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On the last lap of the 43rd Daytona 500 on February 18, 2001, Michael Waltrip was in the lead with Dale Earnhardt, Jr. in second. In third was Dale Jr.'s father, Dale Earnhardt. On the fourth turn, Earnhardt crashed though, but, as if fate came in just in time, Earnhardt survived. This is the POD for this timeline.

History[]

Rest of 2001[]

  • Waltrip ended up winning the race, with Jr. finishing second, Ricky Rudd in third, Mike Wallace in fourth, and Bobby Hamilton in fifth. Dale, when asked in victory lane celebrating with Waltrip, said "Man, I'm glad he hooked me in the right, I felt the seat belts break the second I got hit the 5th time, and if he had hit me in the left, I may not be here talking to ya, and celebrating with my friend". Earnhardt later spoke out against the lack of requiring the HANS device in NASCAR. "If I had hit that wall with how fast I was going, I probably would have been been hurt bad."
  • Earnhardt went on to win an incredible thirteen races, tying Richard Petty and Jeff Gordon for most wins in a season and only DNF once, otherwise finishing within the top ten at every race that season, a first in NASCAR history. Notable wins from this season include the Cracker Barrel Old Country Store 500, the Talladega 500, and the Pop Secret Microwave Popcorn 400. He clinched his eighth and final championship at the NAPA 500, the penultimate race of the season.
  • At the Talladega 500, Earnhardt took Terry Labonte's record for most consecutive starts, using a special paint scheme; Labonte had run a paint scheme at the Harrah's 500 commemorating his last race as record holder, and both he and Earnhardt ran special schemes as co-record holders at the Virginia 500.
  • Earnhardt's paint scheme for The Winston was a special white version of his standard paint scheme.
  • Dale Earnhardt won his eighth and final championship this season, winning over Jeff Gordon by just 85 points.
  • Earnhardt's one DNF was when at Rockingham, during the Dura Lube 400, during the Monday section of the event, on lap 102, Dale was running 13th when Kurt Busch made an incredible run from 15th diving into turn 3. Kurt easily muscled past Mark Martin and rocketed towards Earnhardt coming out of turn 4. Kurt Busch went low of Earnhardt out of the turn, but Earnhardt didn't leave Kurt enough room. Kurt refused to lift and caught Earnhardt in the left rear, shooting him up the track sideways and into the wall at the "u" bend of the front stretch. Earnhardt, understandably furious, drove the mangled car to pit road where his crew got the car going again 54 laps later and as soon as Kurt Busch, then running 3rd, came by a 54 lap down Earnhardt, Earnhardt "accidentally" got loose and into the left side of Busch's car. Busch then spun around on the entrance to turn 1 and hit the wall in the middle of turn 2. Dale would then DNF due to the damage his car sustained in the second incident.
  • Ron Fellows would start his 2 season part-time schedule with DEI, racing Corvettes in Lemans primarily but doing stints in the new part-time #29, starting a long standing relationship between sponsor Kraft and DEI. He would go on to replace the late Steve Park in the #1 car in 2003.

DEI lineup[]

  • #1 - Steve Park (Pennzoil)
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser)
  • #15 - Michael Waltrip (NAPA)
  • #29 - Ron Fellows (Kraft) (PT)

RCR lineup[]

  • #3 - Dale Earnhardt (GM Goodwrench)
  • #30 - Kevin Harvick (PT) (America Online)
  • #31 - Mike Skinner, Robby Gordon (Lowe's)

2002[]

  • 2002 saw Earnhardt win his second Daytona 500 and the July Pocono race, but Steve Park was tragically killed that same race, and Kenny Wallace, who had also subbed for Park the previous season after he was injured, replaced him for the remainder of 2002 winning one pole and nailing down two top tens, including a second-place finish at Rockingham Speedway, tying a career best. Ron Fellows took over driving duties for the #1 car in 2003.
  • Earnhardt was just 38 points away from becoming an unimaginable nine-time champion, having won ten races throughout the season but being inconsistent, allowing his friend and fellow driver Tony Stewart to win the championship.

