Nextel Cup Series

PERSONAL Birthdate: Oct. 10, 1974 Hometown: Kannapolis, N.C. Resides: Mooresville, N.C. Marital Status: Single Children: None Hobbies: Car restoration, music, computers, video games

HIGHLIGHTS 2004 Daytona 500 champion Career-high six victories in 2004 Voted Most Popular Driver in 2003 and 2004 Has finished among the top 10 in the series championship three of the last four seasons NASCAR Busch Series champion in 1998 and '99

YEAR-BY-YEAR NASCAR NEXTEL CUP SERIES RECAP 2004 Finished fifth in series points. … Had six victories, second only to the eight achieved by Jimmie Johnson. … Victory in the Daytona 500 made the Dale Earnhardt Sr./Dale Earnhardt Jr. tandem only the third father/son combination to win The Great American Race, along with Lee and Richard Petty and Bobby and Davey Allison. … Won two restrictor-plate races and was the only driver to post top-10 finishes in each of the four restrictor-plate races. … Has at least two wins in each of his five full-time seasons. … Voted NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver for the second consecutive year.… Had two NASCAR Busch Series victories while entering only four races. 2003 Finished third in series points, his best career finish. … Was second in the championship points for 19 race weekends, the latest ranking coming after Phoenix. … Posted two victories – Talladega in April and Phoenix in November; his Talladega win was his record fourth straight at the superspeedway.… He narrowly missed a fifth consecutive win at Talladega in September with a runner-up finish to DEI teammate Michael Waltrip; Earnhardt Jr.started 38th. … Also ran well on short tracks, leading all drivers with 880 points at those venues thanks to two top fives at Martinsville, one at Richmond in May and a top 10 at the Bristol night race in August. … Posted career bests with 13 top fives and 21 top 10s, totals that were fourth and third in the series, respectively.… Led 24 races, a new career high, also led 1,046 laps; Earnhardt Jr. and Ryan Newman were the only drivers to lead at least one lap in 24 of the season’s 36 races. … Finished in the top 10 in nine of the season’s first 11 races; six of those finishes were top fives, including his Talladega win. … Ran a limited NASCAR Busch Series schedule as a driver/owner (Chance 2 Motorsports), winning all three races he entered (both Daytona events and Talladega). … Voted NASCAR’s Most Popular Driver, marking the first time a father and son have received the award; Earnhardt Sr. won posthumously in 2001. 2002 Finished 11th in series points. … Won two races, via season sweep at Talladega Superspeedway.… Won the No Bull 5 Million-dollar bonus for the second consecutive season at Talladega with his October win. … Two poles, at Michigan (August) and Kansas. … Led 1,068 laps, more laps than any other driver.… Finished second in all three nonpoints races – the Budweiser Shootout, a Twin 125 qualifying race and The Winston. … Recorded 11 top-five finishes, 16 top 10s and had the most consecutive top-five finishes (three) in his career.… Also posted career bests with 13 top five starts, and fewest DNFs (three). … Five short-track (Martinsville, Bristol and Richmond) finishes in the top five. … Won in his first NASCAR Busch Series race as driver/owner at Richmond (Sept). 2001 Finished eighth in series points. … Scored a trio of dramatic, emotional victories. … First win came in July at Daytona, the first race there since his father’s death in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18. He held off DEI teammate Michael Waltrip, to whom he finished second in February, for that win. … Next victory came at Dover in the series’ first race back after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and he punctuated that win with a victory lap carrying an American flag.… Third win came in October at Talladega, the site of his father’s final career victory a year earlier.… Talladega victory also earned him a $1 million bonus in the No Bull 5 program, helping him to a season total of $5,827,542 in winnings – more than his father won in any of his 26 seasons in the series. … Finished with nine top-five finishes and 15 top 10s. 2000 Finished 16th in series points. … Made a big splash with two wins and two poles in his rookie season. … Came up 42 points shy of winning the Raybestos Rookie of the Year title behind former Busch Series foe Matt Kenseth.… Joined Jeff Burton as second first-time winner at Texas Motor Speedway.… Along with Tony Stewart, became second rookie in two years to win at Richmond when he won the Pontiac Excitement 400. … Matched modern-era record (2 wins in first 16 races) set by the late Davey Allison in 1987. … Became first rookie to win The Winston all-star race. 1999 Competed in five races. … Best start was eighth in the Coca-Cola 600 at Charlotte.… Best finish was 10th at Richmond in September.

PREVIOUS RACING HISTORY Won back-to-back NASCAR Busch Series Championships in 1998 and 1999, his only two full seasons of Busch Series competition. … Has won 20 races and more than $3 million in Busch Series earnings. …Entered three Busch Series races and won all three in 2003. … Won six times with 22 top-10 finishes and three poles in 1999. … Won seven races and three poles in 1998. … Scored his first Busch Series victory in his 16th start at Texas, where he would later get his first Cup win. … Made his Busch Series debut at Myrtle Beach, S.C. in 1996. … He started seventh and finished 14th. … Began his professional career at age 17 competing in the street stock division at Concord Motorsport Park, later moving up to the late model stock division. … First race car was a 1978 Chevrolet Monte Carlo that he owned along with his brother, Kerry. … Raced against Kerry and sister Kelley at the beginning of his career.…Won three feature victories in his NASCAR late model stock career (1994-1996). … When he raced in the Pepsi 400 at Michigan in 2000 along with his late father, Dale and Kerry, it was the second time a father and two sons ran in the same Cup event. Lee Petty also raced against his sons, Richard and Maurice

NOTEWORTHY Co-owner of Chance 2 Motorsports, which won the 2004 NASCAR Busch Series championship with driver Martin Truex Jr.… Says his hero is his late father, seven-time series champion Dale Earnhardt. …His first NASCAR Busch Series title in 1998 made him NASCAR’s first third-generation champion coupled with his father’s record-tying seven NASCAR NASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series titles and grandfather Ralph Earnhardt’s 1956 NASCAR Sportsman Division title. … Lists the Washington Redskins as his favorite sports team. … 2001 Corvette C5-R with LeMans wing, 2005 Corvette, 2001 “Intimidator SS” Camaro, 1996 Hummer and 2002 Mini Cooper are just some of the vehicles in his personal fleet.