Dale Earnhardt Sr. was a famous NASCAR driver who was known for his fearless racing style and no-holds-barred attitude. He was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina and in his time with NASCAR, he would go on to win over 76 races. He drove a black #3 Chevrolet Sedan and won 7 Winston Cup Championships. He made his first Winston Cup circuit debut in 1975 and won his first race in 1978, making him the fourth rookie in NASCAR history to win a race. He won the Daytona 500 in 1998. That would be the race in which he would die three years later. On February 18, 2001, Dale Earnhardt Sr. was in a crash during the last lap and passed away from blunt force trauma to his head. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at 5:16pm. Funeral services were held 4 days later on February 22. The event was a small affair for just his immediate family and friends. The widespread media attention of his death lead way to reformed safety measures for NASCAR including the mandating of head and neck restraints, new inspection rules for seal belts and safer barriers around oval tracks. No one has died in a NASCAR competition since Dale’s death.
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It is said that Dale Earnhardt Sr. is worth 70 Million Dollars. In the late 1990s, his annual income was 24.5M and in 2000, he was ranked #40 of the 100 wealthiest celebrities in Forbes magazine. Before his death, he owned a helicopter, Leer Jet, multiple ATVs and kept a fully staffed yacht in Florida.