Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) is a museum in Mooresville, North Carolina. Formerly a race team founded by Dale Earnhardt and his wife, Teresa Earnhardt, it competed in the NASCAR Cup Series, the highest level of competition for professional stock car racing in the United States, from 1998 to 2009. Earnhardt was a seven-time Winston Cup champion who died in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Despite his ownership of the DEI racing team, Earnhardt never drove for his team in the Winston Cup; instead, he raced for his long-time mentor and backer Richard Childress at RCR. In the late-2000s, DEI suffered critical financial difficulties after drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip, and sponsors Anheuser-Busch, National Automotive Parts Association and United States Army left the team; DEI consequently merged with Chip Ganassi Racing in 2009, moving their equipment into the latter's shop, while the former's closed down. ("Teresa Earnhardt at the end of No. 8", NBC Sports)
DEI celebrated the life and legacy of Earnhardt through an annual celebration of his birthday on April 29, also known as Dale Earnhardt Day. DEI maintains a showroom at the former race shop in Mooresville where fans can purchase memorabilia and other goods. The organization also pursues partnerships which bring tribute to Earnhardt's memory. Notable drivers for DEI included Dale Earnhardt Jr., Michael Waltrip, Steve Park, Martin Truex Jr., Mark Martin, John Andretti, Kenny Wallace, Darrell Waltrip, and Aric Almirola. History Mergers
Ginn Racing On July 25, 2007, DEI merged with Ginn Racing, formerly known as MB2 Motorsports. The No. 01 team joined the No. 1, No. 8 and No. 15 teams. The merger did not affect the DEI team name.
Chip Ganassi Racing
On November 12, 2008, DEI and Felix Sabates' Chip Ganassi Racing (the latter at the time a Dodge team) merged their NASCAR operations into one organization. The team was rechristened Earnhardt Ganassi Racing and moved all team operations to CGR's shop, effectively switching the latter to Chevrolets. The No. 42 team joined the No. 1 and No. 8 for the 2009 Sprint Cup season. In 2014, EGR reverted to the Chip Ganassi Racing name before being sold to Trackhouse Racing Team in 2021.
Earnhardt Technology Group Earnhardt Technology Group (ETG) was created in August 2009 to assist up-and-coming teams. It was founded to contribute resources and opportunities to race in championships. It serves the engineering and parts needs of more than thirty teams in the NASCAR Sprint Cup, the NASCAR Nationwide Series and the Camping World Truck Series. ETG provides a broad range of engineering services to all levels of the racing industry; distribution of Renton springs; machine shop services (now contributing to many varied fields of mechanical engineering); a leasing service; sales of vehicles and component parts; and consultation and support.
Club E Club E is the official fan club for Dale Earnhardt. It is a membership based fan club with three different levels based on contribution level (ranging from no fee to $49.99). Members of Club E have access to Dale Earnhardt footage, personal items, discounts at the DEI retail store, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, the NASCAR Hall of Fame, Kannapolis Intimidators games, Charlotte Motor Speedway, Dale Earnhardt Chevrolet, and Great Wolf Lodge, Inc. as well as member only events. Club E is currently suspended but does offer a Facebook page for fans to follow to receive news.
The Dale Earnhardt Foundation The Dale Earnhardt Foundation was founded with a mission to continue the legacy of Dale Earnhardt through charitable programs and grants reflecting Earnhardt's commitments to children, education and environment and wildlife preservation.
Cup Series
Car No. 01 History
Mark Martin (2007)
Before the 01 car ran under the DEI banner, the team ran as MB2 Motorsports, with their cars driven by drivers such as Ernie Irvan, Ken Schrader, and Joe Nemechek. Veteran Mark Martin, coming off his final year with Roush Racing, was signed to drive MB2's No. 01 car for 20 races (18 points races plus the Budweiser Shootout and Nextel All-Star Challenge) in 2007, with Joe Nemechek moving over from the 01 team to the team's new 13 team. Regan Smith was pinned to fill the remaining 18 races of the season, while driving in the Busch Series for the team as well. MB2 Motorsports also changed its name to Ginn Racing to reflect Bobby Ginn's new majority interest in the team. Martin was leading in the final turn of the season-opening Daytona 500, after lining up on the final restart with former Roush teammates Greg Biffle and Matt Kenseth behind him. Coming down the front stretch, and with the field wrecking behind him, Martin looked to have finally come through at Daytona. But the caution was not called, and Kevin Harvick caught Martin on his outside, beating him to the line by two-hundredths of a second. Martin put together more strong finishes, and after the fourth race at Atlanta was leading the points standings in what was supposed to be his first season of semi-retirement. Resisting the chance to capture his first championship, Martin did step out of the car as scheduled, breaking a streak of 621 consecutive starts. In 24 starts for the team, Martin scored 11 top 10s, and finished 27th in points despite missing 12 races.
Regan Smith (2007-2008) Rookie Regan Smith meanwhile made his debut at Bristol Motor Speedway in March, finishing 25th. Smith would run 6 more races in the car, with a best finish of 24th at Talladega Superspeedway. On July 17, it was announced that Smith would move to the 14 car on a full-time basis, replacing veteran Sterling Marlin. Meanwhile, 23-year-old Aric Almirola, who was granted his release from Joe Gibbs Racing after being pulled out of a car he qualified on the pole during a Busch Series race in favor of Denny Hamlin, signed on to be the new co-driver of the 01. With the merger of Ginn and DEI not long afterwards, Smith was left on the sidelines while Almirola ran 5 races. Aric's results were not much better than Regan's, with a best finish of 26th at Phoenix. Martin and Almirola would move to the 8 car for 2008.
