Kerry Earnhardt

Many times referred to as “Middle E,” Kerry Earnhardt is trying to make a name for himself in the NASCAR Busch Series. Look past the startling resemblance to his father and you will see a simple and humble man who loves his family, hunting and fishing, and can’t think of anything else he would rather do than drive race cars.

SCR: Over the past year, the main topic in racing has been the death of your father. Since he is in the Winston Cup spotlight, we saw how your brother, Dale Jr., dealt with the tragedy. How are you doing after a year?

Earnhardt: It’s been hard. I miss seeing him every morning; him jumping on me and keeping me straight. Day by day; I can’t say it gets better, but we make the best of the situation. There are a lot of times that I want to talk to him. He was always the one to tell me the way it needs to be and make things better. I have that now with Ty Norris over at DEI and (team owner) Terry Bradshaw. I have several people I can go talk to now.

SCR: The 2001 season was difficult as a whole, with the death of your father and the death of your friend Blaise Alexander at Charlotte in October. However, statistically it was your best year yet.

Earnhardt: We came out of the box at Daytona, got caught up in a wreck, and still finished the race 11th. We went on to Michigan and won that race; went on to Charlotte and won that race. We won three out of five races last year. But, Charlotte was a bad deal for me. I really don’t consider that a win. Blaise Alexander and me were racing for the lead. We were really good friends. To be involved in an accident that took his life was really hard on me. It was hard to figure out why someone with that talent and as great of a guy as he was—he would do anything for anybody—could be taken away. There is a purpose for everything. He is on to a better place now. That kind of motivated me for Atlanta. The two of us have raced each other hard in Atlanta. We wanted to win that race for him. We went down there, dominated the race and won it. It was a big deal.

SCR: What helped you get through Blaise’s death?

Earnhardt: Just like with dad, going day by day has helped me get through it. My wife has really helped by talking to me. I can go to my good friends Jimmie Johnson and Ricky Hendrick. They have been a big help to me.

SCR: There is an obvious resemblance between you and your dad. Are there any other qualities you got from him?

Earnhardt: I am an outdoorsman. I love hunting and fishing. He was big in that, too. That and our resemblance are what I have from him.

SCR: Tell us about racing Late Models with your brother and sister. We heard something about a first lap wreck that took all three of you out?

Earnhardt: Nashville, Tennessee. I will never forget that. That was great. We all went down there and made the race. First lap coming off Turn 2 there was a big pile up and we were all in it. Luckily, Dale Jr. got back out and finished the race. Kelley and I were done for the night. We tore ours up pretty good. It was a lot of fun racing with them. When you are out there racing with other guys, you try to pass them and go on. When you are racing with your brother and sister, you beat on them a little more and laugh when one of you passes the other. You enjoy it more than you would passing another driver on the track.

SCR: Has being the son of Dale Earnhardt and the brother of Dale Jr. opened doors for you that may not have been open otherwise?

Earnhardt: In some cases maybe. But not in racing. Owners know that just because Dad and Dale Jr. are great doesn’t mean that I am great. That is why I needed the ARCA Series to be able to establish my confidence level and get people to look at me again. I think that has helped my deal with FitzBradshaw Racing. Armando Fitz and Terry Bradshaw have a lot of confidence in me. They know I am a rookie and there will be some bad times. But they are willing to work through them because they have seen me in the ARCA Series and know I have the talent. It is just them having the patience to stick with me all year and improve and grow together.

SCR: Your first win didn’t come until 10 years after you started racing.

Earnhardt: Yeah, how about that?

SCR: Why do you think it was in the ARCA Series when that first victory finally happened?

Earnhardt: I started a family early. I have two boys and my main focus was them and to make sure they had everything they needed. It was just them and me at the time. I remarried a little over three years ago, and my wife Rene has been great. She is the mother of the children now. Now that I have that set, I am able to focus more on racing and being around the shop. I am learning a lot faster than what I have in the past. With the ARCA Series, the big thing was that I had great guys working on the car. Plus, it was supported by DEI. Great equipment and a great team behind me helped me a lot because I knew the car was very competitive. I was able to go out there and focus on driving. It just worked out. Also, I had someone on the other end of the radio yelling in my ear, keeping me focused on racing the track instead of racing the competitors. That helped me a whole lot.

SCR: So it was a combination of equipment and the fact that you were ready?

Earnhardt: Yeah, I think so. Equipment is the big key. Like my Busch Series team here, they always have competitive cars every week, and every week I am getting better and better. My confidence level is building and getting better every week. A lot of these tracks I have never been to, like Darlington and Vegas, it took me a little bit at the start of those races, but after I got a few laps I learned a lot more and was able to start racing.

