Former NASCAR Cup Series driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. has been elected to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. He is set to be inducted in May.
Dale Earnhardt Jr., who competed full-time in the NASCAR Cup Series from the 2000 season through the 2017 season, has been elected into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame and is set to be inducted into it this May.
The 44-year-old Kannapolis, North Carolina native is set to become the 13th motorsports representative inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. The other 12 are Lee Petty, Richard Petty, Ned Jarrett, Junior Johnson, Herb Thomas, Buck Baker, Dale Earnhardt, Humpy Wheeler, Richard Childress, Dale Jarrett, Rick Hendrick and Ray Price.
These other 12 motorsports representatives were inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame in 1966, 1973, 1990, 1992, 1992, 1992, 1994, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2016, respectively.
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The 10 sports figures who are set to be inducted into the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame alongside Earnhardt Jr. this May are Ernie Barnes, Willie Bradshaw, Eddie Bridges, Rod Broadway, Gene Corrigan, Steve Gabriel, Dee Kantner, Davis Love III, Paul Miller, Neill McGeachy and Thell Overman.
Earnhardt Jr. retired from Cup Series competition following the conclusion of the 2017 season, at which point he had competed in 631 races over the course of 19 seasons going back to 1999.
Over the course of his Cup Series career, Earnhardt Jr. earned 26 victories, 149 top five finishes, 260 top 10 finishes and 15 pole positions. He led 8,234 of the 179,429 laps that he completed and recorded a career average starting position of 16.1 and a career average finishing position of 15.8. He retired having won the Daytona 500 in both the 2004 season and the 2014 season.
While he never won a Cup Series championship, Earnhardt Jr. retired as the 15-time reigning winning of the Most Popular Driver Award. His highest finish in the championship standings was third place, which he recorded in the 2003 season. He recorded a career-high six victories in the 2004 season and went on to finish in fifth in the standings that year.
Earnhardt Jr. now serves as a NASCAR analyst for NBC Sports.
Congratulations to Dale Earnhardt Jr. on being elected to the North Carolina Sports Hall of Fame. He is set to officially be enshrined during the 56th annual induction banquet on Friday, May 3 at the Raleigh Convention Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.