Ralph Earnhardt

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Ralph Earnhardt

Born:	February 23 1928
Birthplace:	Kannapolis, North Carolina
Died:	September 26 1973 (aged 45)
Cause of Death:	Heart attack
Awards:	1956 NASCAR Sportsman champion 1989 inductee in the National Motorsports Press Association's Hall of Fame 1997 International Motorsports Hall of Fame inductee 1998 Named one of NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers 2004 inductee in the Oceanside Rotary Club of Daytona Beach Stock Car Racing Hall of Fame 2007 inductee in the National Dirt Late Model Hall of Fame [1]
NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Statistics
51 races run over 6 years.
Best Cup Position:	17th - 1961 (Grand National)
First Race:	1956 Buddy Shuman 250 (Hickory)
Last Race:	1964 unnamed race (Concord)
Wins	Top Tens	Poles
0	16	1

Ralph Lee Earnhardt (February 23, 1928—September 26, 1973) was a NASCAR racing legend. He was the father of Dale Earnhardt, the grandfather of Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Kerry Earnhardt, and great grandfather of Jeffrey Earnhardt.

Contents 1 Background 2 Racing career 3 Trivia 4 Footnotes

Background

Ralph was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina to Effie Mae Barber and John Henderson Earnhardt.^[2] He spent many years working in a cotton mill in North Carolina. One of the only ways out of this poor living was racing. Ralph started his racing career on dirt tracks where he was famous for keeping his car in top condition throughout each race.

Racing career

In 1956, he won the NASCAR Sportsman Championship. He had a second place finish in his first Grand National (now NEXTEL Cup) race in 1956. In 1961, Ralph had his highest finish by finishing 17th in the Grand National point standings.

Ralph Earnhardt was the first car builder/driver to understand and use tire stagger. ^[3]

Ralph Earnhardt died at the age of 45 on September 26, 1973 from a heart attack. ^[4]

Trivia

In the film 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story, Ralph Earnhardt was portrayed by J. K. Simmons.

Footnotes

Wikipedia information about Ralph Earnhardt This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Ralph Earnhardt". It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer). Help contribute to Americola and edit this article.