Hailing from humble beginnings, Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s was a classic rags-to-riches story. One emotional moment in The Intimidator’s otherwise stoney self was during the Christmas of 1980 when he was at the crossroads of menial wages and big paychecks. In 1980, Earnhardt won his maiden NASCAR Cup Series championship in what was only his second full-time racing season. Needless to say, this achievement came along with a hefty sum of money.
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Seeing such big figures for the first time, the only thing that Sr. wanted to do was get his mother a nice gift for the holiday season. Joseph Whitlock, a racing legend and a friend of Earnhardt, spoke in the 2015 ‘I am Dale Earnhardt’ documentary about how much being able to afford the gift meant to him.
He narrated, “After he had won the Winston Cup crown, we came home and he’s driving the car and I’m sitting the in passenger seat. And he starts crying, he’s laughing and crying, it’s not a serious cry.” When Whitlock expressed concern, Sr. had said, “You don’t understand, this will be the first Christmas of my life I have ever given my mother something that she doesn’t have to plug into the wall.”
This is a nice little Christmas story. Joe Whitlock remembers the Christmas when Dale Earnhardt finally had enough money to buy his mother a nice gift. pic.twitter.com/TRmEuU0dgc
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) December 25, 2023
Until then, Sr. had only been able to afford toasters and other plug-in appliances for his mother, but the championship meant that he could get her a pair of diamond earrings. Martha Earnhardt, the legend’s mother, sadly passed away in 2021. But she expressed her joy over the gift in the documentary.
She said, “I still have my diamond earrings, yeah. And it was really a big surprise that he could even afford that, you know.”
This is an incredible story that throws a different shade on the commonly known character of Dale Earnhardt Sr. and one to reminisce over in the holiday season.
Martha Earnhardt, the matriarch of the Earnhardt dynasty
Married to Ralph Earnhardt from 1947 to 1973, Martha Earnhardt had five children, including Dale Earnhardt Sr. According to Earnhardt Jr., she was a key reason for his father’s success. Mentioning that she was a calming influence on his strong character, he said, “She mellowed him.”
The bond between mother and son only grew stronger over the years. A reflection of the same is when Sr. called her from the booth after winning the 1998 Daytona 500. She recalled the incident, “Dale called me from the winner’s circle and that made me feel real good. He said, “Mom! I finally won the Daytona 500! I said, ‘Yeah, son, I saw you did!’
Martha was also one of the biggest supporters of Dale Earnhardt Jr. Till the day she passed, she continued heading her racing family to harmony and success.
