Remembering Dale- The Triumphs
In sports, greatness is measured in results. Results equal championships. The New York Yankees, the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Boston Celtics all have their place in the annals of history for achieving the pinnacle in their respective sports.
Many thought Richard Petty’s standard of 7 NASCAR Cup titles pretty close to untouchable. For all their greatness- only David Pearson, Lee Petty, Cale Yarborough, and Darrell Waltrip had come close with three championships apiece.
Dale Earnhardt fought for his place in NASCAR history with his unbelievable feats of derring- do, undaunted determination, and most of all, equaling Petty’s mark of 7 titles. If Richard Petty is “The King”, then Dale Earnhardt is the “Captain of The Royal Guard.” Each championship run has its story.
1980
The season was a changing of the guard in some ways. The likes of Richard Petty, David Pearson and Cale Yarborough were giving way to guys like Earnhardt, Waltrip, and Neil Bonnett, with Bobby Allison and Benny Parsons bridging the gap.
Earnhardt earned his first superspeedway win in Atlanta by edging Rusty Wallace- setting the stage for close title fight between Ironhead and Yarbrough. Richard Petty’s season would be waylayed by a broken neck suffered in the Coca- Cola 500 in late July.
Yarborough edged Earnhardt in wins by a 6-5 margin. Darrell Waltrip also had 5 victories. Back to back wins in Martinsville and Charlotte solidified Dale’s title run, as well as leading with 19 top 5s and 24 top 10s. It was classic short track racing at the Virginia track as the Intimidator averaged just 70 miles per hour.
Ultimately, Earnhardt clipped Yarborough by 19 points. He also added races in Bristol and Nashville to the victory column. Though the margin of victory was close, Earnhardt never relinquished the early season lead he built in the points.
After battling, hustling, and wrestling his way into NASCAR Cup racing, Earnhardt established himself as one who belonged.
1986
The intervening years were a bumpy road as he bounced around a bit, racing for Rod Osterlund, Jim Stacy and Bud Moore before pairing for good with old friend and former racing rival Richard Childress for a partnership that would last the rest of Dale’s life.
Earnhardt endured one of many heartbreaking finishes at Daytona, running out of fuel in the season opener and thus, he gave way to Geoff Bodine, one of his fiercest rivals. The following week at Richmond, Earnhardt clashed late in the race with another arch-rival Darrell Waltrip, enabling Kyle Petty to win. Not the way you want to start a title run.
Earnhardt scored back-to-back wins in mid-April at Darlington and North Wilkesboro to get momentum. He’d need it, as Waltrip was a factor throughout the season, and the late Tim Richmond- who led the way with 7 victories. Earnhardt, Waltrip, Richmond, and Bill Elliott rounded out the top 5.
While Rusty Wallace and Bobby Hillin, Jr. made fireworks with wins- Earnhardt’s comeback win at Charlotte made headlines, working his way back from two laps down to get the win, making a Charlotte sweep for the season. An Atlanta victory capped off a season with 5 wins, 16 tops 5s, and a series leading 23 top 10s.
The Man In Black (as he would later be known) was back!
1987
The Intimidator was the dominator with 11 wins- whipping second place Bill Elliott by nearly 500 points! After Elliott won at Daytona, Earnhardt scored wins in weeks two and three at Rockingham and Richmond. After Ricky Rudd scored a victory at Atlanta- Dale went wild with 4 straight wins: Darlington, North Wilkesboro, Bristol and Martinsville.
The Allison clan and an ailing Tim Richmond tried to keep Earnhardt honest with mid-season wins, but Earnhardt kept the good racing up with summer victories at Michigan and Pocono.
Earnhardt capped off 1987 with another hot streak of three late summer wins in a row- claiming victory at Bristol, Darlington, and Richmond. In addition to the victories- Earnhardt finished with a dominating 21 top 5s and 24 top 10s. Elliott, 1984 champion Terry Labonte- who came up with Earnhardt in 1979, D.W. and Rusty rounded out the top 5.
1990
In 1988 and ‘89, Earnhardt still ran well but would give way to Bill Elliott and Rusty Wallace respectively. At the start of the new decade, “Big E” was back, recapturing his dominant form.
