wins four races and finishes eighth in the season points race.
• 1986: He wins his second Winston Cup title with five victories.
• 1987: Earnhardt wins a third series title with 11 victories.
• 1989: He finishes second in the series, losing to Rusty Wallace by 12 points.
• 1990: Earnhardt earns a then-record $3 million in prize money while taking home a fourth Winston Cup title, 26 points ahead of Mark Martin.
• 1991: He takes a fifth series title.
• 1992: He finishes 12th in the season's points race, tying his worst showing of his career.
• 1993: Earnhardt wins a sixth Winston Cup championship.
• 1994: He ties Richard Petty's mark of seven Winston Cup titles.
• 1997: Earnhardt goes winless for the first time since 1981.
• 1998: He claims his only Daytona 500 victory, in is 20th attempt.
• 2000: He finishes second in the points race to Bobby Labonte.  He wins his last race in October at Talladega, AL, giving him 76 career victories.
• 2001: Earnhardt is killed in a crash during the last lap of the Daytona 500, while a car he owns, driven by Michael Waltrip, wins the race.