How Would NASCAR History Change Without the Dale Earnhardt-Richard Childress Partnership?

Without a doubt, Dale Earnhardt is a legend in NASCAR circles and was taken far too soon. He kicked off his career in the Winston Cup Series with a few smaller teams, from 1975 till 1978.

His career only picked up in earnest from 1979, with Osterlund Racing. After finishing seventh in his first season with them, he took the Cup trophy in just his second season. In 1981, Osterlund Racing was sold midway through the season. So he moved to the Jim Stacy Racing team.

However, he completed the season with the Richard Childress Racing team, driving a Pontiac. After two years with Bud Moore Engineering, he rejoined Richard Childress, and the rest is history. He went on to win six more titles with the team and built them up as an almost invincible team, until his untimely death in 2001.

What would have happened if Dale Earnhardt had not joined Richard Childress Racing?

Around the time that Earnhardt took his first title, fellow racer Richard Childress toyed with the idea of being a team owner. So, he approached Dale Earnhardt and he started his first stint with them. However, an awful couple of campaigns saw the team owner tell Earnhardt that they were not ready to take him on as a driver.

In the wake of Earnhardt’s departure, Richard Childress recruited Ricky Rudd. Unfortunately, neither party found much success. However, Childress was happy to prove that they could still produce race wins.

In an alternate universe without Dale Earnhardt at RCR, the first thing that takes a massive hit is the championship tally. It is worth noting that Bud Moore never found another driver who could hold a candle to Dale Earnhardt. So, there were chances that Earnhardt wouldn’t win a title for that team.

The NASCAR Hall of Famer would have most likely lost his HoF status, especially with one title and way less than 76 wins. Secondly, a Daytona 500 triumph would have eluded him for the rest of his career. This is because Moore’s team only picked up one Daytona 500 triumph out of 63 wins.

On the other side of the fence, would Ricky Rudd take Earnhardt’s place in the Hall of Fame? In addition to that, one has to wonder if RCR would have lasted as long as it does now, without ‘The Intimidator’? Looking into the future, this could have also potentially affected Dale Earnhardt Jr and the current champion, Kevin Harvick.