DEI lineup:[]

  • #1 - Steve Park (☠) - (Pennzoil)
  • #1 - Kenny Wallace (Pennzoil)
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser)
  • #15 - Michael Waltrip (NAPA)
  • #29 - Ron Fellows (Kraft) (PT)

RCR lineup:[]

  • #3 - Dale Earnhardt (GM Goodwrench)
  • #30 - Kevin Harvick (R) (America Online)
  • #31 - Robby Gordon (Cingular)

2003[]

  • This was the beginning of Earnhardt's final career slump, as he got only three wins and noticeably lower finishes then the latest resurgence in his career; many attribute this slump to his age and past injuries finally starting to catch up to Earnhardt. Earnhardt has mentioned in his post retirement, self-supervised documentary "3: The Dale Earnhardt Story" that the pain in his neck from his 1996 Talladega wreck began resurfacing despite calming down after a nerve repair surgery, for three years previously.
  • DEI dropped the number 29 as a fourth part-time car and RCR picked it up for new driver Jeff Green as RCR had a history with the number 29, RCR expanded in 2003. DEI dropped the number in favour of a full-time number 83 for Dale's oldest son Kerry Earnhardt. Kerry would win three races throughout the season and finish eighth in points, but going into 2004 the funding at DEI suddenly wasn't there for a permanent fourth car, with Aaron's not renewing with DEI at the end of the 2003 season and moving in 2004 to the number 00 car of Kenny Wallace, Dale Sr. had no choice but to reduce Kerry to a part time schedule for the 2004 season, but according to Kerry there were no hard feelings about the whole ordeal.
  • Jeff Green would be hired to drive the new #29 car for RCR, with sponsorship from Oreo.

DEI lineup:[]

  • #1 - Ron Fellows (R) (Pennzoil/Kraft)
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser)
  • #15 - Michael Waltrip (NAPA)
  • #83 - Kerry Earnhardt (Aaron's, Inc./Hot Tamales)

RCR lineup:[]

  • #3 - Dale Earnhardt (GM Goodwrench)
  • #29 - Jeff Green (R) (Oreo)
  • #30 - Kevin Harvick (America Online)
  • #31 - Robby Gordon (Cingular)

2004[]

Before the beginning of the season, a new points format dubbed "The Chase" was to take effect. However, Earnhardt was able to dissuade Brian France from actually going through with this idea, saying "we are NOT the NFL!". Earnhardt surpassed Harry Gant as the oldest driver to win a NASCAR race when he won the Subway 400 at Rockingham Speedway at the age of 52 years, 10 months, and 13 days (a record that would be broken by future ECR driver Mark Martin in 2012). This was his only win that year.

  • For two races when his driver and son Dale Earnhardt, Jr. was seriously burned in a sports car race that year, the elder Earnhardt got behind the wheel of the #8 car to keep his driver and son in the top points standings, having his friend and ex-crew chief Kirk Shelmerdine sub in the #3 car. Earnhardt finished 20th in both starts, while Shelmerdine almost won in Earnhardt's ride at New Hampshire (Ted Christopher ran Shelmerdine’s #72 at Loudon while Derrike Cope filled in at Indianapolis). Earnhardt was quoted as saying in the 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story documentary that his lack of success was due to Dale Jr.'s different setups.
  • For the 2004 season DEI's number 83 car became a part-time ride, with Kerry Earnhardt still driving the car in it's first two races, but finding no success with sponsorship, and eventually dropping his driving duties by the midway point of the season. Taking his place in the car's last three scheduled races in the late season would be a 24 year old DEI developmental driver by the name of Martin Truex Jr. who would switch to the number 81 in 2005 and run his own prescheduled part-time season that year.
  • Dale gave an interview on Totally NASCAR on the SPEED channel the Monday night after the 2004 Daytona 500 and surprised many people with an answer to a question asked by Steve Byrnes. Byrnes asked, "Dale, people still ask you about the 2001 Daytona wreck where your seat belt snapped. What was different about this wreck?" Dale replied, "You see, I had some dreams about the 2001 Daytona 500 after it happened. The worst of them was, it was the final lap, but Mikey was leading the race with Jr. in second. Coming into the last turn, Sterling bumped into my left rear, and I overcorrected, which sent me into the wall at full speed. The hood flew up and I couldn't see nothing, but my belts broke at that moment anyways and my chin smashed off the steering wheel. About half a second after I hit the wall Schrader hit my right side and my head hit the driver's side rollcage bar as we both started to slide down the banking onto the infield. Mikey went on to win the race, but my car had stopped in the Turn 4 grass. I couldn't move anything and was just stuck sitting there as I saw Kenny Schrader come over to the car and scream for help. The dream then faded with Mike Helton saying 'we lost Dale Earnhardt in turn 4 of the final lap", I woke up at that moment screaming."

DEI lineup[]

  • #1 - Ron Fellows (Pennzoil/Kraft)
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser)
  • #15 - Michael Waltrip (NAPA)
  • #83 - Kerry Earnhardt, Martin Truex Jr. (PT) (Unsponsored, DEI Developmental Program self-sponsored)

RCR lineup[]

  • #3 - Dale Earnhardt (GM Goodwrench)
  • #29 - Jeff Green (Oreo)
  • #30 - Kevin Harvick (America Online)
  • #31 - Dave Blaney (Cingular)
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Dale Earnhardt winning the 2005 Daytona 500.

