Kerry- the forgotten Earnhardt

[Roselady3]

Kerry Earnhardt still chases
destiny

By LARRY WOODY
Staff Writer

He could go by a lot of names: the Other
Earnhardt, the Unknown Earnhardt, the Forgotten
Earnhardt.

Kerry Earnhardt, at 32, has never shared the fame
or fortune of his five-year-younger half-brother,
Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Junior's combination of famous name, charisma
and natural-born driving talent has transformed
him into a NASCAR megastar overnight. In just two
seasons in Winston Cup, NASCAR's major league,
Little E has won $8.3 million, been featured in
Playboy and Rolling Stone, appeared on The Tonight Show,
thrown out a pitch at the World Series and been
seen in the company of Hollywood starlets.

Kerry, meanwhile, has struggled to hold a job and
support his family while running a few races in
lower, nondescript divisions.

Yet although he is not the son who inherited his
father's name — and all that came with it — he is
the son who most resembles his late father. Kerry
bears an increasingly-striking physical likeness,
right down to the mustache and drawl.


He looks like his
dad, he sounds
like his dad, and
like his dad, Kerry
enjoys the
outdoors and
simple pleasures
like working on
the farm and
tinkering with old
race cars. As was
his father early in
his career, Kerry
comes across as
shy and hesitant with the media.

And like his father, Kerry married young, quit
school, started a family, got a menial job to
support it, job endured a divorce, re-married, and
now is scrambling to fulfill his destiny as a
born-to-run Earnhardt.

Is he conscious of how closely his life so far
shadows that of his father?

''Yes sir, I am,'' Kerry said. ''A lot of people tell me
I remind them of my dad in a lot of ways, including
our personality, and I take that as compliment.

''He taught me to be strong, and I've always tried
to do that. As bad as I wanted to go racing, I
always put my family first. I had to make a living.''

Kerry has two children by his first marriage: Bobby,
14, and Jeffrey, 12. Three years ago he
re-married, and his wife, Rene, has a daughter,
Blade, 9.

''I don't have any regrets,'' Kerry said about putting
his career on hold so he could earn a living during
those early, hard years. ''My family was more
important to me than my racing.''

Now Kerry is finally getting his chance to catch up.
He will race full-time in the Busch Series next
year, driving for a team co-owned by former
Vanderbilt football star Armando Fitz.

Fitz, a native of Madison, attended Goodpasture
High and played linebacker for the Commodores
from 1983-86. He will partner with former
Pittsburgh Steelers great Terry Bradshaw to field
what is expected to be a top-flight Busch car
sponsored by Supercuts.

The team will have the backing of powerful Dale
Earnhardt Inc., which will supply motors and assist
with engineering and marketing.

''It's a tremendous deal for me,'' Kerry said. ''This
is not only a great team but it's going to be
involved with my father's company, and that makes
it even more special. I feel my dad's a part of what
I'm doing.''

''Kerry is going to be a great race driver, just like
his father and Dale Jr.,'' Fitz said, ''All he needs is
experience and opportunity, and he's going to get
both. Once he gets started, there's no end to how
far he can go.''

Fitz is the son-in-law of flamboyant,
multimillionaire NASCAR team owner Felix
Sabates. When Sabates sold majority interest of his
Winston Cup team to Chip Ganassi last year, he
offered his Busch Series team to Fitz, who had
helped oversee the racing operation. Soon after
Fitz took control, Bradshaw came aboard as a
partner.

''Terry has been a race fan for years,'' Fitz says.
''When Fox started carrying the races this season
he began to really get involved. He approached
me about being a teammate and it went from
there.

''Having a personality like Terry Bradshaw as part
of the team will be a major plus. It will get us a lot
of attention, and since most of my experience has
been in marketing and public relations, I can
appreciate how important that will be.''

''I love the sport and want to be part of it,''
Bradshaw said. ''This opportunity is something I've
sought for some time and I know that partnering
with Fitz, Earnhardt and Dale Earnhardt Inc., is a
perfect combination. We haven't run our first race
and I'm already getting excited.''

Two of Earnhardt's Busch races will be at Nashville
Superspeedway, on April 13 and June 8.

The whole package — a top Busch ride, Bradshaw,
the emergence of another Earnhardt — will cast
Kerry into the spotlight as never before. But it still
won't equal the attention received by Dale Jr., who
is arguably the sport's most popular driver.

''I'm proud of Dale and what all he's
accomplished,'' Kerry said. ''I don't resent it a bit.
He's earned it, and I'm happy for him.''

During the somber aftermath of their father's
death in the Feb. 18 Daytona 500, it was Dale Jr.
who frequently appeared before the national
media as a spokesman for the family. Kerry was
seldom seen.

''I understood why that was,'' Kerry said. ''Dale was
in Winston Cup and he was at the tracks every
week, where all the media was gathered. I wasn't
out in the public. It was only natural that he would
be the one the press would talk to. Actually, I
preferred it like that.''

''Kerry doesn't like to talk about his father's
death,'' Rene said. ''He took it very hard. Since he
wasn't in the public eye very much, most people
didn't understand just how hard it was on him.''

Kerry and Rene were watching the race on TV at
their Mooresville, N.C., when they saw the fatal
last-lap crash.

''It's still not something I care to talk about,'' Kerry
said. ''Me and my dad were real close. We did a lot
of things together, and when my boys came along,
my dad liked to spend time with them. He was
hunting with Bobby when Bobby got his first deer,
and I think my dad was more excited about it than
Bobby. I've got a whole lot of great memories like
that.''

Earnhardt's two sons couldn't be more different.
Dale Jr. likes rock music and wild parties; Kerry
prefers a quiet front porch. Dale Jr. is a carefree
bachelor; Kerry a committed family man.

Their only similarity comes when they climb into a
race car. Kerry has had a successful — though
limited and unheralded — career in the minor
leagues. He won four ARCA races over the past
two years, including three wins in five starts this
year. He has also has competed in Late Models at
Hickory (N.C.) Speedway and other weekly tracks,
including Nashville Speedway.

A few years ago all three Earnhardt children —
Dale Jr., Kerry and sister Kelly (now 25) — entered
a race at the Fairgrounds track.

''All three of us got caught up in a wreck on the
first lap,'' Kerry recalled with a chuckle. ''It was a
quick night for the Earnhardt gang.''

Despite the tough times and slow going, Kerry
never doubted where he was headed. There is a
familiar glint in his eyes, a echo from the past in
his voice. He's Dale Earnhardt's son, all right —
almost a carbon copy — and he's itching to race.

''I was always determined to race,'' he said. ''It has
just taken me awhile to get started.''

[Lars]

I've been biting my tongue on this one...trying not to comment...but I don't think Kerry has the ' T ' that Dale Jr. has or the ' ba*ls ' that the old man had to make it in WC & Busch.

I do wish Kerry the best of luck next year & hopefully he proves me wrong.

[Roselady3]

LMAO at you Lars!
Well I carefully worded it as Dad's Mean Genes- remember?
I don't know I've only seen him race in 1 & 1/300ths of a race! LOL.
I would LOVE it if he turned out to be another rough rider!

Ok- So did ya draw any blood?

[Lars]

Originally posted by Roselady3
Ok- So did ya draw any blood?

Nahhhh...wasn't biting that hard...lol.

[Lars]

Originally posted by Roselady3
I would LOVE it if he turned out to be another rough rider!

Happy Harvick tried that this year and he just po'd all the vets.

[Roselady3]

Yeah- That he did.
But I liked him!
Can't wait to see that kid next season when he can really concentrate!