Martha Earnhardt, matriarch of famed NASCAR family, has died
Martha Earnhardt, matriarch to one of the most well-known families in stock-car racing, has died. Her grandchildren, Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Dale Earnhardt Jr., confirmed in a statement that she passed away on the evening of Dec 25. She was 91.
“As we grieve her loss and begin to imagine life without our beloved `Mamaw,' we find solace in knowing she is at peace in eternal glory and in joyous reunion with her husband Ralph and sons Dale, Randy and Danny,” their statement read.
Martha Earnhardt was married to famed dirttrack racer Ralph Earnhardt from 1947 until his death in 1973. She was the mother of Dale Sr., Danny Sr., Randy, Cathy and Kaye. Her son, the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., was a seven-time NASCAR champion and the father of Xfinity team co-owners Earnhardt Miller and Earnhardt Jr.
“Dad could be intimidating in a fatherly way and that's very tough as a kid,” Earnhardt Jr. said on an episode of his podcast, The Dale Jr. Download, which featured Martha Earnhardt as
a guest. “He'd beat and bang guys out on the racetrack, but then they'd go their way and he'd go his way, and they wouldn't see each other for a week.”
“I had that every day,” Earnhardt Jr. continued. “But when Mamaw (Martha) was around, or when we were at her house or if she was at our house, she mellowed him. You knew `The Intimidator' wasn't gonna come out. She was kind of the leader.”
Martha Earnhardt raised her family in Kannapolis, N.C. Her youngest son, Danny Earnhardt Sr., died two weeks ago on Dec. 10.
“Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers,” the Earnhardt family's statement read. “And thank you so much for loving our Mamaw as if she were your own. She was not just the matriarch to our family, but she was the matriarch to multiple generations of race fans.”
Martha Earnhardt worked alongside her husband to help build his short track and NASCAR career, and passed along her love of racing to her children and grandchildren. She was a native of Kannapolis, and was so much a fixture in her community that she was named the grand marshal for the city's annual Christmas parade in 2017 in which “thousands showed up to honor her,” according to Kannapolis Mayor Darrell Hinnant.
“If you dropped by her home you were always welcomed as if you were one of her family members that she loved so dearly,” Hinnant said in a statement. “She would give you updates on all her children and their families and would want to ensure all was well with you.”