2005[]

2005 was Earnhardt's final season before his retirement, in a joint retirement tour with Rusty Wallace and Ricky Rudd. He would drive the Lemans Corvettes for 2006 up until 2008.

  • At the Daytona 500, Earnhardt passed Rusty Wallace to win his fourth and final Daytona 500. He won two more races that year: the Aaron's 499, and the Allstate 400 at The Brickyard, which was his final career win.
Dale Earnhardt’s last ride diecast

Dale's Last Ride used at the Nextel All-Star Challenge, seen here as a diecast model.


  • For the Nextel All-Star Challenge, Dale drove a special paint scheme, which was a collage of his most well-known moments throughout his driving history. He finished 13th. He also drove various paint schemes based on cars he ran in his history throughout the season as well.
  • At his 835th and final consecutive start, as well as his 863rd overall Cup Series race in Homestead, Earnhardt drove another special car, a white-to-black gradient version of his iconic black paint scheme; before the race, there was a card stunt in the stands in which thousands fans held up cards saying "Thank You Dale!" with his trademark #3 next to it. He started 25th, but led the pace laps as the pace car. His final race had him leading for 30 laps, but finished 29th, five laps down, after a wreck with 15 laps to go. Dale was racing for fifth place, when Kurt Busch bumped into his right rear corner, and sent him spinning. At the last moment, his car went airborne, and flipped over several times, with damage. His crew was able to get his car back onto the track for the final lap, but he finished 25th, five laps down. After this finish, the grandstand went wild, when the damaged car took its final lap around Homestead, much like Richard Petty's final race. In his post-race interview with NBC's Marty Snider, Dale said, visibly choked up with tears, "All these years, driving for the same sponsor and team. I want to thank Richard (Childress) for the opportunity he gave me, as well as Humpy Wheeler, and everyone else at RCR and Chevrolet. I wanna thank Goodwrench for sticking with me even through the bad years, and want to say to Jeff Gordon, that you are the face of the sport now. Don't let me down, boy". Earnhardt finished the year 10th in points and was honored at the Banquet in New York for his illustrious NASCAR career, and won Driver of the Year.
  • After the season, Earnhardt took full control of Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and was actively involved in its management. He went on to drive for Corvette Racing in the Le Mans Series from 2006 until his final retirement in 2008.
  • Martin Truex Jr. announced pre-season that he would be returning to and running a schedule for DEI part-time in 2005, on route to a fulltime contract and rookie season in 2006. His car number was changed from Kerry's old number 83, to his own number 81. The number 83 would be picked up by FitzBradshaw Racing who already used the number in the Nationwide series, as they tried to find their way into Nascar Nextel Cup competition, supported by a partnership with Hendrick Motorsports, with Jarit Johnson, brother of Hendrick Motorsports driver Jimmie Johnson.
  • Sterling Marlin announced pre-season that he would move into the DEI #14 car part-time in 2005, and full-time in 2006, as his contract with Chip Ganassi Racing was confirmed to be expiring at the end of the season, with rookie David Stremme making his first part-time starts in the 2005 season well Marlin drove for DEI in those races.
  • Jeff Green would gain sponsor AOL from Kevin Harvick for just this season, alongside his normal sponsor Oreo, until AOL left Nascar in 2006. Kevin Harvick got a new sponsor in Reese's.
  • This season and the following 2006 season are regarded as the "Golden Age" of DEI, expanding from 3 cars to 4 fulltime cars and 1 part-time car and seeing unparalleled success, for example Dale Jr. won his first championship this season.

DEI lineup:[]

  • #1 - Ron Fellows (Pennzoil/Kraft)
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser)
  • #14 - Sterling Marlin (Waste Management/Kraft) (PT)
  • #15 - Michael Waltrip (NAPA)
  • #81 - Martin Truex Jr. (PT) (Bass Pro Shops)

RCR lineup[]

  • #3 - Dale Earnhardt (GM Goodwrench)
  • #29 - Jeff Green (Oreo/America Online)
  • #30 - Kevin Harvick (Reese's)
  • #31 - Dave Blaney (Cingular)
  • #33 - Clint Bowyer (PT) (Sylvania)

2006[]

  • With Earnhardt’s retirement, Jeff Burton, who had driven the #99 Ford for Roush Racing since 1996, was selected to replace him in the #3 for 2006, as Carl Edwards ran for Rookie of the Year. Because DEI had a full stable, Busch Series driver Paul Menard did several races for RCR in the #33, before moving up full-time in 2007.
  • Ron Fellows would move from the #1 car fulltime to DEI's part time #81 team, swapping seats with rookie Martin Truex Jr. Fellows hoped he could find success in a fresh car with a different pitcrew, but found very little success in 2006.
  • Ron Fellows was announced to be leaving DEI at the end of the season due to poor performance, under mutual understanding between him and Earnhardt Sr., and would move to Michael Waltrip Racing in 2007. Fellows would make it clear that he had no hard feelings towards Earnhardt Sr. or DEI and his departure was mutually beneficial as both he and Earnhardt agreed he could use a new team. Going to Michael Waltrip Racing with him would be long standing DEI sponsor Pennzoil.