His season got off on the wrong tire, cutting a tire and surrendering a win at the “Great American Race” to Derrike Cope. A fresh batch of challengers were racing for glory with Earnhardt, as Busch Series stud Mark Martin entered the fray in earnest. Geoff Bodine, Bill Elliott and old NASCAR salt Morgan Shepherd comprised the series top 5.
Wins in races 4 and 5 at Atlanta and Darlington got things going for the “Man In Black“. In the Darlington race, he edged out Martin for the victory and Neil Bonnett suffered a rough wreck that resulted in a concussion and amnesia.
As the season progressed- Earnhardt scored wins at Talladega, back to back wins at Michigan and Daytona. A July 29th win at Talladega completed a season sweep at the track where his name is revered to this day.
Ernie “Swervin” Irvan bested Earnhardt at Bristol for his first Cup win, but the “3″ would bounce back with wins at Darlington and Richmond. By leading all but the first 50 laps at Phoenix and finishing third in Atlanta behind Shepherd- Earnhardt sealed his 4th Cup championship.
Besides the 9 victories- Earnhardt, never a good qualifier- picked up 4 poles, a series leading 18 tops 5s, and he tied Mark Martin for 23 top 10s to lead NASCAR.
1991
Earnhardt may not have had a gaudy victory total in 1991- 14 drivers won races in this season- including that magical run by “Mr. September”- Harry Gant. It’s a good thing Ironhead had consistency working for him: in addition to 4 wins, Earnhardt ran 14 top 5s, and an impressive 21 top 10s. Only Ken Schrader came close with 18.
Earnhardt rumbled along with an early wins at Richmond and Martinsville, followed by a late July victory at Talladega. A late North Wilkesboro victory closed the deal for Earnhardt, beating Ricky Rudd by a comfortable 195 points. Davey Allison, Gant and Irvan rounded out the top 5.
1993
After a disappointing 1992 season that offered an unlikely championship run for Alan Kulwicki, Earnhardt was back on his game in 1993. NASCAR needed a good season from one of its legends, as the sport suffered the losses of its defending champion and promising young Davey Allison- not in cars, but in air crashes.
Dale Jarrett won a thriller at the Daytona 500 over Earnhardt, a race made famous because Jarrett’s father Ned made the call from the TV booth. Earnhardt reassured the elder Jarrett he was not angry that Ned played a “homer” as the man watched his son win the Great American Race.
There were some hot runs by other drivers. Rusty Wallace won 5 of the final 8 races and Mark Martin went on a 4-race winning streak in August. Wallace actually had more wins- topping Ironhead in victories by a 10-6 margin. 3 fewer DNFs worked in Dale’s favor as he beat out Wallace by 80 points. He would dot the schedule with wins at Darlington, back-to-back visits to victory lane at Charlotte and Dover. The Intimidator won at Daytona in July, as well as Talladega and Pocono. After Earnhardt, Wallace and Martin- Dale Jarrett and Kyle Petty completed the top 5.
1994
By now, a fresh-faced kid from California would begin to serve notice of his arrival. Jeff Gordon picked up a pair of wins en route to an impressive sophomore campaign. Earnhardt’s record-tying title seemed to say “I ain’t finished just yet.”
Though Rusty Wallace would double Earnhardt’s win total 8-4, “Big E” would lead the series with a whopping 20 top 5s, and 25 top 10s. Mark Martin, Wallace, Ken Schrader and Ricky Rudd weren’t even that close.
Earnhardt won back-to-back at Darlington and Bristol, plus he won at Talladega and Rockingham.
The closest Earnhardt ever came to a record-breaking 8th title was in 1995, when Gordon edged the old war horse by a mere 34 points.
If you’ve followed NASCAR for more than 5 laps, then you know just how hard and impressive it is to win a race- let alone a title. Anyone who’s achieved that is worthy of respect. In our current competitive climate, one has to wonder if its possible for a young stud like Jimmie Johnson to enter the rarified air of Petty and Earnhardt.
Others may have won more races, but even 100 years from now- Earnhardt will stand at the top- alongside the greats.
Earnhardt raced for results….and he got ‘em.
(Photo by mandj98. More of his photography may be found at flickr.com)
