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.
Robert Allen Labonte is an American semi-retired professional stock car racing driver and current analyst for NASCAR on Fox. He also currently competes full-time in the Superstar Racing Experience, driving the No. 18 car. Labonte is the 2000 NASCAR Cup Series champion. He and his older brother, Terry Labonte, are one of only two pairs of brothers to have both won the Cup championships. He is also the uncle of former Xfinity Series race winner Justin Labonte.
The Coca-Cola 600, originally the World 600, is an annual 600-mile (970 km) NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Charlotte Motor Speedway in Concord, North Carolina, on a Sunday during Memorial Day weekend. The first race, held in 1960, was also the first one held at Charlotte Motor Speedway. It is the longest race on NASCAR's schedule at 600 miles (970 km). It is unique for having track conditions that change throughout the race due to the race having a day to night transition,. The race starts around 6:20 p.m. when the track is bathed in sunlight for about the first third of the race. Roughly the second third happens at dusk, and about the final third of the race occurs at night under the lights.
The Subway 400 was the second race of the NASCAR Winston Cup Series season until 2004, held a week after the Daytona 500. This 400-mile (644 km) annual race was sponsored by Subway and was held at North Carolina Speedway since 1966. From 1966 to 1995, the race distance was 500 miles (805-km) which was shortened to 400 miles starting from the 1996 season.
Terrance Lee Labonte, nicknamed "Texas Terry" or "the Iceman", is an American former stock car driver. He raced from 1978 to 2014 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup and Sprint Cup Series. A two-time Cup Series champion in 1984 and 1996 and the 1989 IROC champion, he is the older brother of 2000 Cup Series champion Bobby Labonte, and the father of former Nationwide Series driver Justin Labonte. He also co-owns a Chevrolet dealership in Greensboro, North Carolina with Rick Hendrick. He appeared on the CBS series The Dukes of Hazzard in 1984, where he played an unnamed pit crew member.
The Goodyear 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series race held at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina. A 100-mile (160 km) race was held in May at the track in 1952, however the event did not become a regular one on the NASCAR schedule until 1957, as a 300 miles (480 km) race in the Convertible Division, then known as the Rebel 300. In 1966, the race was expanded to 400 miles (640 km), and in 1973 to 500 miles (800 km). In 1994, the race was relegated again to 400 miles. For a time, the race was held on or around Confederate Memorial Day, which is observed on May 10 in the state of South Carolina.
Michael Curtis Waltrip is an American former professional stock car racing driver, racing commentator, racing team owner and published author. He is the younger brother of three-time NASCAR champion and racing commentator Darrell Waltrip. Waltrip is a two-time winner of the Daytona 500, having won the race in 2001 and 2003. He is also a pre-race analyst for the NASCAR Cup Series and color commentator for the Xfinity Series and the Craftsman Truck Series broadcasts for Fox Sports. He last raced in the 2017 Daytona 500, driving the No. 15 Toyota Camry for Premium Motorsports. All four of his NASCAR Cup Series wins came on superspeedways driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc.
The Ag-Pro 300 is a NASCAR Xfinity Series race held at Talladega Superspeedway, a 300-mile race. It is held annually before the NASCAR Cup Series race, the GEICO 500.
The GEICO 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at the Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama. The race is usually held in April or May. The 1997 event stands as the fastest NASCAR race to date ever run with an average speed of 188.354 miles per hour (303.126 km/h) and was the first race at Talladega Superspeedway that was not interrupted by a caution period.
The YellaWood 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Talladega Superspeedway in Lincoln, Alabama, hosting an event in the NASCAR playoffs. The race is one of four NASCAR Cup Series races currently run with tapered spacers, the others being the GEICO 500 in May, the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and the Daytona 500. Through 1996, this race was normally held in early August or late July. In 1997, it was moved to early October due to the uncomfortably hot summer temperatures, and sometimes unpredictable summertime thunderstorms in the Alabama area. In 2009, the race moved again, this time to November 1 as part of a realignment agreement with Atlanta and Fontana.
The Food City 500 is an annual 500-lap, 266.5-mile (428.9 km) NASCAR Cup Series points race held at the Bristol Motor Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee. This is one of two NASCAR races held at Bristol, the other being the Bass Pro Shops Night Race. It was the first venue of the 2007 NASCAR schedule to host the fifth-generation NASCAR premiership race car, a race won by Kyle Busch. For much of its history, from 1961 to 1992 the race was run on the original asphalt surface, then on concrete from 1993 to 2020 after Bristol changed surfaces, but was moved to a dirt layout beginning in 2021, under the name Food City Dirt Race. It will be held once again on concrete beginning in 2024.
The Quaker State 400 presented by Walmart is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race that was run annually each March at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia from 1960 to 2010 and as a July race since 2021. The race is one of two races held at the Atlanta track every season, with the Dixie 500, being the other and run at various times, now run as the Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500.
The Ambetter Health 400 is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race held at Atlanta Motor Speedway in Hampton, Georgia. Daniel Suárez is the defending race winner.
Chance 2 Motorsports is a former NASCAR racing team that was founded by Teresa Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Jr. in 2003. Although connected with Dale Earnhardt, Inc., the race team founded by Dale Earnhardt and run by Teresa Earnhardt after his death, the two were separate operations.
The 2006 Food City 500 was an event held at Bristol Motor Speedway on March 26, 2006, as the fifth race in the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season.
The Coke Zero Sugar 400 is an annual NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Daytona International Speedway. First held in 1959, the event consists of 160 laps, 400-mile (640 km), and is the second of two major stock car events held at Daytona on the Cup Series circuit, the other being the Daytona 500. From its inception in 1959 through 2019, it was traditionally held on or around the United States' Independence Day. In 1998, it became the first stock car race at Daytona to be held at night under-the-lights. In 2020, the race was moved to late August and currently serves as the penultimate race of the Cup Series regular season.
Stock car racing events in the NASCAR Cup Series events have been held annually at Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, Michigan since 1969. Traditionally, the track held two Cup Series races, one in June, around Father's Day weekend and another in August. The August race was not held in 1973 after track owner Roger Penske replaced the race with a Champ Car event. In 2020, both races were held over a single weekend in August due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the June race was dropped from the schedule as part of a realignment, with its place on the schedule being given to Texas Motor Speedway to host the All-Star Race.
The Southern 500, officially known as the Cook Out Southern 500 for sponsorship reasons, is a NASCAR Cup Series stock car race at Darlington Raceway in Darlington, South Carolina, United States. The race distance is 501 miles (806 km) and consists of 367 laps. From 1950 to 2003, and again since 2015, the race has been held on Labor Day weekend. The Southern 500 is largely considered one of the Crown Jewels of the NASCAR calendar, and has been nicknamed NASCAR's "oldest superspeedway race." For decades, the race has been considered by competitors and media as one of the more difficult and challenging races on the NASCAR schedule, owing much to the track's unusual, asymmetrical egg-shape, rough pavement, and overall unforgiving nature. Darlington Raceway itself has a long and storied reputation as the "Track Too Tough to Tame."
The 1982 Busch 500 was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing event that took place on August 28, 1982, at Bristol International Speedway in Bristol, Tennessee.
Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI) is a former race team founded by Dale Earnhardt and his wife, Teresa Earnhardt, to compete in the NASCAR Cup Series, the highest level of competition for professional stock car racing in the United States. From 1998 to 2009, the company operated as a NASCAR-related organization in Mooresville, North Carolina, United States. Earnhardt was a seven-time Winston Cup champion. He 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.
