Two-Time Daytona 500 Winner · NASCAR

Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Twenty-six Cup wins, two Daytona 500s, and fifteen straight years voted the most popular driver in the sport. The official Dale Earnhardt Jr. collection: the No. 8, the No. 88, and Daytona.

Nationality
American
Born
10 October 1974 · Kannapolis, North Carolina
Teams
Dale Earnhardt Inc. (1999–2007) · Hendrick Motorsports (2008–17)
Daytona 500 wins
2 (2004, 2014)
Busch Series titles
2 (1998, 1999)
Hall of Fame
Class of 2021
Graphic illustration of NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt Jr. wearing his red Axalta racing suit and cap, featuring his number 8 Budweiser race car, helmet.
Two-Time Daytona 500 Winner
1999 — 2017
2
Daytona 500 Wins
26
Cup Series Wins
15
Most Popular Driver Awards
631
Cup Series Starts

Who is Dale Earnhardt Jr.?

Dale Earnhardt Jr. (born 10 October 1974) is an American former NASCAR driver, the son of Dale Earnhardt. He won 26 Cup Series races including the Daytona 500 in 2004 and 2014, took back-to-back Busch Series championships in 1998 and 1999, and was voted the sport's most popular driver for fifteen consecutive years. He retired from full-time racing in 2017 and entered the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2021.

Full name
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr.
Nationality
American
Cup Series career
1999–2017
Best known for
Two Daytona 500s, and the 2001 win at Daytona
Rider Profile

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Full Biography

Dale Earnhardt Jr. is an American former NASCAR driver, team owner and broadcaster. He won 26 Cup Series races including two Daytona 500s, took back-to-back Busch Series championships in 1998 and 1999, and was voted the sport’s most popular driver fifteen years running. He entered the NASCAR Hall of Fame in 2021.

Dale Earnhardt Inc. He won the Busch Series title in his first full season and again the year after, then moved up to Cup in the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet run by his father’s team. His father was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, in a race Earnhardt Jr. finished second. That July, in NASCAR’s first race back at Daytona, he won.

Hendrick He left the family team after 2007 for Hendrick Motorsports and the No. 88. Four winless seasons followed before the results returned: the 2014 Daytona 500 and four wins that year, three more in 2015. Concussions interrupted him twice, and the second cost him half of the 2016 season.

After He announced in April 2017 that the season would be his last full-time one, and finished 25th in his final race. He has commentated on the sport since, and owns JR Motorsports, whose cars have won the Xfinity Series championship repeatedly. He never won a Cup Series title; his best finish was third, in 2003.

The Career

Three Chapters That Defined Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Chapter 01

The Name

He won the Busch Series championship in 1998 and again in 1999, then went Cup racing in the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc., his father's team. On the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 he was running second when his father hit the wall in turn four and was killed. NASCAR came back to Daytona that July for the Pepsi 400, and Earnhardt Jr. led most of it, coming from sixth to the lead in two laps on the final restart to win. He took four consecutive victories at Talladega between 2001 and 2003, and in 2004 the Daytona 500 itself, six years to the day after his father had won it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. being interviewed in victory lane, surrounded by his Budweiser crew in red uniforms, with a trophy alongside. Victory lane with the Budweiser crew · Phoenix, 2004 Photo: Dale Earnhardt Jr. in victory lane at Phoenix (2004) by Don Ramey Logan / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Chapter 02

The 88

He left the family team at the end of 2007 and joined Hendrick Motorsports, where he stayed a decade in the No. 88. One win in his first season was followed by four years without another, the longest drought of his career. It broke in 2012, and by 2014 he was winning properly again — the Daytona 500 for a second time, and three more races that season, then three in 2015. A concussion sustained at Michigan ended his 2016 in July; he started eighteen races that year and none after it.

Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s blue number 88 Nationwide Chevrolet of Hendrick Motorsports, on track. No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet · Hendrick Motorsports, 2016 Photo: Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 88 Nationwide Chevrolet (2016) by FullmentalFic / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Chapter 03

Fifteen Years

He announced in April 2017 that it would be his last full-time season, and finished 25th at Homestead in his final race. He was voted the Cup Series' most popular driver every year from 2003 to 2017 — fifteen in a row, the longest such run anyone has had, though Bill Elliott won the award sixteen times in total. He moved into television, kept running the occasional Xfinity race, and built JR Motorsports into a repeat championship team. The Hall of Fame took him in 2021.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a grey shirt raising a hand to wave, with photographers and a trophy visible behind him. Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the Indianapolis 500 · 2019 Photo: Dale Earnhardt Jr. at the Indianapolis 500 (2019) by Zach Catanzareti Photo / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized) · licence
Career Timeline

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Career Timeline: 1974–Present

Born in Kannapolis

Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. is born on 10 October in Kannapolis, North Carolina, the son of the driver Dale Earnhardt.

Busch Champion

Wins the Busch Series championship in his first full season with Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Second Title, and Cup

A second Busch championship, and a Cup Series debut in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.

First Cup Wins

Wins at Texas in his twelfth start, then at Richmond, and takes The Winston.

Daytona

Finishes second in the Daytona 500, the race in which his father is killed. In July he wins the Pepsi 400 there.

Talladega

A fourth straight win at the track, and third in the championship, his best.

Daytona 500

Wins the Great American Race, and five more, for a career-best six-win season.

Hendrick Motorsports

Leaves his father's team for the No. 88, and wins at Michigan in his first year.

Concussion

Misses two races after a test crash at Kansas, having been concussed at Talladega weeks earlier.

Daytona 500 Again

A second win in the race, ten years after the first, and four wins in the season.

Half a Season

A concussion sustained at Michigan ends his year in July after eighteen starts.

