By Rick Houston
Dale Earnhardt ran — officially — four races for car owner Will Cronkrite in 1978, with a best finish of seventh in that summer’s Firecracker 400 at Daytona.
Earnhardt’s other three starts for Cronkrite turned up so-so results, top 20s all, but nothing exactly spectacular. Yet they were the most important races Earnhardt had ever run to that point. For it was in those races that he got the attention of another car owner, Rod Osterlund, with whom he would rise to superstardom.
Cronkrite had wanted to put something together for Earnhardt himself. But when Osterlund came calling with an offer, Cronkrite knew he couldn’t match it. This is his story.
Join hosts Rick Houston and Steve Waid each week on The Scene Vault Podcast Presented by Q Ware as they take a look back at the extraordinary people, places and events woven into the rich tapestry that is our sport.
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