Ralph Dale Earnhardt was an American professional stock car driver and racing team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series, most notably driving the No. 3 Chevrolet for Richard Childress Racing. His aggressive driving style earned him the nicknames "the Intimidator", "the Man in Black" and "Ironhead"; after his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. joined the Cup Series circuit in 1999, Earnhardt was generally known by the retronyms Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Dale Sr. He is regarded as one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history and named as one of the NASCAR's 50 Greatest Drivers class in 1998.
Ralph Dale Earnhardt Jr. is an American professional stock car racing driver, team owner, and broadcaster. A third-generation driver, he is the son of the late 7-time NASCAR Cup Series champion Dale Earnhardt and relative to many former and current drivers in the NASCAR ranks. Since retiring from full-time competition after the 2017 season, he has competed part-time in the NASCAR Xfinity Series, driving the No. 88 Chevrolet Camaro for his team, JR Motorsports.
Kurt Thomas Busch is an American former auto racing driver. He last competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series in 2022, driving the No. 45 Toyota Camry TRD for 23XI Racing. He is the 2004 NASCAR Cup Series champion and the 2017 Daytona 500 winner. He is the older brother of two-time Cup Series champion Kyle Busch.
Stock car races in the NASCAR Cup Series have been held at the Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania since 1974. The 400-mile (640 km) event, currently known as The Great American Getaway 400 for sponsorship reasons, has been held sometime in mid-to-late July or early August each year, except for when it was held in September 1974 when it was held in April, and 2020 and 2021 when it was held in June as a doubleheader event.
The Pala Casino 400 was a 400-mile (643.737 km) NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Auto Club Speedway in Fontana, California. It was the second race of the Cup Series season during its final years as well as from 2005 to 2010.
The 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 58th season of professional Stock car racing in the United States and the 35th modern-era NASCAR Cup series season. It was started at Daytona International Speedway on Sunday, February 12 with the Budweiser Shootout and ended on Monday, November 20, with the Ford 400 at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The Chase for the Nextel Cup began with the Sylvania 300 on Sunday, September 17, at New Hampshire International Speedway. This was the last full-time season with the Gen 4 car.
The 2004 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series was the 56th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 33rd modern-era Cup series season. The season began on Saturday, February 7, and ended on Sunday, November 21. Kurt Busch, who drove a Ford for Roush Racing, was the Nextel Cup champion. It would be the last time until 2012 that the championship would be won by someone other than Tony Stewart or Jimmie Johnson.
The 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series was the 54th season of professional stock car racing in the United States and the 31st modern-era Cup Series season. It began on February 10, 2002, at Daytona International Speedway, and ended on November 17, 2002, at Homestead-Miami Speedway. Tony Stewart, driving for Joe Gibbs Racing, was declared as the Winston Cup champion. Bill Elliott won the 2002 NASCAR's Most Popular Driver Award. He would win it for the 16th and final time in his career. He withdrew from the ballot after receiving the award. The NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship was captured by Ford after winning 14 events and gaining 245 points over second-place finisher Chevrolet, who had 10 wins and 211 points.
The 2001 Daytona 500, the 43rd running of the event, was the first race of the 2001 NASCAR Winston Cup Series schedule. It was held on February 18, 2001, at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida, consisting of 200 laps and 500 miles on the 2.5-mile (4 km) asphalt tri-oval.
The 2008 Pocono 500 was the fourteenth race of the 2008 NASCAR Sprint Cup schedule and was run on Sunday, June 8 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. The race was the first NASCAR telecast on TNT for the 2008 season starting at 12:30 PM US EDT and on radio via MRN and Sirius Satellite Radio at 1:15 PM US EDT.
The 2003 Aaron's 499 was held on April 6, 2003, at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama. It was the eighth race of 36 in the 2003 NASCAR Winston Cup Series season. Jeremy Mayfield was the polesitter.
The 2010 Gillette Fusion ProGlide 500 Presented by Target was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race that was held on June 6, 2010 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. It was the fourteenth race of the 2010 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. The event was scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. EDT on TNT, but it was delayed by rain to 3:00 p.m. It was also broadcast on the radio station Motor Racing Network at 12 p.m. EDT. The race consisted of 200 laps, 500 miles (804.67 km).
The 2010 Sunoco Red Cross Pennsylvania 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on August 1, 2010 at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 200 laps, it was the twenty-first race of the 2010 Sprint Cup Series season. Greg Biffle, driving for Roush Fenway Racing, won the race while Tony Stewart finished second, and Carl Edwards, who started twenty-fifth, clinched third. This race gained popularity due to Elliott Sadler's unseen, yet terrifying crash.
The 2012 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series was the 64th season of NASCAR professional stock car racing in the United States and the 41st modern-era Cup season. The season started on February 18, 2012, at Daytona International Speedway, with the Budweiser Shootout, followed by the Daytona 500 on February 27. The season continued with the Chase for the Sprint Cup beginning on September 16 at Chicagoland Speedway and concluded with the Ford EcoBoost 400 on November 18 at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
The 2012 Good Sam Roadside Assistance 500 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on October 7, 2012 at Talladega Superspeedway in Talladega, Alabama, United States. Contested over 188 laps on the 2.66-mile (4.3 km) asphalt tri-oval, it was the thirtieth race of the 2012 Sprint Cup Series season, as well as the fourth race in the ten-race Chase for the Sprint Cup, which ends the season.
The 2013 Party in the Poconos 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 9, 2013, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, United States. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5–mile (4 km) triangular superspeedway, it was the fourteenth race of the 2013 Sprint Cup Series championship. Jimmie Johnson of Hendrick Motorsports won the race, his third win of the 2013 season, while Greg Biffle finished second. Dale Earnhardt Jr., Tony Stewart, and Ryan Newman rounded out the top five.
The 2013 Gobowling.com 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race that was held on August 4, 2013, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5-mile (4.023 km) triangular superspeedway, it was the twenty-first race of the 2013 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series season. Kasey Kahne of Hendrick Motorsports won the race, his second win of the season, while Jeff Gordon finished second. Kurt Busch, Ryan Newman, and Dale Earnhardt Jr. rounded out the top five. The race was one of the most competitive races held at Pocono Raceway, as there were nine cautions, 14 different leaders, and 27 lead changes.
The 2014 Pocono 400 was a NASCAR Sprint Cup Series stock car race held on June 8, 2014, at Pocono Raceway in Long Pond, Pennsylvania. Contested over 160 laps on the 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular superspeedway, it was the 14th race of the 2014 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series. Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the race, his second of the season and his first at Pocono. Brad Keselowski finished second, while Kurt Busch, Denny Hamlin, and Kyle Larson rounded out the Top 5. Behind Larson, the other top rookies in the race were Austin Dillon (17th) and Michael Annett (20th).
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. Chip Ganassi Racing's NASCAR operations was subsequently purchased by Trackhouse Racing Team in 2021.
The 2002 Pep Boys presents the Pennsylvania 500 was the 20th stock car race of the 2002 NASCAR Winston Cup Series and the 30th iteration of the event. The race was held on Sunday, July 28, 2002, in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, at Pocono Raceway, a 2.5 miles (4.0 km) triangular permanent course. The race was shortened from its scheduled from its scheduled 200 laps to 175 due to darkness caused by delays during the race. At race's end, Bill Elliott, driving for Evernham Motorsports, would pull away during the late stages of the race to win his 21st career NASCAR Winston Cup Series win and his first of the season. To fill out the podium, Kurt Busch of Roush Racing and Sterling Marlin of Chip Ganassi Racing would finish second and third, respectively.
