Dale Ernhadt Biography Essay

Have you ever wondered why Dale Earnhardt was called “ The Intimidator ''? He earned this nickname because of his aggressive driving style and his personal drive to win no matter what the cost was. Dale Earnhardt was a true American icon known for his determination and his inspiration to race. Dale motivated many people to do what they love and by extension do what they need to do in order to succeed. His many wins and many accolades he achieved over his career proved that it is possible to do what you love and succeed in life no matter what background you come from. Dale Earnhadt was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, on April 29th, 1952. He was introduced to racing by his father, Nascar legend, Ralph Earnhardt. When Dale was a kid, he

Dale learned everything he knew about racing from his father (biography.com). At the age of 16, Dale wanted to drop out of highschool to race, his father told him that if he would finish highschool, he would buy him a new racing car. Having the desire to race as he had, he didn’t listen and went on his own to race. Dale began to race on the dirt tracks native to his home town of Kannapolis. When Dale turned 26 years old, his father Ralph died of a heart attack. Dale wanted to continue his dad’s legacy and live the Earnhardt last name down. In 1975 Dale Earnhardt raced in the Winston Cup Series in Charlotte, North Carolina. If you had the right sponsors, and had enough money to buy yourself into the race, then you could race and Ed Negre, a former Nascar driver himself, had a Nascar team called “Negre Racing Team” and they sponsored Dale for this race. Dale did not win this race, he placed 22nd with no laps led in the “#8 Dodge” (DriverAverages.com). For the longest time Dale Earnhardt had not won a race until the Southeastern 500 in 1979 and Dale Earnhardt was recognized as the Rookie of the Year in Nascar and won his

After this event, Nascar made it mandatory for all drivers to have this on their vehicles to take more safety precautions. (Dale the Movie/Nascar Hall Of Fame). February 18th, 2001, Dale’s final Daytona 500 he was involved in a crucial wreck. During the race Sterling Marlin had clipped the back left side of Earnhardt’s car, which made him go to the left and made his car fishtail, after this in attempt to catch himself, he overcorrected the car and hit Ken Schrader, and Schraders car made Dale go into the wall going at 180 MPH(FOX 10). Dale was known for not wearing a neck brace because as he says “It makes me feel restrained” (Dale The Movie) and not wearing a full face helmet because it made him feel uncomfortable. This led to his death, without the neck restraint and the full face helmet, his head hit the dashboard of his car, causing blunt force trauma to his head. This led to more safety precautions made by Nascar. After his death, all drivers are required to wear full face helmets and the neck restraints. This also led to the change of the side railing on tracks. Now the side rails have styrofoam and are more elastic, allowing the cars to bounce back and to not come to a complete stop during a wreck. (Fox