NASCAR & Auto Racing

Widow of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt reveals plans for her vast landholdings

Teresa Earnhardt, widow of the late NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, plans to transform 399 of her rural acres in east Mooresville into an industrial park, according to her rezoning application for the vast former farmland property.

Mooresville Technology Park would sprout between Patterson Farm Road and Rustic Road near Cabarrus County. The park would be just off N.C. 3, also known as Dale Earnhardt Highway.

The acreage is 2 1/2 miles from Dale Earnhardt Inc., Earnhardt’s longtime racing headquarters on N.C. 3 in Mooresville.

Dale Earnhardt celebrates at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 16, 1998, after winning the Daytona 500. It was the only major race Earnhardt hadn’t won. An “impeccably preserved” No. 3 Dale Earnhardt race car tops the list of memorabilia his longtime friend and NASCAR team owner Richard Childress is auctioning off to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts.
Dale Earnhardt celebrates at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 16, 1998, after winning the Daytona 500. It was the only major race Earnhardt hadn’t won. An “impeccably preserved” No. 3 Dale Earnhardt race car tops the list of memorabilia his longtime friend and NASCAR team owner Richard Childress is auctioning off to benefit COVID-19 relief efforts. JEFF SINER jsiner@charlotteobserver.com

Earnhardt, who was from Kannapolis, died in a last-lap crash at the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway on Feb. 18, 2001.

Years ago, when they renamed the state route outside Earnhardt’s headquarters as N.C. 3, state highway officials denied to The Charlotte Observer that it had anything to do with Earnhardt’s famous car number.

Teresa Earnhardt, widow of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, plans to transform 399 of her rural acres in east Mooresville into an industrial park. Shown is part of the property off Rustic Road.
Teresa Earnhardt, widow of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt, plans to transform 399 of her rural acres in east Mooresville into an industrial park. Shown is part of the property off Rustic Road. Street View image from June 2023. © 2024 Google

Teresa Earnhardt is scheduled to request the rezoning at the Oct. 22 Mooresville Planning Board meeting, according to the meeting agenda.

Earnhardt Farms LLC is listed as the property owner. Teresa Earnhardt is the only managing member of the LLC, according to N.C. Secretary of State records.

The Planning Board is an advisory panel that makes recommendations on rezoning requests to the Mooresville Board of Commissioners, which has final say. No date is scheduled for commissioners to consider the request

This 1983 Charlotte Observer file photo shows, from left, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, her dad, Dale Earnhardt, brother Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Dale Earnhardt’s wife, Teresa Earnhardt.
This 1983 Charlotte Observer file photo shows, from left, Kelley Earnhardt Miller, her dad, Dale Earnhardt, brother Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Dale Earnhardt’s wife, Teresa Earnhardt. CHARLOTTE OBSERVER FILE PHOTO

This story was originally published October 19, 2024 at 2:58 PM with the headline "Widow of NASCAR legend Dale Earnhardt reveals plans for her vast landholdings."

Related Stories from Hilton Head Island Packet
Joe Marusak
The Charlotte Observer
Joe Marusak has been a reporter for The Charlotte Observer since 1989 covering the people, municipalities and major news events of the region, and was a news bureau editor for the paper. He currently reports on breaking news. Support my work with a digital subscription
Get unlimited digital access
#ReadLocal

Try 1 month for $1

CLAIM OFFER