Video : Earnhardt

The history of the Earnhardt family is the history of NASCAR-you can’t tell the story of one without the other -and at the center of the Earnhardt family was Dale Earnhardt Sr., the most influential figure the sport has ever known. A charismatic, working-class hero to millions of fans, Dale Sr. spent the better part of two decades as the most visible figure in stock car racing, breaking through the confines of the sport’s regional fan base to mainstream notoriety, racking up millions in endorsement deals from Coca-Cola to Wheaties, and appearing on daytime TV and late-night talk shows