In 2008, Smith was named the full-time driver of the 01 car (now fully operated by DEI), with Martin and Almirola as well as sponsor U.S. Army moving to the 8 car to replace the departing Dale Earnhardt Jr. Principal Financial Group was signed as the primary sponsor for the Daytona 500 and Brickyard 400. Principal often ran as a secondary sponsor on the sides of the car, with a DEI logo on the hood in lieu of full sponsorship. Steak-umm and Coors Light were also sponsors in one-race deals. Ron Fellows replaced Smith at the two road course races, scoring a 13th-place finish at Watkins Glen. Smith almost won the 2008 AMP Energy 500, passing Tony Stewart on the final lap and crossing the finish line in first. Smith, however, was found to be passing below the yellow line upon video review, and per NASCAR had his position revoked, leading to an 18th-place finish. Though he finished 34th in points with no top 10 finishes, Smith became the first rookie to finish every race he entered during the 2008 season and was named Rookie of the Year at the season's end. The 01 team disbanded after DEI merged with Chip Ganassi Racing with Felix Sabates, and Smith moved on to Furniture Row Racing.
Car No. 01 Results NASCAR Sprint Cup Series results Year Driver No. Manufacturer 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 Pts2007 Mark Martin 01Chevy DAY2 CAL5 LVS5 ATL10 TEX3 PHO12 RCH17 DAR14 CLT11 DOV7 POC7 MCH29 DAY17 CHI14 IND6 POC9 MCH42 RCH21 DOV4 KAN12 CLT16 ATL43 TEX34 HOM917th3793 Regan Smith BRI25 MAR26 TAL24 SON30 NHA32 GLN37 NHA36 Aric Almirola BRI36 CAL31 TAL30 MAR43 PHO26 2008 Regan Smith DAY37 CAL31 LVS34 ATL38 BRI26 MAR14 TEX35 PHO35 TAL21 RCH21 DAR29 CLT19 DOV21 POC28 MCH32 NHA27 DAY24 CHI34 IND31 POC25 MCH29 BRI14 CAL26 RCH23 NHA23 DOV37 KAN32 TAL18 CLT23 MAR42 ATL30 TEX34 PHO23 HOM34 32nd 2872 Ron Fellows SON29 GLN13
Car No. 1 history
No. 14 (1996-1997) In 1996, DEI debuted in the Winston Cup Series for the first of two appearances at Pocono Raceway with the No. 14 Racing for Kids Chevrolet driven by Jeff Green. Robby Gordon also drove the car in an appearance for DEI at Charlotte Motor Speedway later in the season. In 1997, sponsored by Burger King, Busch Series standout Steve Park drove the car in four races, with the team failing to qualify in another four.
Steve Park (1997-2003) In 1998, the team switched the car number from No. 14 to No. 1 in an agreement with Richard Jackson $100,000, another car owner. DEI received sponsorships from Pennzoil and Park and made a bid for NASCAR Rookie of the Year honors. In the third race of the year at Las Vegas Motor Speedway, Park failed to qualify. The following week, Steve suffered a broken femur, collarbone, and shoulder blade in a severe crash during practice at Atlanta. Ron Hornaday Jr. failed to qualify the car in the following weekend at Darlington before the team brought in 3-time champion Darrell Waltrip. He drove the car for 13 races while Park recovered from his injuries and finished in the Top 10 twice. Park returned at the Brickyard 400 and following a crash, he finished 35th. In 1998, Park posted two 11th-place finishes and finished 42nd in points.
In 1999, Park finished in the Top 10 five times and 14th in points. In 2000, he won his first two Bud Pole awards and won his first race at Watkins Glen International, his home track. He finished the season 11th in points. In 2001, in the first race after Earnhardt's death, he beat Bobby Labonte in a photo finish at North Carolina Speedway. Park's career encountered difficulties at a Busch Series race at Darlington Raceway. During a caution, his steering wheel became disconnected from the column. The car immediately veered to the left and was hit by the quicker-moving vehicle of Larry Foyt. Kenny Wallace filled in for Park while he recuperated from the new injuries sustained at Darlington. In doing so, Wallace won the pole and finished second in the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400 at the North Carolina speedway. Park gradually recovered from his injuries and returned, ironically, at the 2002 spring Darlington race. Park ran strong in his return, taking the lead at lap 18, and proceeding to lead 19 laps. Park, however, crashed while attempting to pass the lapped car of Stacy Compton, pole sitter Ricky Craven, was also collected during the incident. Park would finish 39th, 160 laps down. This was eventually seen as a sign that Park was still likely suffering from a concussion sustained during the Darlington crash the previous year and exacerbated by further impacts since. Park struggled to regain his form and was involved in yet another visually stunning accident during the opening lap of a race at Pocono. Rusty Wallace collided with Park exiting turn 1. The No. 1 then turned dead left and dragged teammate Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s No. 8 car through wet grass towards the short and relatively unreinforced inside guardrail (prior to SAFER Barriers). Park hit the metal guard rail, and proceeded to flip several times, eventually landing on the driver's side. Park's teammate ran to his aide after the dramatic impact and aftermath. In mid 2003, Park was relieved of his driving duties and was replaced by Jeff Green. (Park took over Green's No. 30 AOL Chevy at Richard Childress Racing, previously Earnhardt's car owner)