Kelley Earnhardt Miller
Kelley Earnhardt Miller | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | Kelley King Earnhardt August 28, 1972 Kannapolis, North Carolina, U.S. |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation(s) | Race team co-owner and manager |
| Employer | JR Motorsports |
| Title | Vice President |
| Spouse(s) | L. W. Miller III Ray Holm (divorced), Jimmy Elledge (divorced) |
| Children | Karsyn Elledge, Kennedy Elledge, Wyatt Miller |
| Parent(s) | Dale Earnhardt Brenda Gee |
Kelley King Earnhardt Miller (born on August 28, 1972[1] as Kelley King Earnhardt and formerly Kelley Earnhardt-Elledge) is an American NASCAR co-owner of JR Motorsports. She is the daughter of Dale Earnhardt. She is the vice-president of JR Motorsports which she co-owns with her brother, Dale Earnhardt Jr.[2] The team's driver Chase Elliott won the 2014 NASCAR Nationwide Series title.
Driver
She learned how to drive from her father and she would drive a car around the family farm since she was about 12 or 13 years old.[3] Earnhardt Miller raced stock cars at local tracks. Her father Dale Earnhardt reportedly said that she might be the next great driver from the Earnhardt family because of what ESPN described as her "aggression, mental toughness, a willingness to push the car to its limit".[4] Her cousin Tony Eury, Jr. said, "She was very good at what she did. I raced her several times over at Tri-County [Racetrack in Brasstown, N.C.]. We thought she probably had as much or more talent than any of them."[4] She raced more frequently at Hickory Motor Speedway and Myrtle Beach Speedway.[4] Her father hired Dale, Jr. to work on her race cars, including building one from scratch, while the two were local race car drivers.[4] She raced after graduating from University of North Carolina at Charlotte and ended her racing career in 1996 until leaving on Friday's at 2 o'clock conflicted with working full-time at Action Performance.[4]
NASCAR owner
Earnhardt Miller co-owns JR Motorsports with her brother Dale Earnhardt, Jr., her cousin Tony Eury, Jr. and Rick Hendrick.[4] She is credited with bringing Danica Patrick to the team's Nationwide Series car.[4]
Personal life
Kelley Earnhardt Miller was born to Dale Earnhardt and his second wife Brenda Lorraine (née Gee).[5] She has a younger brother, Dale Jr.; an elder half-brother, Kerry, from her father's first marriage; and a younger half-sister, Taylor Earnhardt-Putnam, from her father's third marriage.
Kelley's parents divorced shortly after Dale Jr. was born, and they lived with Brenda until their house was destroyed in a fire when she was eight years old. As Brenda had no financial support after the fire, she gave up custody of the two children to Earnhardt Sr. prior to his marriage to Teresa Houston. During her childhood, Kelley took care of Dale Jr. while their father and Teresa were busy with the race seasons. When Dale Jr. was sent by his father and Teresa to a military school for delinquency, Kelley left high school to join him. As soon as Dale Jr. started earning money in his racing career, Kelley offered to handle his finances.[6]
She was formerly married to Jimmy Elledge,[7] by whom she has two daughters.[5] After divorcing Elledge, she married former NASCAR driver L.W. Miller III[8] on January 22, 2011. The couple has one child.[9]
References
- ^ "Kelley Earnhardt Miller". JR Motorsports. 2013. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
- ^ "Learn more about JR Motorsports Co-Owner, Kelley Earnhardt Miller". JR Motorsports. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ^ Bruce, Kenny. "Behind the wheel with Dale Jr.'s sister". NASCAR. Retrieved December 13, 2014.
- ^ a b c d e f g Newton, David. "Junior took a backseat to big sis Kelley". ESPN. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
- ^ a b "Birthday Surprise for Kelley Earnhardt Miller". JR Motorsports. Retrieved March 21, 2013.
- ^ "Dale Earnhardt Jr". In Depth with Graham Bensinger. Retrieved September 26, 2018.
{{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|website=(help) - ^ Iris Zalun. "Kelley Earnhardt in Nascar's Fast Lane". Working Mother. Retrieved March 19, 2014.
- ^ Gluck, Jeff (February 24, 2014). "Dale Jr.'s girlfriend on Daytona 500 win: 'Biggest win of his career'". USA Today. Retrieved March 21, 2014.
- ^ Marusak, Joe (February 26, 2012). "Kelley Earnhardt gives birth to boy". The Charlotte Observer. Retrieved March 21, 2014.