DEI lineup:[]

  • #1 - Martin Truex Jr. (R) (Bass Pro Shops)
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser)
  • #14 - Sterling Marlin (Waste Management/Kraft)
  • #15 - Michael Waltrip (NAPA)
  • #81 - Ron Fellows (Pennzoil) (PT)

RCR lineup:[]

  • #3 - Jeff Burton (GM Goodwrench)
  • #29 - Jeff Green (Oreo)
  • #30 - Kevin Harvick (Reese's)
  • #31 - Clint Bowyer (R) (Cingular)
  • #33 - Paul Menard (PT) (Menard's)

2007[]

  • Michael Waltrip, who left to move his team (Michael Waltrip Racing) to the Cup Series and lead Toyota's entry into the sport, was given Dale's blessing to use the #15, and as a result, his replacement, Mark Martin, switched to the #81. Earnhardt announced he had no plans of readding a fifth car to the DEI lineup for this season, as there was no one to fill the seat and the team's fifth car was always part time prior to 2007 anyways. Martin won the Daytona 500 that year in his 23rd attempt.
  • Jeff Green announced pre-season he had moved to Michael Waltrip Racing taking the #29, and sponsor Oreo, with him from the RCR stable. Jeff Green said he "saw more potential in a new upstart team."

DEI lineup:[]

  • #1 - Martin Truex Jr. (Bass Pro Shops)
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser)
  • #14 - Sterling Marlin (Waste Management)
  • #81 - Mark Martin (Kraft)

RCR lineup:[]

  • #3 - Jeff Burton (Reese's)
  • #30 - Kevin Harvick (Shell)
  • #31 - Clint Bowyer (Cingular)
  • #33 - Paul Menard (R) (Menard's)

2008[]

Dale Earnhardt before the 2008 Daytona 500

Earnhardt just before the 2008 Daytona 500.

  • 2008 saw Dale Earnhardt, Jr. inherit a 25% stake in the team. That same year, Dale Earnhardt made the decision to divorce his wife Teresa Earnhardt after 26 years. In an interview, Earnhardt said about her, "Teresa has no consideration about me or my legacy", while Teresa countered with, "I've always cared about him. If anything, he was the one who used me". This war of words continued to 2010, and Teresa was forced to resign from DEI after the scandal.
  • Dale Sr. stepped in his old ride one last time for the 50th Daytona 500. In the last race that he would ever participate in, Earnhardt qualified 31st for the race. After being notified of the idea, GM Goodwrench, very supportive of the idea, came back to sponsor the car again for this one race, and Earnhardt's iconic black paint scheme was used. RCR driver Jeff Burton, just for this race, moved to a fifth car (#83) so Earnhardt could race the #3.
  • Ron Fellows retired at the end of the 2008 season, and sponsor Pennzoil would move to Harvick's car alongside current sponsor Shell in 2009, returning to it's roots at ECR.
  • Sterling Marlin announced 2008 to be his final season at the end of 2007, and called retirement at the end of the 2008 season.

DEI lineup:[]

  • #1 - Martin Truex Jr. (Bass Pro Shops)
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser)
  • #14 - Sterling Marlin (Waste Management)
  • #81 - Mark Martin (Kraft)

RCR lineup:[]

  • #3 - Dale Earnhardt (Daytona 500) (GM Goodwrench)/Jeff Burton (rest of the season) (Reese's)
  • #30 - Kevin Harvick (Shell)
  • #31 - Clint Bowyer (Cingular)
  • #33 - Paul Menard (Menard's)
  • #83 - Jeff Burton (Daytona 500) (Reese's)

2009[]

Before the 2009 season, due to the Great Recession, DEI and RCR merged to form Earnhardt-Childress Racing (ECR), with Childress owning 50%, and the Earnhardts (Dale Sr. and Dale Jr.) owning 25% each. The cars used were:

  • #1 - Martin Truex Jr. (Bass Pro Shops) - same as 2008
  • #3 - Jeff Burton (Reese's) - same as 2008
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser) - same as 2008
  • #14 - Matt Kenseth/Sterling Marlin (Waste Management) - Part-time, limited schedule
  • #30 - Kevin Harvick (Shell/Pennzoil) - same as 2008
  • #31 - Mark Martin (Cheerios/Kraft) - Clint Bowyer moved to Michael Waltrip Racing to replace Ron Fellows, in the #51 Toyota, now sponsored by 5-Hour Energy.

