Kerry Earnhardt
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kerry Dale Earnhardt (born December 8, 1969 in Kannapolis, North Carolina) is the eldest son of the late seven time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt. He is the half-brother of NASCAR Nextel Cup star Dale Earnhardt, Jr.. He is the spitting image of his father but has yet to achieve the level of success enjoyed by his father and brother. He is employed by the family operation as a consultant and has a son, Jeffrey Earnhardt, who will race for DEI in 2007.
Following Dale Earnhardt's divorce from first wife Latane Brown when Kerry was only one year of age, she married Jack Key who adopted him. Kerry saw little of his biological father until he was 16. [1]
Contents |
[edit] Racing career
He scored a pole, 8 top 5s and 40 top 10s as well as 1994 Rookie of the Year Honors at his local track in the NASCAR Dodge Weekly Racing Series.
He has had his greatest success in the ARCA Re/Max Series, winning 4 of 11 races with 7 top 5s and 8 top 10s.
He has raced in the NASCAR Winston West Series, scoring 2 top 5s and 5 top 10s in 8 races.
He has scored 2 top 5s and 8 top 10s in 11 races in the NASCAR Goody's Dash Series.
[edit] NASCAR career
He has competed in the Busch Series, scoring 3 top 5s and 6 top 10s. His 2002 run for FitzBradshaw Racing in the Busch Series has been his only full season in any of NASCAR's Big 3 series (Cup, Busch, and Truck), and he finished 22nd in the points.
In 2005 part time he raced in seven NEXTEL Cup races, six for Richard Childress Racing in the #33. His highest finish was a 17th place run at Talladega.
In the NASCAR Craftsman Truck Series he won the pole for the Florida Dodge Dealers 250 race in 2005, but after 2 races was released due to lack of sponsorship with Billy Ballew's team. For the 2006 season, Earnhardt signed with ThorSport Racing and drove the #13 Chevrolet with occasional sponsorship from Pork. Kerry's best finish of the season was an 11th at Nashville and Las Vegas. After the season's conclusion both Kerry and ThorSport Racing decided to go their separate ways. It is unknown as of December 2006 if Kerry will be racing in the 2007 season.
Kerry will join the DEI operation in 2007 as a test driver and liaison between the DEI teams, and will race a limited schedule. Son Jeffrey Earnhardt will also participate as a development driver for DEI.
In cooperation with Dale, Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt, there are plans in operation for a motorsports complex and fishing pond to be built somewhere in Alabama[citation needed].
[edit] Family life
He and wife René married in 1999, and have a daughter, Kayla.
From their previous marriages, Kerry has two sons, Bobby and Jeffrey, and René has a daughter, Blade.
Jeffrey has been racing in lower-tier divisions at Wythe Raceway in Rural Retreat, Virginia, and was recognized for his 2005 season efforts at the track's banquet after he scored two consecutive wins in May 2005 at the half-mile dirt track, in the "Hornet" division, which features four-cylinder subcompact cars, becoming the fourth generation of Earnhardts to win in Mid-Atlantic short tracks.
Jeffrey Earnhardt is racing at Motor Mile Speedway in Radford, Virginia for 2006, and in 2007 will be a development driver at Dale Earnhardt, Inc, and will race in the Busch East Series.