SCR: Do you feel that you are ready for the Busch Series after your short time in the ARCA Series?

Earnhardt: Yeah, I do. That is what has helped me—my success in ARCA. The patience I have learned from running the series. ARCA is a great series to get into and gain experience. It is amazing to me how much I have gained from that series. My goal is to get to Cup. I felt like if I stayed in ARCA longer it was just another year I could be gaining more experience in the Busch Series to get to Cup.

SCR: Compared to the rookies in the Busch Series, you are a bit older. How do you feel about being the oldest rookie in the Busch Series and later in the Winston Cup Series?

Earnhardt: That stuff doesn’t bother me. Everybody has their time. I started late in racing because I was supporting my family and making sure my kids had what they needed. A lot of these rookies don’t have kids right now. They are able to go at it full force. Now I am at that point. It just happened a little later in life for me. The young rookies are just like me, out there gaining the experience they need.

SCR: How did this opportunity with FitzBradshaw Racing come your way?

Earnhardt: The team was Highline Performance last year with Armando Fitz. They had Channellock as a sponsor and went through several drivers trying to find one to settle with. Ty Norris and Armando have known each other through the years, and Ty has been helping me a lot since Daytona of last year. He knew Armando was looking for someone and started working me into the deal. Everything came around and worked out great. Terry Bradshaw came in this year as a partner.

SCR: How did an NFL Hall of Famer like Terry Bradshaw get involved in a NASCAR Busch racing team?

Earnhardt: He says that he and his brother Gary have “come out of the closet.” They have been race fans for all these years and no one ever really knew it. Terry met my dad in Daytona and rode around with him in the pace car. He thought a lot of dad. He knew Armando had a good team and saw this as a great opportunity to get involved in racing. This crew is awesome. The guys work so well together and do such a good job. Terry could see the big picture and felt it was a good time to get in.

SCR: We recently saw an interview with Bradshaw where he was asked what his role was in the team. He said he was like your cheerleader.

Earnhardt: Big time. He has been very good for me. A lot of stuff I have had to deal with, he has been there and is helping me through it. He is helping me understand how to approach things. He has been a great leader for me.

SCR: He seems like a fun guy to work with.

Earnhardt: He is. We did that 10-10-220 commercial in L.A. Those can get boring after awhile doing take after take. He kept it alive the whole time. He is always a character. He made it fun. But on race day his serious side comes out. He is very supportive and keeps everybody motivated and pumped up. He gets everybody together and lets them know he is behind them 100 percent no matter what. He knows that there will be bad days and good days.

SCR: What are some of your goals for this year?

Earnhardt: We would like to have some Top 10s this year. A win would be good, but realistically, being a rookie and trying to get the experience, we realize that a Top 10 would be good. Top 10 in points would be awesome. We keep inching forward every week. I feel that it is a goal we can reach by the end of the year.

SCR: Are there any tracks you really want to conquer?

Earnhardt: Darlington was one of them, and Bristol. I conquered Darlington because I qualified for the race on time and I finished the race. That was a big accomplishment for me because of my past history there. Finishing that race boosted my confidence level. I am looking forward to going to Charlotte and Texas—places I have been to that I have experience. I feel we will be really competitive there.

SCR: What is your plan to get to the Winston Cup Series?

Earnhardt: There is no set plan. I don’t want to jump into it too quick. I did that with the Busch Series in 1999, and I wasn’t ready. It kind of set me back quite a bit because people saw me as tearing cars up and not taking care of equipment. I am being cautious with that. It would be great to be racing there now, but I want to be ready for it.

SCR: What are some of your favorite things to do when you are not racing?

Earnhardt: I joined up with Bass Pro Shop and became a Bass Pro team member. We will be doing some hunting shows with them and hanging out in stores at seminars. There is always something going on all year long.

SCR: If you weren’t racing, what would you want to do?

Earnhardt: I don’t know. When I started out working I was 15. I worked at Pizza Hut, got into textiles, pumped gas and changed oil. Nothing really amused me as much as racing does. After 1999 my confidence level was so low that I started to think I didn’t have what I needed to race. I tried to figure out what else I could do, and I just couldn’t find anything. That is when I went to dad and Teresa and asked them for some help to get in a competitive car to prove to myself that I had it or didn’t have it. I knew I had the talent. I am going to keep pushing and pushing to get where I want to be.