The teams that were jettisoned from fulltime competition were:

  • #14 - Sterling Marlin (Waste Management) - Marlin retired at the end of 2008. He would drive the car one last time in the 2009 Daytona 500, before the #14 car would be used in a few select events for Matt Kenseth before he moved over to the #30 fulltime next season to replace Kevin Harvick. The #14 would be dropped from ECR prior to the 2010 season and picked up by Michael Waltrip Racing in 2010 for Brian Vickers, as Waltrip had acquired the fledgling Team Redbull who had used the number 82 for the car previously.
  • #81 - Mark Martin (Kraft) - Martin moved over to the #31, #81 dropped by DEI after the 2008 season and picked up by BK Racing for the 2009 season.

A new car known as the “Car of Tomorrow” debuted, which Earnhardt had a huge hand in developing. It looks exactly like the Nationwide/Xfinity Series CoT from OTL; this means Ford switched from the Fusion to the Mustang, and Dodge from the Charger to the Challenger.

2010[]

For the 2010 season, Matt Kenseth moved from Roush-Fenway Racing to replace Kevin Harvick, who moved over to Stewart-Haas Racing to drive the #4 Jimmy John's Chevrolet.

ECR lineup:[]

  • #1 - Martin Truex Jr. (Bass Pro Shops)
  • #3 - Jeff Burton (Reese's)
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser)
  • #30 - Matt Kenseth (Shell/Pennzoil)
  • #31 - Mark Martin (Cheerios)

2011[]

At Earnhardt's request, North Wilkesboro Speedway was revived, replacing the second Las Vegas and Kansas races, respectively; the track used the Wells Fargo 400 and Tyson Holly Farms 500 names, respectively. The ECR lineup is unchanged, aside from DeWalt replacing Shell as Kenseth's sponsor in the #1.

2012[]

2013[]

2013 started out with Earnhardt making his opinion known about newcomer Danica Patrick, saying, "She has no business behind the wheel of a race car. I got nothing against women in the sport. Well, ones who earn their seat, that is".

Rumors that Team Penske would be switching from Dodge to Ford were quashed by Roger Penske in May 2012. It was also announced that Richard Petty Motorsports and Chip Ganassi Racing would be switching back to Dodge in 2013, securing the manufacturers' presence in NASCAR. On a minor note, Chevrolet switched from the Impala to the Camaro this year.

2014[]

With Martin's retirement, Jeffrey Earnhardt replaced him in the #31. This was also Jeff Burton's final season, with rookie Austin Dillon replacing him from 2015 onward.

ECR lineup[]

  • #1 - Martin Truex Jr. (Bass Pro Shops)
  • #3 - Jeff Burton (Coca-Cola)
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser)
  • #30 - Matt Kenseth (DeWalt)
  • #31 - Jeffrey Earnhardt (R) (Cheerios)
  • #33 - Austin Dillon (PT) (Dow)

2015[]

ECR lineup[]

  • #1 - Martin Truex Jr. (Bass Pro Shops)
  • #3 - Austin Dillon (R) (Dow)
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser)
  • #30 - Matt Kenseth (DeWalt)
  • #31 - Jeffrey Earnhardt (Monster Energy)

2016[]

  • Due to gaining confidence, Tony Stewart got much better, and never had his 2013 sprint car injury, the 2014 Kevin Ward Jr. controversy, or the 2016 dune buggy accident. He still competes in the Cup Series to this day.
  • Due to not getting concussions, Dale Jr. is still racing full-time in the Cup Series.

2017[]

2018[]

2019[]

Toyota switched from the Camry to the newly-revived Supra.

2020[]

Kenseth retired at the conclusion of the 2020 season. Rookie Tyler Reddick replaced him.