Final Season

Announces in April that the year will be his last full-time one, and finishes 25th at Homestead.

Hall of Fame

Inducted into the NASCAR Hall of Fame, four years after his final race.

By the Numbers

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Cup Series Record, Season by Season

Dale Earnhardt Jr. season-by-season record: team, wins, poles, top 5, top 10 and final standing.
SeasonTeam Wins Poles Top 5 Top 10 Pos.
1999 Dale Earnhardt Inc. 0 0 0 1 48
2000 Dale Earnhardt Inc. 2 2 3 5 16
2001 Dale Earnhardt Inc. 3 2 9 15 8
2002 Dale Earnhardt Inc. 2 2 11 16 11
2003 Dale Earnhardt Inc. 2 0 13 21 3
2004 Dale Earnhardt Inc. 6 0 16 22 5
2005 Dale Earnhardt Inc. 1 0 7 13 19
2006 Dale Earnhardt Inc. 1 0 10 17 5
2007 Dale Earnhardt Inc. 0 1 7 12 16
2008 Hendrick Motorsports 1 1 10 16 12
2009 Hendrick Motorsports 0 0 2 5 25
2010 Hendrick Motorsports 0 1 3 8 21
2011 Hendrick Motorsports 0 1 4 12 7
2012 Hendrick Motorsports 1 1 10 20 12
2013 Hendrick Motorsports 0 2 10 22 5
2014 Hendrick Motorsports 4 0 12 20 8
2015 Hendrick Motorsports 3 0 16 22 12
2016 Hendrick Motorsports 0 0 5 6 32
2017 Hendrick Motorsports 0 2 1 8 21

Career Cup totals: 26 wins · 15 poles · 149 top fives · 261 top tens from 631 starts across 19 seasons, which is what this table sums to. The NASCAR Hall of Fame gives 631 starts, 26 wins and 15 poles, matching exactly; Wikipedia's summary gives 260 top tens rather than 261, and the figure here is the one the per-race results add up to. The poles column counts only those earned on qualifying time, the figure NASCAR records. He started 18 of the 36 races in 2016, a concussion sustained at Michigan ending his season in July. He never won a Cup Series championship — third in 2003 was his best. Not shown here: 24 wins and back-to-back championships in the Busch Series, in 1998 and 1999. Figures verified 15 August 2026.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his own words

In His Own Words
He was with me tonight.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. · on his father, after winning at Daytona in July 2001
Frequently Asked

Dale Earnhardt Jr.: Frequently Asked Questions

How many races did Dale Earnhardt Jr. win?

Twenty-six in the Cup Series from 631 starts, including the Daytona 500 in 2004 and 2014. He also won 24 races in the Busch Series, where he was champion in 1998 and 1999.

Did Dale Earnhardt Jr. ever win a Cup championship?

No. His best finish was third, in 2003. He reached the playoffs several times but the title was the one thing his career did not produce.

What happened at Daytona in 2001?

His father was killed in a crash on the last lap of the Daytona 500, a race Earnhardt Jr. finished second in behind his teammate Michael Waltrip. When NASCAR returned to the track that July for the Pepsi 400, Earnhardt Jr. led most of the race and came from sixth to the lead in two laps on the final restart to win it.

Why did Dale Earnhardt Jr. retire?

Concussions. He was concussed at Michigan in June 2016 and did not race again that year, starting only eighteen of the 36 rounds; he had also missed two races in 2012 after a pair of head injuries. He announced in April 2017 that the season would be his last full-time one.

Is Dale Earnhardt Jr. the most popular driver in NASCAR history?

He won the Most Popular Driver award fifteen years in a row, from 2003 to 2017, which is the longest unbroken run anyone has managed. Bill Elliott won it more times overall, sixteen, including ten consecutively.

Which teams did Dale Earnhardt Jr. drive for?

Two in the Cup Series. Dale Earnhardt Inc., his father's team, in the No. 8 from 1999 to 2007, and Hendrick Motorsports in the No. 88 from 2008 until he retired at the end of 2017.

What does Dale Earnhardt Jr. do now?

He commentates on NASCAR and owns JR Motorsports, the team he founded in 2006, whose cars have won the Xfinity Series championship several times. He has also continued to enter the occasional Xfinity race himself.

Was Dale Earnhardt Jr. in a plane crash?

Yes. On 15 August 2019 a private jet carrying him, his wife Amy, their daughter and their dog went off the runway on landing at Elizabethton in Tennessee and caught fire. Nobody was seriously hurt, and he raced at Darlington the following week, finishing fifth.

Shop His Gear

Dale Earnhardt Jr. Collection

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References

Sources & Further Reading

Every statistic on this page is drawn from the following records.

  1. Dale Earnhardt Jr. — Class of 2021 inductee · NASCAR Hall of Fame (official)
  2. Dale Jr.'s Top 12 Career Moments · Sports Illustrated, source of the pull quote
  3. Dale Earnhardt Jr. brought NASCAR back to life 25 years ago this weekend · OutKick / Fox News
  4. Revisiting Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Pepsi 400 win at Daytona · The SportsRush
  5. Dale Earnhardt Jr. · Wikipedia, season-by-season results
  6. 2001 Pepsi 400 · Wikipedia
  7. Death of Dale Earnhardt · Wikipedia
  8. List of NASCAR Cup Series Most Popular Driver Award winners · Wikipedia
  9. Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Q355388) · Wikidata entity record

How this page is made

Rider profiles are compiled from official series records and cross-checked against independent statistical databases before publication.

Commercial disclosure. This page links to merchandise sold by KozmozInspire. Products are fan-made tributes inspired by motorsport history and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or licensed from the rider, their estate, or any team.

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