Bob Pockrass
Sporting News
KANSAS CITY, Kan.—Dale Earnhardt Jr. had been to The White House before, but his visit Tuesday allowed him to view the inside of the historic building with a different perspective.
Earnhardt Jr. revealed Friday that he has spent significant time the last six months researching his family heritage beyond his well-known father, the seven-time Cup champion, and his grandfather, short-track legend Ralph Earnhardt.
So when Earnhardt Jr. visited The White House along with the other 2011 Chase for the Sprint Cup drivers, Earnhardt Jr. paid more attention to some of the older pieces of art than he had in the past.
“Ralph’s father, I didn’t know who he was, never really cared who he was, never thought about who he was or what his family would be like,” Earnhardt Jr. said Friday at Kansas Speedway. “I never thought past Ralph all these years.”
With the help of a genealogy expert, Earnhardt Jr. found the burial plots for his great-grandfather and his great-great-grandfather on Ralph’s side of the family in Cabarrus County, North Carolina. To him, it was neat to find the plots of relatives, including some born as far back as 1809.
“It’s really cool to stand there over somebody that is responsible for you being there,” Earnhardt Jr. said. “That was pretty neat. I had people tell me to work on my family tree before, but I didn’t think it was that big of a deal.
“Once I got into it, I started to realize the importance of it. It’s been a lot of fun.”
Earnhardt Jr. hopes to create a document with his family tree so other family members can learn about their heritage.
That experience translated into him taking keen interest in things at The White House, such as a portrait of George Washington.
“There was a picture of George Washington that they carried out of the place when they set it on fire (in the War of 1812),” Earnhardt Jr. said. “I’ve known that and they told us about that before, but I didn’t really grasp what that meant, how old that piece truly is.
“He is standing out in front of it. Being (able) to literally reach out and touch it is a pretty amazing thing.”
Read more: http://aol.sportingnews.com/nascar/story/2012-04-20/dale-earnhardt-jr-family-tree-family-history-white-house-visit#ixzz1ss0VPN3U
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