By: Ashley McCubbin

I meant to do this last year as part of the 25 years of Dale Earnhardt Incorperated but never got all my dates. So here we go with the history of a team full of magic.

In 1980, Dale Earnahrdt started a team with the name of Chance Motorsports for his kids. All 3 kids eventually got involved with it around the local short tracks (Mytral Beach, Concord Motorsports Park, etc.) with each finding their own sucess.

In the late 80s, Dale teamed up with brother-in-law Tony Eury Sr to run Busch Series races using cars they built. In all, they won 7 races at Daytona with 5 coming in a row.

In 1994, the name was changed to Dale Earnhardt Inc and plans for big time auto racing were in the future.

In 1995, Jeff Green was hired to drive the Busch Series car for the team. He drove the car for two years and did not win at all.

In 1996, Ron Hornaday was hired to drive the #16 NAPA Auto Parts Truck in the Craftsmen Truck Series. This would prove to be the beginning of their sucess story. On May 4th, Ron won his first truck race of the season at Portland; this was also DEI's first ever Truck Series victory. He went on to win more races and on Nov 3rd, Ron clinched the championship winning the first championship for DEI. Also in 1996, Dale Earnhardt Jr started 1 Busch race for the tea at Myrtal Beach.

In 1997, Ron continued to drive the Truck with sucess but no title time time around. Dale Jr also ran some more races for the team with 1 top 10 finish coming at Myrtal Beach. That year a new driver was added to the roster. Steve Park from New York was chosen to drive the Busch Series car for DEI. On April 19, Steve won his first Busch Series race at Nashville Speedway. Steve won 2 other races that year to win 1997 ROTY for the Busch Series.

In 1998, Steve Park was moved up to the Cup Series yet did not win rookie of the year. Dale Earnhardt Jr was chosen to fulfill the Busch ride and on April 2, Jr won his first NASCAR race ever at Texas Motor Speedway. He went on to win 6 more races to win the Busch Series championship, clinching it on Nov, 14. Ron kept drivint the truck and won his second championship on Oct. 25.

In 1999, things pretty much stayed the same on the roster. Steve continued to drive the Cup car yet no sucess with wins. Dale Jr drove the Busch car for a second straight year. He won 6 races including 3 in a row in July to win the championship on Nov. 13th. He alos started 7 cup races in preperation for next year with the first being at Charlotte Motor Speedway. Ron drove the truck again and had sucess by finishing 5th in final pts.

In 2000, there was no change with driver yet two drivers moved up into the next level. Steve continued to driver in Cup and eventually won his first race on Aug 13th @ the Glen. Dale Jr moved up to Cup and won his first race on April 4 @ Texas which was DEi's first cup win ever. Jr won one more pts race at Richmond and alos won the Winston All-Star race at Charlotte. Even through he had the sucess, he didn't beat Matt Kenseth for ROTY. Ron was moved up to Busch and on July 16, he won his first Busch race at Nazareth. That was his only win that year and he also failed to win ROTY in a race against Kevin Harvick.

In 2001, DEI had 3 drivers but there was a change. Ron Hornaday was no longer there yet in his place in the #15 NAPA Auto Parts cup series car was Michael Waltrip. Michael had yet to win his first race in 464 starts yet Dale Earnhardt had faith in Michael. At the beginning of the year, Teresa Earnhardt, Dale's husband, was given co-owner position along side Dale. In the first race of the season, the Daytona 500, dreams would come true yet hearts would be shattered. Michael won his first race ever with teammate Dale Jr 2nd. But this wasn't meant to be a happy day for everyone. Team owner Dale Earnhardt was killed in a last lap crash in that very race on February 18th. Teresa took over fully as owner and Ty Norris was named vice president. 7 days after the Daytona 500 was the Dura Lube 200 at Rockingham. Steve Park went out and won that race in Dale's memories. The series returned to Daytona on July 7th for the Pepsi 400. Many knew it'd be emotional if Dale Jr or Michael won. With 7 laps to go, Jr sat 6th with a dominate car that had been the best all night. Jr got to the front in 1 and a half laps and went on to win the race. And who finished 2nd? Michael Waltrip. That night was a classic historic moment for DEi as it was a storybook ending. At that time, Steve Hmiel was crew cheif for Michael Waltirp and had been since the Daytona 500. The quote he said stnads out in my mind till this day.

