Dale Earnhardt Jr. has no choice but to be the best. With the mark his Dad and Grandaddy have left the sport his bound to succeed, especially with talent and fire to win, that comes with being an Earnhardt. He learned from his dad Dale Sr., by spending numerous hours at the track and in the shop. When his dad gave him the chance in 1998 to show his stuff in the Busch Series, he indeed did show his stuff. He became the first driver ever to win the Busch Series championship in his rookie year.
As a result of his domination of the 98' season, Budweiser, one of the biggest sponsors in all of sports signed Jr. to a contract through 2005, to drive the Bud colors in Winston Cup. The car will be #8, because thats the number Ralph Earnhardt drove when he raced, this number is real special to Jr. Ralph Earnhardt passed away long before he got a chance to see he is son and grandson dominate their sport, but I'm pretty sure his watching somewhere and he's one proud Grandaddy. With Dale Jr. running 5 Cup events this year he will still be able to maintain his rookie status when he comes up full time in 2000. He's always said he's doing this for his daddy, he just wants to make him proud. Well it's almost a sure bet from the impact Jr's already made, Dale Sr. will be the proudest daddy around.
| Year | Races | Wins | Top 5 | Top 10 | Winnings | |
| 1996 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1,880 | |
| 1997 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 52,880 | |
| 1998 | 31 | 7 | 16 | 22 | 837,065 | |
| 1999 | - | - | - | - | - | |
| Years Racing | Total Races | Total Wins | Total Top 5's | Total Top 10's | Total Winnings | |
| 3 | 40 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 891,825 | |
"Driving the ACDelco Chevrolet is something that I grew up wanting to do,
and now I have that chance. I am joining a championship-caliber team that has
experienced great success. I plan on making sure we continue that success."
-- Dale Earnhardt Jr.