Dale Earnhardt Memorial-Tribute to a Legend

1994 - Seventh Heaven

So much unbreakable records. In 1994 Dale Earnhardt accomplished what many observers never thought possible, especially after the modern era's shorter, more stable schedule and increased number of deep-pocketed sponsors widened the distribution of capable teams within NASCAR.

Dale did the unthinkable when he matched Richard Petty's all-time series record of seven career Winston Cup championships.
At the season begining Dale lost his best friend Neil Bonnett. At Daytona Superspeedway for the Daytona 500, Neil was turning in practice laps around 170 mph shortly after noon when his Chevy Lumina slid in the high-banked fourth turn. It slammed the outside wall nearly head-on. Neil died at Hailfax Medical Center in Daytona Beach.
For all of its historic import, however, the seventh championship can only be described bittersweet. From the early stages of the 1994 campaign, the battle at the top of the point standings pitted Dale against his latest rival, Ernie Irvan.
The matchup had all the makings of a classic duel. Dale Earnhardt overtook Irvan with a late-March victory at Darlington, but gave the points lead back two races later at Martinsville. The lead would swing three more times, the last time back to Dale when he finished fifth in the first Brickyard 400 at Indianapolis.
All signs pointed to make a memorable finish. It never happened.
The title chase, which saw Dale clinging to a 27-point lead, became secondary when the series made its second visit to Michigan Speedway in August. During the practice for the GM Goodwrench Dealer 400, Ernie Irvan slammed into the turn 4 wall, suffering head injuries that not only ended his season, but put his life in jeopardy. The tragedy likely hit home for Dale when he considered Irvan's career.
Mirroring the development of Dale Earnhardt, Irvan went from being reviled for his hard-charging style (with Dale among those questioning Irvan's tactics) to gaining respect as he matured.
With his closest competitor violently removed from the equation, Dale had little trouble securing the seventh title, winning by 444 points over Mark martin. The margin of victory was the fourth-largest in the modern era.

Wins	Top 5s	Top 10s	Poles	DNFs	Standings
4	20	25	2	3	1
No.	Date	Race	St	Fin	Pts	Laps	Status	Winner	Start
1	Feb. 13	Daytona 500 Daytona Int'l Speedway	2	7	151	200/200	Running	Sterling Marlin	450
2	Feb. 27	Goodwrench 500 N. Carolina Motor Speedway	19	7	151	491/492	Running	Rusty Wallace	451
3	Mar. 6	Pontiac 400 Richmond Int'l Raceway	9	4	165	400/400	Running	Ernie Irvan	452
4	Mar. 13	Purolator 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway	16	12	127	325/328	Running	Ernie Irvan	453
5	Mar. 27	TranSouth 400 Darlington Raceway	9	1	185	293/293	Running	Dale Earnhardt	454
6	Apr. 10	Food City 500 Bristol Motor Speedway	24	1	185	500/500	Running	Dale Earnhardt	455
7	Apr. 17	First Union 400 North Wilkesboro Speedway	19	5	155	400/400	Running	Terry Labonte	456
8	Apr. 24	Hanes 500 Martinsville Speedway	8	11	130	499/500	Running	Rusty Wallace	457
9	May 1	Winston 500 Talladega Superspeedway	4	1	180	188/188	Running	Dale Earnhardt	458
10	May 15	Save Mart 300 Sears Point Raceway	4	3	170	74/74	Running	Ernie Irvan	459
11	May 29	Coca-Cola 600 Charlotte Motor Speedway	24	9	138	397/400	Running	Jeff Gordon	460
12	June 5	Bud 500 Dover Downs Int'l Speedway	14	28	79	425/500	Running	Rusty Wallace	461
13	June 12	UAW-GM 500 Pocono Raceway	19	2	175	200/200	Running	Rusty Wallace	462
14	June 19	Miller 400 Michigan Speedway	24	2	175	200/200	Running	Rusty Wallace	463
15	July 2	Pepsi 400 Daytona Int'l Speedway	1	3	170	160/160	Running	Jimmy Spencer	464
16	July 10	Slick 50 300 New Hampshire Int'l Speedway	28	2	175	300/300	Running	Ricky Rudd	465
17	July 17	Miller 500 Pocono Raceway	20	7	146	200/200	Running	Geoff Bodine	466
18	July 24	DieHard 500 Talladega Superspeedway	1	34	66	80/188	Engine	Jimmy Spencer	467
19	Aug. 6	Brickyard 400 Indianapolis Motor Speedway	2	5	160	160/160	Running	Jeff Gordon	468
20	Aug. 14	The Bud At The Glen Watkins Glen Int'l	6	3	170	90/90	Running	Mark Martin	469
21	Aug. 21	Goodwrench 400 Michigan Speedway	11	37	52	54/200	Wreck	Geoff Bodine	470
22	Aug. 27	Goody's 500 Bristol Motor Speedway	14	3	170	500/500	Running	Rusty Wallace	471
23	Sept. 4	Southern 500 Darlington Raceway	27	2	175	367/367	Running	Bill Elliott	472
24	Sept. 10	Miller 400 Richmond Int'l Raceway	12	3	170	400/400	Running	Terry Labonte	473
25	Sept. 18	SplitFire 500 Dover Downs Int'l Speedway	37	2	175	500/500	Running	Rusty Wallace	474
26	Sept. 25	Goody's 500 Martinsville Speedway	20	2	175	500/500	Running	Rusty Wallace	475
27	Oct. 2	Tyson 400 North Wilkesboro Speedway	3	7	151	398/400	Running	Geoff Bodine	476
28	Oct. 9	Mello Yello 500 Charlotte Motor Speedway	38	3	170	334/334	Running	Dale Jarrett	477
29	Oct. 23	AC-Delco 500 N. Carolina Motor Speedway	20	1	185	492/492	Running	Dale Earnhardt	478
30	Oct. 30	Slick 50 300 Phoenix Int'l Raceway	8	40	43	91/312	Engine	Terry Labonte	479
31	Nov. 13	Hooters 500 Atlanta Motor Speedway	30	2	175	328/328	Running	Mark Martin	480