Dale Earnhardt Jr. History
1999 Season

1999: Busch Grand National
In 1999, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. returned to the No. 3 ACDelco Busch car for a second and final season. He would also run a limited 5-race schedule in NASCAR's elite Winston Cup division with the No. 8 Budweiser Chevy. With a rigorous appearance schedule, and strong on-track expectations, strong pressure to perform was on the defending Busch series champion.

After getting of to a slow start, Earnhardt Jr. and the ACDelco team went on a tear. He won three races in a row in a mid-season blaze at Dover, South Boston, and Watkins Glen.

On July 3rd, Dale Jr. was injured in a practice crash at Milwaukee in which he chipped the tip of a bone on his shoulder. Ron Hornaday stepped in and qualified the back-up car in the 15th position. The next day, even though he was battered and sore, Dale Jr. raced the car to a 3rd-place finish.

When the checkered flag fell on the 1999 season, Earnhardt had earned six wins overall and a Busch Series season-record $1,680,598. He had entered the '98 Busch season with very limited experience in NASCAR. Two championships, and more than $3 million total prize money later, Dale Jr. elected to join the Winston Cup circuit full-time for 2000.