"We can celebrate!" Steve Hmiel said during post-race interviews. He was sure right. According to Jr in his book, they stayed up till 5am celebrating in Jr's motorcoach.

More hard times were to come this season but no just for DEI or NASCAR but for the whole country On Sept. 11th, the United States was hit with a terroist attack. The first race after the attack was won by Jr. This win gave many something to smile about at a time when they were sad. Later on that year, Dale Jr won one more race; he won the EA Sports 500 giving himself the no bull 5 million dollar bonus, the last one they'd give out ever. For the first time in DEI history, someone finished in the top 10 in cup points. Dale Jr finished the year 7th.

In 2002, the driver line-up did not change and two drivers experienced some wins. Dale Jr won 2 races both coming at Talladega. This gave DEI and Jr 3 in a row tying Buddy Baker's record for the most wins in a row at Dega. Jr also started the big California Wreck Discussion. In April, Dale Jr got into a wreck with Kevin Harvick at California Speedway. All the report said was Jr suffered a bruised ankle. Well later in October, more was said about the wreck at Kansas. Jr stated in a interview with the media that he suffered a concussion in that April wreck. This promoted discussion with the media and a new rule. The new rule stated that if you have suffered a concussion in a wreck, you must recieve clearence to race. Michael won a race at Daytona in the Pepsi 400. This gave 3 Plate wins in a row all in one year proving they'd be a restrictor plate threat. In 2002, the RAD alliance went to a new level. RAD, made up of Richard Childress Racing, Andy Petree Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc was formed in 2000 strictly for restrictor plate research. The end of 2001, And left so it became Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Inc. Well the two teams did a team-up for 2 races; a RCR #3 car, DEI pit crew and Jr driving. Their first race was Daytona in the GNC-Live Well 300 on February 16th and it was sucessful. They won that race yet failed to do well at Charlotte. Also in 2002, Chance 2 Motorsports was started. Chance 2 is a team owned by DEI president Teresa Earnhardt and DEI driver Dale Earnhardt Jr in which it uses DEI engines. The team debuted at Richmond on Sept. 6th with Jr driving. They won the pole with a record qualifying lap and led all the laps to win the Funai 250. Sucess was to be in their future.

In 2003, two drivers didn't change but one team had the craziest year with drivers as far as the cup series was concerned. 2003 Speedweeks was a very sucessful one for DEI as was most of the plate sraces that year. Jr started the sucess off with wins in the Bud Shootout, Gatorade 125s and Hershey Kisses 300. He had the car to complete the sweep yet failed to due to an alternator problem. But who came out on top in the Daytona 500? Michael Waltrip with help from Dale Jr who was a lap down at that pt. This gave DEI their 4th straight plate win. The next plate race was at Talladega. Jr was going for his record 4th straight Talladega win. Through this wasn't going to be any easy one to get. Jr qualifyed well but had to make an engine change which meant he had to start at the back. Lap 4 of the race he got caught up in TBO in which everyone thought it was over right there. Everyone except the team. They fixed the front end damage and Jr worked his way to the front. With 5 to go, he was right at the front fighting for the win and with 3 to go, he got the lead with a controversal pass. He held on to win the race and got his record 4th straight 4th in a row. This also gave DEI their 5th straight Plate win. Their wins a row regarding plate racing would end as Greg Bifle won the Pepsi 400. Talladega was the last plate race of the year. Jr going for 5 in a row well DEI was also going for 5th in a row at Dega. It was a battle to the checkers and coming out on top was Michael giving DEI 5 in a row at Dega. Jr went on to win a non-plate race that year at Phoenix in November. Jr's year was sucessful giving him a 3rd place finish in pts. Well both Jr and Michael experienced sucess, a whole driver swap was over in the #1 team. Steve was fired in May 2003 and replaced by Jeff Green. Jeff Green had no sucess and was fired. Kenny Wallace finished the season in the 1 car winning a pole at Rockingham and finishing 2nd in that race. Chance 2 had their fair share of fun with their car; a season with sucess and new found talent. Jr drove all 3 Busch plate races (Hershey Kisses 300, Aaron's 312 & Winn-Dixie 250) and won all 3 giving himself 4 Busch plate races in a row with 3 wins in a row at Daytona. Hank Parker Jr and Steve Park drove the car for Chance 2 yet no wins. But it was time for new found talent. Martin Truex Jr's talent was discovered with help of DEI employee Richie Gilmore. In Martin's first race with Chance 2, he was leading with 50 to go when the transmission failed. He went on to get 2 top 5s with the highest being 2nd at Rockingham.