2021[]

The season began with

ECR lineup:[]

  • #1 - Martin Truex Jr. (Bass Pro Shops)
  • #3 - Austin Dillon (Dow)
  • #8 - Dale Earnhardt Jr. (Budweiser)
  • #30 - Tyler Reddick (DeWalt)
  • #31 - Jeffrey Earnhardt (Monster Energy)

Daytona 500 Winners[]

  • 2001: #15-Michael Waltrip, NAPA, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  • 2002: #3-Dale Earnhardt, GM Goodwrench, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  • 2003: #3-Dale Earnhardt, GM Goodwrench, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  • 2004: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  • 2005: #3-Dale Earnhardt, GM Goodwrench, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  • 2006: #48-Jimmie Johnson, Lowe's, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
  • 2007: #81-Mark Martin, Kraft, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
  • 2008: #30-Kevin Harvick, Shell, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
  • 2009: #24-Jeff Gordon, DuPont, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Impala
  • 2010: #3-Jeff Burton, Reese’s, Earnhardt-Childress Racing, Chevrolet Impala
  • 2011: #6-David Ragan, UPS, Roush-Fenway Racing, Ford Mustang
  • 2012: #30-Matt Kenseth, DeWalt Power Tools, Earnhardt-Childress Racing, Chevrolet Impala
  • 2013: #48-Jimmie Johnson, Lowe’s, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2014: #14-Tony Stewart, Bass Pro Shops, Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2015: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser, Earnhardt-Childress Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2016: #11-Denny Hamlin, FedEx, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry
  • 2017: #31-Jeffrey Earnhardt, Monster Energy, Earnhardt-Childress Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2018: #3-Austin Dillon, Dow, Earnhardt-Childress Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2019: #9-Chase Elliott, NAPA, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2020: #14-Tony Stewart, Home Depot, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang
  • 2021: #34-Michael McDowell, Love's, Front Row Motorsports, Ford Mustang
  • 2022: #2-Austin Cindric, Discount Tires, Team Penske, Dodge Challenger

Champions[]

  • 2001: #3-Dale Earnhardt, GM Goodwrench, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  • 2002: #20-Tony Stewart, Home Depot, Joe Gibbs Racing, Pontiac Grand Prix
  • 2003: #17-Matt Kenseth, DeWalt, Roush Racing, Ford Taurus
  • 2004: #24-Jeff Gordon, DuPont, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  • 2005: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Chevrolet Monte Carlo
  • 2006: #48-Jimmie Johnson, Lowe's, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
  • 2007: #24-Jeff Gordon, DuPont, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
  • 2008: #3-Jeff Burton, Reese's, Richard Childress Racing, Chevrolet Monte Carlo SS
  • 2009: #14-Tony Stewart, Office Depot, Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet Impala
  • 2010: #11-Denny Hamlin, FedEx, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry
  • 2011: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser, Earnhardt-Childress Racing, Chevrolet Impala
  • 2012: #31-Mark Martin, Caterpillar, Earnhardt-Childress Racing, Chevrolet Impala
  • 2013: #30-Matt Kenseth, DeWalt, Earnhardt-Childress Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2014: #24-Jeff Gordon, DuPont, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2015: #14-Tony Stewart, Office Depot, Stewart-Haas Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2016: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser, Earnhardt-Childress Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2017: #24-Chase Elliott, NAPA, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2018: #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr., Budweiser, Earnhardt-Childress Racing, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2019: #18-Kyle Busch, M&M's, Joe Gibbs Racing, Toyota Camry
  • 2020: #4-Kevin Harvick, Jimmy John's, Stewart-Haas Racing, Ford Mustang
  • 2021: #5-Kyle Larson, HendrickCars.com, Hendrick Motorsports, Chevrolet Camaro
  • 2022: #42-Ross Chastain, Advent Health, Chip Ganassi Racing, Dodge Challenger

Points Standings[]

2001[]

