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Martha Earnhardt, matriarch of racing family, dies at 91

Dale Earnhardt
Posted at 8:37 PM, Dec 26, 2021
and last updated 2021-12-26 23:37:09-05

KANNAPOLIS, N.C. (AP) — Martha Earnhardt, the matriarch of one of NASCAR's best-known families, has died. She was 91.

Grandchildren Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller said in a statement that she died Saturday night. Martha Earnhardt was married to Ralph Earnhardt from 1947 until the NASCAR driver's death. Her son, the late Dale Earnhardt Sr., was a seven-time NASCAR champion and father of of Dale Jr. and Kelley.

Martha and Ralph Earnhardt raised five children — daughters Kaye and Cathy and the three sons — in a modest home with an auto shop in the back at the corner of V-8 and Sedan Avenue in Kannapolis' "Car Hill" community. Danny died two weeks ago at age 66.