In 2004, DEI had 2 cup drivers -> Jr and Mikey. Mikey failed to win a race well Jr fulfilled the season with dream wins. First race of the season started it all. He won his Gatorade 125 meaning he'd start 3rd in the big race. The driver who was to start 1st had to make an engine changve meaning Jr would start first. After previous Daytona 500s with alternators and flying pieces, everyone thought he'd run into the same Daytona frenzy his father had when he tried for 19 years to win it yet didn't till his 20th try. With 20 to go, Jr was second behind 2002 Winston Cup Series Champion Tony Stewart. Down the backstretch, Jr got under Tony and got him for the lead with the use of side-drafting'. Jr went on to win the Daytona 500 in his 5th try, 1/4 of the tries his dad had to take. Dream win #1 checked off. Dream win #2 was a month later at Atlanta in the Golden Correll 500. He also won at Richmond inbetween his Atlanta dream and the next dream. Bristol is always a hard track to win and it'd always been a dream of Jr's to win there. And on Aug 28, that dream came true.

"It's bristol baby," Jr said in victory lane. The classic Bristol quote.

The next win wasn't a dream but brought forth a penilty. Jr got his 5th of the season at Talladega Superspeedway. The penilty wasn't due to on-track nor inspection but due to his comments in victory lane. Marty Snider asked Jr what it meant to win 5 races at Talladega.

"It don't mean shit right now." Jr's reply was. "Daddy won here 10 times." Shit was the key there. NASCAR fined Jr 25 championship points and $10,000. DEI appealed this penilty stating that others fined used it out of anger well his was out of celebration. But even after that, the penilty was upheld. Nothung change this penilty.

Jr went on to win one more race that season at Phoenix giving him 2 in a row for Phoenix. Chance 2 experienced their own sucess in 2004. Martin started out the season by winning the pole for the Hershey Kisses 300 but Jr is the one who took home the win in that race. Martin however found sucess at a later date. To be exact, on March 27, Martin won his first Busch Series race ever at Bristol in the Sharpie Professional 250. Martin went on to win 5 more races that season and on Nov. 15, Martin clinched the championship at Darlington. Also in the Busch Series, DEI signed a new driver; Paul Menard was signed to drive the #11 Menards Cheverolet. DEI also signed Ryan Moore to a driver development contract. So 2004 is always going to be the big contract year.

At the end of 2004, everything got twisted around in the bucket. Jr and crew cheif Tony Jr were not getting along at all during the last race of the season at Homestead. To fix the problem, DEI swapped teams. Jr was now paired up with Pete Rondeau well Michael was with Tony Jr.

2005 was the crazy year at DEI. The swap didn't give either team results. In fact, 11 races into the season Jr got rid of Pete for Steve Hmiel. They experienced minimal sucess together but got 1 win which came at Chicagoland Speedway. Both teams failed to make the chase and at that pt, Jr and Tony Jr talked it over and the swap was reversed. Well Steve didn't go to Mikey. Tony Gibson became Mikey's crew cheif as Steve went back to his job at DEI as technical director. Jr and Tony Jr had some really good cars but no luck. From what we all saw on how good the cars are, I see sucess soon. Paul found no wins but found a pole at Dega and a 2nd place finish at Milwaukee. Even through he got no wins, he was extremely consistent giving him a 8th place pts finish. On the Chance 2 side, Martin had more sucess. He started out the season with a win in Mexico, becoming the first to win a pts race outside of the US. He went on to win 5 more races. One of his wins was at Indianapolis Raceway Park and it wasn't the race; it was time for history. Martin's win at IRP marked the 100th NASCAR win for DEI. 100 wins in 25 years. That's about 4 a year which is a good average. He won the championship 65 pts over Clint on Nov. 14 at Homestead. It was a harder one to win than the previous espically just the Homestead weekend alone. During Martin's Busch championship season, he signed a 3yr contract with DEI in July to run for them in the Cup Series. He started 7 races and had awesome cars but no luck. But he managed to get a 7th place finish at Charlotte.

25 years of history is over. What does the next 25 hold? Well as you can figure out is more sucess with more drivers. Let the next 25 years be good for DEI.

(R)The NASCAR Palace, Jan 21 2005