WELCOME, N.C. (AP) — NASCAR team owner Richard Childress is auctioning off one of racing legend Dale Earnhardt’s cars to raise
money for coronavirus relief efforts.

The Charlotte Observer reports that this is the first time Childress
has sold or given away an original Earnhardt car from his personal collection.

A news release Thursday from Richard Childress Racing officials
doesn’t specify which of Earnhardt’s trademark No. 3 race cars is
up for auction.

Childress tweeted Friday that parting with one of his cars is “a
small sacrifice” for him to make.

Earnhardt died in a crash during the last lap of the Daytona 500
at Daytona International Speedway in 2001.

The eBay site for the auction doesn’t list a deadline for bidding
on items.

Richard Childress (below) Racing is based in Welcome, North
Carolina.

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

Lee Petty No. 42 and Johnny Beauchamp No. 73 battle on the last lap
of the 1959 Daytona 500.

The 1959 First 500 Mile NASCAR International Sweepstakes at Daytona
(now known as the 1959 Inaugural Daytona 500) was the second race
of the 1959 NASCAR Grand National Series season. It was held on
February 22, 1959, in front of 41,921 spectators. It was the first race
held at the 2.5-mile Daytona. The race lasted 3:41:22, with an average
speed of 135.521 mph.

It took NASCAR founder Bill France, Sr. three days to decide the winner
the following Wednesday. In the end, with the help of photographs and
newsreel footage, Petty was officially declared the winner.

Lee Arnold Petty
(March 14, 1914 – April 5, 2000)

Lee Petty was one of the pioneers of
NASCAR and one of its first superstars.
He is also the father of Richard Petty,
who went on to become one of the
most successful stock car racing
drivers of all time.

The original NASCAR logo.

(FoxNews) – The 62nd running of the Daytona 500 on Sunday will mark the
start of a new era for NASCAR, following its landmark offseason acquisition
of International Speedway Corp.

NASCAR now owns the Daytona International Speedway, home of the
venerable season-opening race, as well as several other tracks included
in the $2 billion acquisition. While big changes related to the deal aren’t
expected until 2021, the transaction gives NASCAR unprecedented control
over its racing schedule as it reshapes its business to appeal to younger
fans.

“It makes a big difference,” NASCAR Chairman Jim France said of the merger.
“It gives us an opportunity to respond quicker to the changing environment
out here with the economy and all the things that are going on that impact motorsports. It was a major big step that we needed to make probably for
quite a while.”

NASCAR Chairman Jim France.

John Andrew Andretti (March 12, 1963 – January 30, 2020)

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — John Andretti carved out his own niche in one of
the world’s most successful racing families.

He became the first driver to attempt the Memorial Day double. He won
on dirt tracks, street courses and superspeedways. He won an endurance
race, competed in dragsters and became an iron man in IndyCar and
NASCAR. He used his platform and passion for racing to help others
and On Thursday, John lost a three-year battle with colon cancer.

Michael Stefanik (May 20, 1958 – September 15, 2019)

(FoxNews) – NASCAR champion Michael Stefanik died Sunday in a
single-engine plane crash near the Rhode Island state line.

Connecticut state police said Stefanik took off in a single-engine,
single-seat Aerolite 103 from the Riconn Airport in Coventry, R.I.,
and was turning back to the airfield when it crashed in a wooded
area.

“Mike Stefanik was one of the most successful drivers in NASCAR
history, but even more so, he was a true representative of our sport,
” NASCAR Chairman and CEO Jim France said in a statement. “His
tough, competitive nature and excellence on the race track won him
the admiration of fans and competitors alike.”