Teresa Earnhardt, widow of the late Dale Earnhardt, a NASCAR legend, has earned herself a nickname from NASCAR fans, not-so-lovingly, as the Wicked Witch of the South.
Key Takeaways
- After Dale’s passing, several disputes sprouted between Teresa and her stepson.
- According to her rezoning application for the vast former farmland property, Teresa Earnhardt plans to transform 399 of her rural acres in east Mooresville into an industrial park.
The acreage is 2 1/2 miles from Dale Earnhardt Inc., Earnhardt’s longtime racing headquarters on N.C. 3 in Mooresville.
After Dale’s passing, several disputes sprouted between Teresa and her stepson Earnhardt Jr.
In 2016, Dale’s son (and Teresa’s stepson), Kerry Earnhardt, launched a line of homes called the “Earnhardt Collection.”
She filed an appeal in court to stop Kerry from using the name “Earnhardt” in his brand.
Also, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. wanted to take a stake in the ownership of the inheritance left by his father, Dale’s race team, Dale Earnhardt Inc., Teresa refused, which led to him eventually leaving the race team for Hendrick Motorsports.
“When Junior moved to Hendrick, Teresa refused to let him take his iconic #8 with him, forcing him to switch to the #88 car for the remainder of his career. And when Junior retired and Budweiser released a tribute video for their former driver, fans were quick to point out that the #8 was missing from his car, and assumed that was because Teresa refused to let them use the images of the car in their tribute.”
Via whiskeyriff.com
The rift between the two was revealed in the testimony of DEI’s former executive vice president of motorsports, Ty Norris, on the 50-year-old’s NASCAR podcast.
“She walks in and Junior is so mad, he starts yelling at her. ‘Been waiting down here for three damn hours.’ And he just starts jumping her case, and he’s like, ‘Y’all haven’t paid me, you breached my contract.’ And that’s how the conversation started. And I was like ‘Oh, shit. If Dale Jr. doesn’t want to stick around here we’ll make another Dale Jr.”
Via Sportskeeda
Dale Earnhardt and Neil Bonnett go fishing on the pond on Dale's farm. pic.twitter.com/0ewWu3fCkH
— nascarman (@nascarman_rr) April 29, 2020
The Late Earnhardt was known as an avid outdoorsman. He went fishing, hunting, farming, and spending time on his property near his race shop.
Now, Teresa plans to sell the farm and turn it into an industrial park, which has made many fans very unhappy.
Now Teresa is trying to sell off Dale’s farm and turn it into an industrial park. Greediest woman alive.
— The Catch Fence ™ (@TheCatchFence) October 19, 2024
The appeal has been made and “The request is scheduled to be heard on October 22 in front of the Mooresville Planning Board, who will then make a recommendation to the Mooresville Board of Commissioners for a final decision.”
Via whiskeyriff.com
I’ll get in the car right now and chain myself to the door of DEI in protest. https://t.co/YwErlkxeA6
— SlideJobSal (@SlideJobSal) October 19, 2024
Some may also argue that it is already 23 years after Dale’s death, and the property hasn’t been used much, and Teresa herself, at the age of 65, doesn’t seem to get much use out of it.
She has been called the greedy witch and has been criticized for her decisions many times. Fans don’t view her in a good light, but is her decision to rezone the land unacceptable?
What are your thoughts on this?
In Case You Didn’t Know
- Teresa was born on October 29, 1958. She is Dale Earnhardt’s third wife and widow.
- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is estimated to be worth $300 million.
- He is a 50-year-old Hall of Famer and is expected to join TNT Sports and Amazon Prime as a NASCAR analyst in 2025.
