Greenville-Pickens honors Ralph Earnhardt

Earnhardt's name is also displayed on the Wall of Fame at GPS. (Photo courtest of Tony Crescibene)

Greenville-Pickens Speedway unveiled a grandstand in honor of Ralph Earnhardt on July 18th.

Ralph Earnhardt, father of 7-time Sprint Cup Series Champion Dale Earnhardt and grandfather of Dale Earnhardt Jr., was a regular at the South Carolina dirt track back in the 60’s. Earnhardt won two consecutive track championships at the half-mile oval in 1966 and 1967.

Members of the Earnhardt family including Ralph’s widow Martha Earnhardt, two of Ralph’s daughters Keay Earnhardt Snipes and Cathy E. Watkins, Ralph’s grandson Kerry Earnhardt and his great-granddaughter Taylor Nicole Earnhardt, along with other family members were on-hand for the unveiling.

In addition to the grandstand, Greenville-Pickens has Ralph Earnhardt’s name and his championship years painted on their Wall of Fame down the backstretch of the track.

Ralph Earnhardt had an extremely successful racing career in NASCAR’s early years. He won his first sportsman title in 1956 after making it to Victory Lane 32 times that year. Unfortunately, Earnhardt passed away in 1973 when he was only 45 years old while working on his race car.

Ralph Earnhardt was posthumously inducted into the National Motorsports Press Association Hall of Fame in 1989 and the International Motorsports Hall of Fame in 1997. During NASCAR’s 50th Anniversary celebration, Earnhardt was named one of NASCAR’s “50 Greatest Drivers”; his son Dale Earnhardt Sr. also received that honor.