Sports
“Earnhardt Family Drama: Dale Jr. Exposes Stepmother’s Hidden Battle”
When Dale Earnhardt Sr passed away in the 2001 Daytona 500, a curtain of silence fell across all of NASCAR. The sport had lost a racing legend who etched several golden moments throughout his career. They ranged from driving from 18th to first in the final five laps at Talladega Superspeedway to executing the ‘Pass in the Grass’ while battling Bill Elliott in the 1987 Winston. But while fans focused on his achievements during his prime, his family had to deal with problems after his death.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was 27 years old then and still grappling with the reality that his legendary father succumbed to crash injuries. It was then that his stepmother, Teresa Earnhardt, stepped up to protect her husband’s legacy. In a recent recollection of that time, Dale Jr debunks the negative feelings that fans harbor about Teresa.
Ever since Teresa Earnhardt refused ownership of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and trademark rights to the No. 8 to her stepson in 2007, she quickly became a villain in NASCAR. Fans found colorful names for her as she blocked 14-time Most Popular Driver Dale Earnhardt Jr’s wishes. However, the winds of change are afoot, as she finally relinquished the No. 8 race car’s rights to Dale Jr. The latter is all set to drive that number with Budweiser’s sponsorship in Late Model Stock Series races in 2024-25. And the stepson is now repaying the favor, attempting to revamp Teresa Earnhardt’s stained image.
After Dale Earnhardt passed away, the NASCAR world was thrown into flux. The sport just lost a 7-time Cup champion who ruled fans’ emotions – so some people wanted to capitalize on that even after his death. But Teresa acted as a chrome-steel barrier and ensured her family’s dignity was safe. Dale Earnhardt Jr harped on that recently in a Dale Jr Download episode:
“I saw that effort when we were going through the autopsy photos. There were people that were trying to get those released. I certainly didn’t want them released…I was really impressed with how hard Teresa fought that. And I’m thankful that she did, because…I was naive. I don’t think I had the vision to understand why that was important and why she was fighting that so hard,” he said.
Dale Jr continued his appreciation for Teresa’s efforts after that tragic day on 18th February 2001. “But I’m so thankful that she did…took a lot of effort, took a lot of traveling, and spent a ton of money to do it. So she’s always kind of been protective that way.” Although fans have labeled her a villainous name for retaining the Number 8 rights for 17 years, Dale Earnhardt Jr softened his words. “I thought as long as she had this aid, I was very happy that it was in a safe place. I knew that it was always gonna be fine. But if she doesn’t want to pay for the trademark anymore, I’m like, well we better get that, because I want it safe.”
Sebastian Vettel and Mick Schumacher will form a ‘super team’ for Germany again at the Race of Champions in 2025, taking place in Sydney in March.
The popular annual event is often a prelude to the motorsport season getting underway in earnest, and Vettel and Schumacher will form Germany’s line-up in the Nations Cup for a fourth time when the event heads to Australia next year.
Schumacher finished as runner-up in the individual ROC event in its last running in 2023, losing out to World Rallycross and DTM champion Mattias Ekström back in 2023.
The German is currently being discussed as one of the candidates to fill the uncontracted seat at Sauber next season, with chief operating and chief technical officer Mattia Binotto having recently confirmed he is among the drivers being spoken about for a potential return to Formula 1.
Vettel won the ROC Nations Cup with Mick’s father, seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher on six occasions, while having finished as runner-up with the former Haas driver while he was in Formula 3 back in 2019.
Four-time World Champion Vettel won the Champion of Champions event in London back in 2015 and took the runner-up spot in 2022, with the duo uniting once again next year.
“I’m delighted to be coming back to the Race Of Champions and teaming up with Mick again,” Vettel said.
“It will be exciting to race in the former Olympic Stadium in Sydney that looks like it will be a great venue for the Race Of Champions.
“All the drivers who have the honour to participate in ROC fall in love with the event, because it reminds us about why we first started racing; pure competition and of course with the identical cars there are no excuses.
“I will do everything I can to help Germany win another ROC Nations Cup Title with Mick on the Friday evening, but I will not be doing him any favours when we are going for the outright win on the Saturday night, especially as he beat me in the semi-finals of the Individual ROC in Sweden in 2023!
“At ROC the racing is always intense on the track and everyone wants to win, but it’s also about putting on a great show for the fans.”
Schumacher added: “Australia is one of my favourite places and representing Germany together with Sebastian at ROC Sydney will for sure be big fun.
“After finishing 2nd in the individual ROC in Sweden in 2023 and in the ROC Nations Cup in ROC Mexico with Seb, the goal this time has to be the overall winners trophy both in the ROC Nations Cup on Friday night and in the individual Race Of Champions on Saturday.
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Lewis Hamilton’s shocking spin at the United States Grand Prix last Sunday brought an early end to his race weekend.
It also trimmed the number of race weekends he has left with Mercedes, before his move to Ferrari for the 2025 Formula 1 season, down to five.
With Mercedes sitting fourth in the Constructors’ Championship standings, and Hamilton currently sixth in the Drivers’ Championship, any dreams of one last championship with the Silver Arrows ended weeks ago. But that does not mean that Toto Wolff wants Hamilton’s final race weekends with the team to fizzle out, as the Mercedes boss discussed Sunday following the United States Grand Prix.
“[Ending the season on a high note], we are keen on that, but how his mindset is, and how the relationships are in the team, is as good as we ever had,” said Wolff to the media, including SB Nation, on Sunday evening in Mercedes’ hospitality space.
“First thing he said? He apologized for the incident,” continued Wolff, recalling what Hamilton said after his Lap 2 spin. “As I said before, I don’t think it was his fault. Something caught him out.
“So it’s great and we want to celebrate it, and finish on a high, and I’m sure we will. Whether we can do it with great performance in the car? That would be fantastic,” said Wolff.
“But if not, then we think we gave it our best shot.”
Chase Elliott is undoubtedly one of the most popular drivers in NASCAR right now. His #9 Chevrolet Camaro ZL1 is also very popular and is synonymous with him. While the #9 car has a rich history, and is one of the most iconic numbers in stock car racing, for Elliott, it had an extra special meaning. Elliott inherited the number at Hendrick Motorsports to honor his father, Bill Elliott, a former NASCAR driver.
Chase a Cup Series champion, made his Cup Series debut with Hendrick Motorsports back in 2015. His first race was the 2015 STP 500 at Martinsville. Elliott’s debut car was the #25 Chevrolet that he drove with crew chief Kenny Francis.
His first full-time season with HMS was in 2016 when he took over the #24 Chevrolet from Jeff Gordon. Gordon decided to retire from the sport at the end of 2015, and HMS brought Elliott in for the #24. The Dawsonville-born driver drove the same car in his sophomore season as well.
Ahead of the 2018 season, Hendrick Motorsports announced Chase Elliott would take over the #9 car. The #24 was given to William Byron, and the former still drives the same numbered car. So why did Elliott change his number after two years?
He did so to honor his father, Bill Elliott. Elliott Sr. is a former NASCAR driver, a Cup Series champion, and a two-time Daytona 500 winner. He was popular for driving the #9 car in the NASCAR Cup Series, first doing so in 1976.
He continued driving the car for a significant amount of time, and as he kept on winning races, the number 9 became more popular every single year. Leaving aside a few breaks, Bill Elliott kept the #9 car with him till 2004.
Following Elliott Sr., Kasey Kahne, Marcos Ambrose, and Sam Hornish Jr., all drove the 9 car for Richard Petty Motorsports until Hendrick Motorsports claimed the number back. Eventually, Chase Elliott inherited the #9 car in 2018 and continues to drive the same.
