Earnhardt, Jr. was born in Kannapolis,  North Carolina to Brenda Lorraine Gee and Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. His maternal grandfather was a NASCAR car builder.^[1] He began his Racing career at the late age of 17, competing in the Street Stock division at Concord (N.C.) Motorsport Park. His first race car was a 1979 Monte Carlo that he co-owned with older half-brother Kerry. Within two seasons, the young Earnhardt, Jr. had honed his driving abilities to the point of joining the Late Model Stock Car division. There he developed an in-depth knowledge of chassis setup and car preparation, while racing against Kerry and Dale's sister Kelley Earnhardt-Elledge. Junior ran 9 Busch Series races between 1996 and 1997 for Dale Earnhardt Inc. and Ed Whitaker, respectively, before driving for Dale Earnhardt Inc. in the Busch Series full time in 1998. Earnhardt, Jr. won consecutive NASCAR Busch Series Championships in 1998 and 1999 over Matt Kenseth. Also in 1999 he drove in 5 Winston Cup races in the #8 Budweiser Chevrolet for Dale Earnhardt Inc., then in 2000 he went full time in the Winston Cup series.