Kerry Earnhardt - Future Winston Cup Star or Washout?
By: Andy Kondratick
In a lot of ways, the early stages of Kerry Earnhardt's NASCAR Busch Series career resemble those of his late father. Earnhardt, 32, has made only 40 starts in the Busch Series over five years. It was not until Dale Sr.'s fifth year in the Winston Cup Series (which actually was his rookie season) until he started to blossom. The same can be said about Kerry. Prior to this year, Kerry had accumulated a total of 10 Busch Series starts between 1998-2001. He emerged as a viable big-time driver by winning four of 11 ARCA RE/MAX Series starts in the 2000-2001 seasons and had seven top-five finishes. This year marked Kerry's first full time ride in the Busch Grand National Series. He is the driver of the #12 Super Cuts Fitz Bradshaw Racing entry and his season so far has shown lots of promise.
He hasn't had the best of luck all year but he did gain some much needed knowledge and was able to pull off an 8th place finish at Nashville Superspeedway in March of this year and a career best 2nd place finish at Kansas several weeks ago. When asked about his season so far Kerry had this to say.
"It's been kind of tough this year," Earnhardt said. "It hasn't been as good a season as we planned, but I'm not complaining because it's still been a decent season. It's taking me a little time to get a grasp on this thing, but I'm making improvements along the way. I've learned a lot so far."
"I know I've got lots more learning to do and that I've got a big learning curve. Some of the big veterans in the series are way ahead of me. I know that."
Earnhardt also knows what might be on the horizon, once his education advances and he starts winning Busch Series races. He has seen the popularity of his half-brother Dale Earnhardt Jr. explode in the Winston Cup Series. Fitz Bradshaw has talked of eventually moving him along the ladder to Winston Cup.
"I think I will be ready," Earnhardt said. "That's part of it -- part of doing this. I'll be ready to accept the responsibility."
Kerry Earnhardt has managed to procure many fans this year with all of the exposure he has had in the Busch Series and I for one am a closet Kerry Earnhardt fan. You know what I mean. If someone asks you if your a fan of his and you look back at them as if they had the plague or something of that nature but you are secretly routing for him in your mind. Nonetheless I felt really confident about his chances of winning the Kansas race and proclaimed in an open forum that he would either win the race or finish in the top five. That turned out to be a lucky guess and made my wallet about a 100 pounds heavier.
As the season continues on Kerry has been able to show that his experience so far this year is starting to pay off. He has learned a very big part of racing in Winston Cup and that is how to avoid accidents, either being the cause or getting caught up in one. This past weekend at Memphis he avoided a late race crash and finished fifth. Kerry is currently 20th in the Busch Series points and FitzBradshaw Racing announced this week that he will field the No. 83 RacingUSA.com Chevrolet Monte Carlo in the Checker Auto Parts 500 at Phoenix International Raceway on November 10, 2002. Earnhardt was originally slated to drive the No. 83 RacingUSA.com Chevrolet in the EA Sports 500 at Talladega Superspeedway, however inclement weather forced drivers to start the race by owner points. Talladega was FitzBradshaw's first attempt in the Winston Cup Series and no owner points have been accumulated. The car's paint scheme was designed by Sam Bass and will boast the number 83. The number 8 represents Kerry's grandfather Ralph, and the number 3 represents his father, Dale Sr.
What it all comes down to for me is simply this. Kerry has had a slow start to his career and has had many disappointments along the way but there has been a lot of improvement shown by this young man and he has plenty of time to make his own way in the Winston Cup Series. I feel he will be a star in his own right. Maybe not as big as his family name has shown it can be but I feel he will make a lasting impression for people to remember. Good Luck in your efforts Kerry. I will be cheering for you. This has been just one man's opinion.
October 22, 2002 -
Kerry Earnhardt hasn't had the kind of racing career that would make you believe he was Dale Earnhardt's son. As a matter of fact you would be more likely to believe that it was a situation like the two Gordons in Winston Cup. Absolutely no relation to each other what so ever. There is only one thing that comes to most people's minds that compares the two Earnhardts and that is the fact that Kerry bears an uncanny resemblance to his father. To further add to the confusion of whether they are related or not is the way his younger brother Dale Jr. performs on the track. Kerry is absolutely part of the family and his constant pursuit of making his name known will tell you that. The big question is can he live up to the challenge on the track of being "The Intimidator's" lost prodigy?