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Dale Earnhardt’s Most UNDERRATED Moments

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Dale Earnhardt is arguably the greatest NASCAR driver of all time. His impact on the sport is still being felt to this day, but, so many great moments mean that a few slip between the cracks. These are a few moments that have slipped between the cracks.

  • For this list, we will look at the top-5 most underrated moments of his career. We will stray away from his most known accomplishments such as his 7th Championship, his Daytona 500 win, etc.
  • Dale Earnhardt won 76 races and 7 Championships in his Cup Series career. He became famous for his nickname “The Intimidator”, personified by his black number 3 Goodwrench Chevrolet.
  • Fans look back on Earnhardt very fondly. He is one of the most iconic NASCAR drivers of all time, and many still represent him at the track to this day.

5. 1995 Save Mart Supermarkets 300: Earnhardt’s First Road Course Win

Dale Earnhardt was never known for his prowess on road courses. His first road course win did not come until the 1995 season when he won at Sonoma.

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Earnhardt started the day in 4th, but Mark Martin dominated, leading 66 laps. With two laps to go, Earnhardt made his move in the carousel, and he won the race over Martin. For a driver who had never won on a road course, this was a big moment.

4. 1996 Bud at the Glen: Earnhardt Wins Pole While Hurt

In 1996 at Talladega, Dale Earnhardt broke his sternum and clavicle in a terrifying accident. Two weeks later, the Cup Series came to Watkins Glen. Earnhardt was never known for qualifying well, but, on this day, he was incredible

He made the pole and went on to lead 54 laps. He failed to win the race, but, he went on to finish 6th after leading 54 laps. It was one of the gutsiest performances of his career.

3. 1999 Duel at Daytona: Earnhardt Wins His 10th Duel in a Row

While Dale Earnhardt struggled to capture the Daytona 500 during his career, he was winning almost everything else during Speedweeks. Throughout the 1990s, he had a true handle on the Daytona 500 qualifying races.

He won every qualifying race he participated in from 1990 until 1999. In 1999, he won it in dominating fashion, leading 43 of the 50 laps. Even though he only won the big race once, no one was quite like him at Daytona.

2. 1993 Coca-Cola 600: Dale Earnhardt Wins From One Lap Down

In 1993 at Charlotte, Dale Earnhardt would not be denied. He was penalized for 15 seconds for speeding on pit road. After that, he spun out Greg Sacks intentionally to catch back up, and NASCAR penalized him a lap for that.

From there, Earnhardt staged an incredible comeback. He took the lead back on lap 362 and won the race by over 3 seconds over Jeff Gordon.

1. 1997 Daytona 500: Dale Earnhardt Flips and Finishes

In 1997, Dale Earnhardt flipped in the closing laps of the Daytona 500. His race seemed to be over, but, to the shock of everyone, it was not. Earnhardt got out of the ambulance, saw the car cranked up, and jumped back in to take it to pit road.

The #3 crew piece-mealed the car back together somewhat to allow Earnhardt to finish the race. He did go on to finish the race, in one of the wackiest scenes in NASCAR history.

Dale Earnhardt had some incredible moments in NASCAR. What are some other incredible moments that we forgot about?

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