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Richard Childress
David Smith
GM Goodwrench
Service Chevrolet
Hometown:
Kannapolis, N.C.
Birthdate:
April 29, 1951
Height:
6'1"
Weight:
185
Marital Status:
Wife, Teresa
Children:
Kerry, Kelley King, Taylor
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DALE EARNHARDT
Driver and Team Highlights | Career Statistics | 1996 Statistics | 1995 Statistics
o one needs to remind the seven-time champion that his
twin 35th-place finishes at the 1995 Michigan races cost him a record-setting eighth Winston Cup. Dale's
finishes in those two races, combined with
Jeff Gordon's second and third places, meant a difference of 234
points -- Gordon won his first crown by only 34 markers.
Dale's determination to win a record-tying, third-consecutive championship was evident in his stretch-
run finishes -- including a scintillating twice-through-the-field run at the night Bristol race in August and a
thorough domination of the season finale at Atlanta. But even 10 straight top-nine finishes at the end of the
year, including seven top-three finishes in that string, could not overcome the points lost at the two
Michigan races.
One of the 1995 highlights for Dale and the Richard Childress-owned team was their victory in the
second running of the Brickyard 400, accomplishing one of the team's goals for the season. For 1996, the
team has re-dedicated itself to returning to the champion's throne and will pull out all the stops in its attempt
to win its first
Daytona 500. Crew chief
Andy Petree left at the end of the '95 season and returned to the Leo
Jackson team to work with
Robert Pressley, but Childress merely reached into his team's pool of talent and
named David Smith as the new at-track leader of the crew.
Winner of seven NASCAR Winston Cup titles; missed his
eighth (and third consecutive) by 34 points in 1995.
Since joining Richard Childress in 1984, has won 59 races and
$19 million.
Has won more money than any other driver in history of racing,
worldwide. Career total is nearly $26 million.
Has won nearly every major event and title available to
NASCAR Winston Cup drivers except for Daytona 500.
Triumphed at
Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1995 (one of his
five wins), putting his name into the record books at the famed track.
Unbelievable run in final third of season (eight of final 10 races,
finished seventh or better, including two wins and three seconds); not enough to make up for poor Michigan
finishes.
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