Kerry Earnhardt, Dale Sr.’s son, is set to make his Winston Cup debut next month at Michigan(PitNow) AND ARCA driver Kerry Earnhardt is contemplating a qualifying attempt in the Winston Cup race at Michigan Speedway on Aug. 20. Earnhardt, the older brother of Dale Jr., won the ARCA race at Pocono last month(Times Dispatch) AND Kerry Earnhardt may join father Dale and younger brother Dale Jr. in the Pepsi 400 in Brooklyn, Mich., on Aug. 20. Kerry, who won the June ARCA race at Pocono, tested in a Winston Cup car recently and his speed would have been seventh fastest in the June Michigan race. “We’ve got three more ARCA races after this one and that’s what we’re concentrating on right now,” Kerry said. “We’ll see how everything goes from here and just see what comes up.”(Times Leader). No idea what team, it does not say(7-22-2000) UPDATE: TNN’s Raceday reports that the Cup run at Michigan by Kerry would be in a DEI car(7-23-2000) UPDATE 2: but RPM 2Day reported that Kerry Earnhardt will drive the ARCA car he drove Saturday at Pocono, BUT that Dave Marcis will not run at Michigan and let Earnhardt use the #71 (and owners points/provisional) and the car would be sponsored by Realtree (Marcis’s fulltime sponsor and an assoc on the #3 with Kerry’s father Dale). If Kerry makes the Cup race, Ron Hornady’s #3 NAPA BGN crew will pit the car(ESPN2’s RPM 2Day)(7-23-2000) UPDATE 3: Continuing a long-standing relationship between Marcis Racing and Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI), the two teams join efforts again to qualify the Team Realtree car at the upcoming NASCAR Winston Cup event at the Michigan Speedway. Using DEI equipment and Dave Marcis’ five-decade’s worth of Winston Cup racing knowledge, Kerry Earnhardt will attempt to qualify the #71 Team Realtree car- making a mark in the history books. At no other time has a father raced against his two sons in NASCAR’s premier series. The relationship between Earnhardt, Marcis, and Richard Childress Racing is entirely intertwined. Marcis avidly tests for Earnhardt and Richard Childress Racing, and they share a form of sponsorship from Realtree. Realtree is the primary sponsor of the #71 and an associate sponsor on the #3. Kerry Earnhardt is elated to have the opportunity to race against his little brother and father. “This is a chance to do something no one has done- to race against their father and brother in Winston Cup. I couldn’t be more pleased. There’ll be a lot of pressure, but it’s all worth it for the shot that I’m getting.” Currently competing in ARCA, the eldest of the Earnhardt sons has participated in five events. Four of the five races have ended as top three’s, winning the ARCA race in Pocono this June. All of his ARCA cars, like the Cup car Kerry will use in Michigan, have been prepared at Dale Earnhardt, Inc. Bill Jordan, President of Realtree, said, “we support Dave and Dale in their effort to give Kerry the best opportunity for his debut Cup appearance. We have enjoyed a long relationship with the Earnhardt family. Aside from Dale, Kerry is the next best hunter in the family so it’s only natural that we support this effort. There is no doubt he’ll do a good job representing Realtree.” Dale Earnhardt feels this situation is beneficial for everyone involved. “Dave and I talked about the possibilities of doing this with Kerry a couple of months ago. After he won at Pocono we talked about it again. We presented it to Realtree and they said yes. We all agreed this would be a good thing, so as it stands we’ll (DEI) provide the car. Dave will provide tremendous experience, and Kerry, well he has to provide a good qualifying time. Hopefully it will be a big plus for everyone involved.”(Champions Sports Group PR) – CORRECTION: actually this would not mark the first time a father raced against his two sons in NASCAR’s premier series. On August 3rd, 1960 at Birmingham, AL, #42-Lee Petty raced his sons #43-Richard and #44-Maurice. Richard was 2nd, Lee was 3rd and Maurice was 8th in a 50 mile event with 16 cars starting(Forty Years of Stock Car Racing)(7-28-2000)
