On February 15, 1998, after 20 years of trying, racing great
Dale Earnhardt Sr. finally won his first Daytona 500, the
NASCAR season opener and an event dubbed the “Super
Bowl of stock car racing.”

Driving his black No. 3 Chevrolet, Earnhardt recorded an
average speed of 172.712 m.p.h. and took home a then-
record more than $1 million in prize money.

Following his victory, crews from competing teams lined
the pit road at the Daytona International Speedway in
Daytona Beach, Florida, to congratulate Earnhardt, who
drove his car onto the grass and did several celebratory
doughnuts, or circles.

Earnhardt, whose tough, aggressive driving style earned
him the nickname “The Intimidator,”

   
Dale Earnhardt Sr. (April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001)