DRIVER MAKE RACES WIN T5 T10 POLE LAPS LED EARNINGS AVST AVFN RAF MILES LLF POINTS DIFF
1   Dale Earnhardt Sr. Chevrolet 36 10 21 35 9 10638 2320 10,879,757 9.5 11.0 34 14,029.73 27 5197
2 Jeff Gordon Chevrolet 36 6 18 24 6 10429 465 4,941,463 17.0 12.6 32 13,981.38 29 5112 -85
3   Tony Stewart Pontiac 36 3 15 22 0 10429 465 4,941,463 17.0 12.6 32 13,981.38 29 4763 -434
4 Sterling Marlin Dodge 36 2 12 20 1 10723 535 4,517,634 15.4 13.0 34 14,105.58 30 4741 -456
5   Ricky Rudd Ford 36 2 14 22 1 10536 569 4,878,027 13.1 13.2 32 13,847.10 26 4706 -406
6   Dale Jarrett Ford 36 4 12 19 4 10744 511 5,377,742 14.8 13.9 32 14,051.25 27 4612 -500
7   Bobby Labonte Pontiac 36 2 9 20 1 10361 229 4,786,779 17.8 14.1 30 13,582.70 27 4561 -551
8   Rusty Wallace Ford 36 1 8 14 0 10138 1104 4,788,652 15.1 14.4 33 13,223.36 26 4481 -631
9   Dale Earnhardt, Jr. Chevrolet 36 3 9 15 2 10302 767 5,827,542 16.7 15.2 32 13,688.97 23 4460 -652
10   Jeff Burton Ford 36 2 8 16 0 10463 400 4,230,737 21.5 15.3 35 13,941.39 22 4394 -718
11   Johnny Benson, Jr. Pontiac 36 0 6 14 0 10049 101 2,894,903 17.7 17.1 29 13,417.44 21 4152 -960
12   Mark Martin Ford 36 0 3 15 2 10138 190 3,797,006 15.6 17.9 32 13,684.67 22 4095 -1,017
13   Matt Kenseth Ford 36 0 4 9 0 10341 100 2,565,579 27.8 18.6 31 13,571.81 19 3982 -1,130
14   Ward Burton Dodge 36 1 6 10 0 10158 178 3,583,692 20.4 19.8 27 13,169.82 17 3846 -1,266
15   Bill Elliott Dodge 36 1 5 9 2 9915 171 3,618,017 13.7 19.9 34 13,461.62 18 3824 -1,288
16   Jimmy Spencer Ford 36 0 3 8 2 10259 214 2,669,638 19.7 20.2 29 13,333.62 19 3782 -1,330
17   Jerry Nadeau Chevrolet 36 0 4 10 0 10238 180 2,507,827 22.3 21.2 28 13,515.14 16 3675 -1,437
18   Bobby Hamilton Chevrolet 36 1 3 7 0 10750 239 2,527,310 22.3 21.8 36 14,104.40 13 3575 -1,537
19   Ken Schrader Pontiac 36 0 0 5 0 10534 10 2,418,181 22.8 22.3 34 14,000.95 12 3480 -1,632
20   Elliott Sadler Ford 36 1 2 2 0 10392 125 2,683,225 28.4 22.8 34 13,544.52 12 3471 -1,641
21   Ricky Craven Ford 36 1 4 7 1 9670 170 1,996,981 20.6 24.0 27 12,790.60 12 3379 -1,733
22   Dave Blaney Dodge 36 0 0 6 0 10053 87 1,827,896 23.2 24.1 30 13,103.52 15 3303 -1,809
23   Terry Labonte Chevrolet 36 0 1 3 0 10517 0 3,011,901 30.8 24.1 28 13,913.09 11 3280 -1,832
24   Michael Waltrip Chevrolet 36 1 3 3 0 9527 88 3,411,644 21.6 25.8 30 12,827.29 10 3159 -1,953
25   Robert Pressley Ford 34 0 1 5 0 9154 5 2,171,520 25.9 23.8 25 12,462.20 13 3156 -1,956
26   Casey Atwood Dodge 35 0 1 3 1 9473 137 1,797,111 20.1 24.8 29 11,904.84 9 3132 -1,980
27   Kurt Busch Ford 35 0 3 6 1 8932 160 2,170,629 29.4 25.5 28 11,980.41 13 3081 -2,031
28   Joe Nemechek Chevrolet 31 1 1 4 0 8706 229 2,510,723 21.5 22.8 25 11,367.16 10 2994 -2,118
29   Todd Bodine Ford 35 0 2 2 3 9161 110 1,740,315 16.7 26.8 23 11,984.73 8 2960 -2,152
30   Brett Bodine Ford 36 0 0 2 0 9968 3 1,740,526 27.9 27.2 34 13,472.72 9 2948 -2,164
31   John Andretti Dodge 35 0 1 2 0 9994 53 2,873,184 22.5 26.6 31 13,000.73 7 2943 -2,169
32   Steve Park Chevrolet 24 1 5 12 0 6368 508 2,385,971 21.3 16.5 22 8,781.95 15 2859 -2,253
33   Stacy Compton Dodge 34 0 0 1 2 9424 13 1,704,962 23.8 27.6 27 12,535.54 9 2752 -2,360
34   Mike Wallace Ford 29 0 1 6 0 8684 61 2,075,044 31.2 23.9 25 10,899.21 10 2693 -2,419
35   Jeremy Mayfield Ford 28 0 5 7 0 7286 60 2,682,603 22.9 23.6 24 9,911.30 12 2651 -2,461
36   Kevin Lepage Chevrolet 29 0 0 1 0 8557 13 1,424,852 28.5 26.2 26 10,550.63 6 2461 -2,651
37   Jason Leffler Chevrolet 30 0 0 1 1 7983 15 1,724,692 28.7 27.7 22 11,047.18 7 2413 -2,699
38   Ron Hornaday, Jr. Pontiac 32 0 0 1 0 8659 29 1,435,857 27.5 30.5 24 11,108.34 6 2305 -2,807
39   Kenny Wallace Chevrolet 24 0 1 2 1 7334 104 1,507,922 25.3 26.3 18 8,861.76 4 2054 -3,058
40   Mike Skinner Chevrolet 23 0 0 1 0 6717 46 1,921,186 20.9 25.2 19 8,631.99 6 2029 -3,083
41   Buckshot Jones Dodge 30 0 0 0 0 7819 2 1,631,488 31.6 32.9 20 10,355.60 2 1939 -3,173
42   Hut Stricklin Ford 22 0 0 1 0 6215 0 1,006,021 29.1 27.6 19 9,123.16 4 1770 -3,342
43   Kyle Petty Dodge 24 0 0 0 0 5026 1 1,008,919 27.5 31.2 16 7,571.89 2 1673 -3,439
44   Robby Gordon Chevrolet

