There’s a good reason or two why Dale Earnhardt Sr. was nicknamed ‘The Intimidator.’ However, there was another nickname of his, a less famous one that is just as fitting and as true for the 7x Cup champion. That nickname was ‘Ironhead,’ which he got from Bobby Allison, but later in his life, it turned out to be more drenched in reality than The Intimidator.
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While working on a racecar in 1976, Earnhardt cut his head, leading to a 1/8-inch piece of metal shrapnel getting stuck on the skin of his head, buried near his left temple. But while other drivers or athletes would get such a thing removed at the earliest, Earnhardt waited. For how long, you ask?
Well, for around 25 years.
Yes, it was on January 5, 2001, that Earnhardt underwent surgery to have that piece of metal removed from the skin of his head. It’s worth mentioning that it wasn’t until 1997 that the #3 driver learned about the remains of his accident from 1976. But he still let it sit there for four more years.
From 1976 to 2001, the period in which Earnhardt unknowingly and then knowingly carried the piece of metal on his head, he won 76 times in the Cup, won 7 titles, and carved out a legacy as arguably the greatest NASCAR had ever seen.
January 5, 2001: Dale Earnhardt had surgery to remove a 1/8 inch piece of metal shrapnel that had been in the skin of his head. It had been there since 1976 when he cut his head working on a race car
After years of being called Ironhead, people were amused it was true pic.twitter.com/ATxktIPO2C
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) January 5, 2024
Like Dale Earnhardt Sr., Denny Hamlin wasn’t aware of a piece of metal in his body
In 2014, Denny Hamlin was forced to miss the race in California because of ‘a sinus infection.’ But he later learned that what seemed like a sinus infection was actually something far more serious. “It’s not just a headache. It’s a lot more serious than that. He was actually losing vision in his eye,” Hamlin’s crew chief Darian Grubb had said.
As for what it was?
There was a small piece of metal that was found in Hamlin’s eye. Crucially, that was removed from his eye and Hamlin didn’t miss out on any more races.
But this only goes to show how tough Dale Sr. was, or just how different that era of NASCAR was because here was a driver winning all these races and championships nicknamed Ironhead which in truth, he was for almost the entirety of his career.
