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2004
Hall of Fame Inductee
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As patriarch of the Earnhardt family, Ralph Earnhardt was known as one
of the hardest chargers of the old school racers and respected by the
drivers and car owners alike, Ralph Earnhardt was considered the epitome
of a true race car driver.
Foregoing the travel demands of the NASCAR circuit, Ralph chose to race primarily on the NC short tracks around his home - allowing him to focus his attention on his racecars and family - although not particularly in that order. He mastered these short tracks compiling hundreds of victories and countless state and track championships winning the Sportsman division championship in 1956. Whenever the opportunity arose, Ralph participated in Grand National (now Nextel Cup) events driving for such notable car builders as Cotton Owens, Petty Engineering and Pete DePaolo racing. Racing a limited NASCAR Grand National schedule in 1961, Ralph Earnhardt finished in the top 10 seven of eight races he ran during the season. His car building skills were known throughout the racing circuit. As an innovator of the sport, Ralph Earnhardt was the first car builder/driver to understand and use tire stagger, developed the capability to adjust the amount of bite in his race cars as well as standardizing crash bars on the driver side door. His innovations and racing ability has been recognized throughout the years. Between competing in the Modified, Sportsman and Grand National series, Ralph won over 350 races as well as holding the track championship at seven different racing venues during his racing career. Sadly, the racing community lost Ralph Earnhardt to a heart attack in 1973 while working on one of his race cars. In
1989, Ralph Earnhardt was inducted into the National Motorsports Press
Association's Hall of Fame at Darlington (S.C.) Raceway. He was inducted
into the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in Talladega, Alabama
in 1997 and was voted as one of NASCAR's 50 greatest drivers in 1998.
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©Oceanside Rotary Club of Daytona Beach |