Ford

17 1 2 3 0 4401 50 1,371,900 32.4 24.8 15 6,207.97 5 1552 -3,560
45   Rick Mast Chevrolet

Ford

Pontiac

17 0 0 0 0 4543 0 680,321 31.8 31.1 14 5,648.39 3 1187 -3,925
46   Andy Houston Ford 17 0 0 0 0 3612 1 865,263 24.0 32.4 8 4,812.94 3 1123 -3,989
47   Bobby Hamilton, Jr. Chevrolet 10 0 0 0 0 2577 0 546,847 28.7 29.4 6 3,698.28 2 748 -4,364
48   Jeff Green Chevrolet 8 0 0 1 1 1758 71 441,449 18.8 27.5 5 2,775.82 3 539 -4,573
49   Ryan Newman Ford 7 0 2 2 1 1478 13 465,276 14.1 24.7 5 2,349.50 2 497 -4,700
50 Kevin Harvick Chevrolet 3 1 1 2 0 597 23 375,023 11.7 12.3 4 1,128.32 2 495 -4,702
50   Boris Said Ford 2 0 0 1 0 202 0 124,340 31.0 9.5 2 444.50 2 272 -4,840
51   Scott Pruett Chevrolet

Dodge

2 0 0 0 0 202 3 134,045 9.5 11.5 2 444.50 2 262 -4,850
52   Jimmie Johnson Chevrolet 3 0 0 0 0 781 0 122,320 22.0 31.0 2 1,184.38 1 210 -4,902
53   Dave Marcis Chevrolet 3 0 0 0 0 837 0 153,196 18.7 35.3 3 1,149.08 0 171 -4,941
54   Jeff Purvis Ford 4 0 0 0 0 409 0 238,985 18.5 40.3 1 1,066.18 0 169 -4,943
55   Carl Long Dodge

Ford

3 0 0 0 0 513 0 152,376 28.3 38.0 1 687.99 0 147 -4,965
56   Rich Bickle Chevrolet 2 0 0 0 0 653 0 114,910 17.5 31.5 2 657.34 0 137 -4,975
58   Hermie Sadler Chevrolet 3 0 0 0 0 1206 0 121,865 26.7 30.7 3 1,141.54 0 131 -4,981
59   Ron Fellows Chevrolet 2 0 0 0 0 137 23 72,055 9.5 40.0 0 290.20 0 96 -5,016
60   Derrike Cope Ford

Pontiac

1 0 0 0 0 263 0 81,871 30.0 24.0 1 394.50 0 91 -5,021
61   Brian Simo Ford 2 0 0 0 0 113 0 72,175 28.5 39.5 0 263.35 0 89 -5,023
62   Dorsey Schroeder Dodge 1 0 0 0 0 112 0 52,805 36.0 25.0 1 224.00 1 88 -5,024
63   Wally Dallenbach, Jr. Chevrolet

Dodge

1 0 0 0 0 198 0 64,410 43.0 26.0 1 495.00 0 85 -5,027
64   Ted Musgrave Ford 1 0 0 0 0 198 0 73,287 15.0 29.0 1 495.00 0 76 -5,036
65   Dick Trickle Chevrolet 1 0 0 0 0 389 0 33,850 7.0 33.0 1 395.61 0 64 -5,048
66   Anthony Lazzaro Chevrolet 1 0 0 0 0 88 0 32,265 31.0 34.0 1 215.60 0 61 -5,051
66   Shawna Robinson Ford 1 0 0 0 0 197 0 35,190 32.0 34.0 1 394.00 0 61 -5,051
68   Geoffrey Bodine Ford 2 0 0 0 0 750 0 80,855 24.0 32.0 2 655.04 0 52 -5,060
69   Lance Hooper Chevrolet

Ford

1 0 0 0 0 104 0 47,700 36.0 42.0 0 160.16 0 37 -5,075
69   Stuart Kirby Ford 1 0 0 0 0 46 0 32,605 22.0 42.0 0 69.00 0 37 -5,075
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