And now, a word from Dale Jr.'s grandmom, Martha Earnhardt

MARK PRICE / The Charlotte Observer

Sunday, May. 13, 2007

During a week in which the hottest sports story around was speculation on Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s future, another member of the Earnhardt NASCAR dynasty was making her first media blitz, after years of shunning the spotlight.

Martha Earnhardt, mother of the late Dale Earnhardt and grandmother of Dale Jr., granted 20 interviews of her own, not about her grandson's departure from Dale Earnhardt Inc., but about a charity initiative to fight breast cancer.

It's more interviews than she has done in a decade, mostly because her family worked to keep her out of the news, says her daughter Cathy Watkins.

"We were raised a private, small-town family, and as Dale's celebrity grew, it exposed us to people who could have taken advantage of us," Watkins says. "We were careful not to get her involved, because we didn't want her overwhelmed."

Their plan worked extremely well, seeing as how Martha Earnhardt's profile is so low, she has safely lived the past 52 years in the same blue-collar neighborhood in Kannapolis. The home, a white bungalow on a half-acre lot, is where she and the late Ralph Earnhardt raised five children, including Dale Sr. She brags that she can see her church, Memorial Baptist, from the porch.

"Dale said he wanted to buy me a new house, but I never could decide where I wanted to live," says Martha, one of 12 siblings raised on a nearby cotton farm.

"One year, Dale and I were talking about me moving, and Dale Jr. was sitting on the porch swing listening. I guess he was about 14 at the time, and he told me: `Mamaw, you can't sell this house. You know this is what holds our family together.' I never forgot that. I don't think I'll ever move from here."

She was there in support of Dale Jr. last week, when he announced his decision to leave DEI, in part because of a feud with his stepmother, Teresa, who owns the company.

Martha is cagey when asked about the break-up. "Dale Jr. is one of my grandchildren and if any of my grandchildren makes a career move, I would be there to support them."

It's coincidence that she had her own media blitz, which began last week. Her goal is to promote ticket sales for next year's Daytona 500, because the speedway will make a donation to fight breast cancer for every ticket sold through June 27.

As for why Earnhardt agreed to go public for a cause, she says one reason is that she has a niece who survived breast cancer through surgery. Another reason is that Earnhardt is recovering well from a stroke suffered after Dale Sr. died in 2001.

Then there's the obvious reason.

"Nobody asked."

Helping out

Daytona International Speedway will make a donation to the Susan G. Komen for the Cure organization for every ticket sold for the 2008 Daytona 500 between now and June 27. Details: www.racetickets.com.

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