Who was Martha Earnhardt? All you need to know about the matriarch of NASCAR’s most famous family

Martha Earnhardt was the mother of former NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, grandmother of Dale Earnhardt Jr., and the Matriarch of the Earnhardt family. Martha, born in 1930, married the first generation of NASCAR drivers from the Earnhardt family Ralph Earnhardt in 1947.

After their marriage Ralph and Martha had five children; daughters Kaye and Cathy, and sons Dale, Randy, and Danny, before Ralph Earnhardt passed away in 1973 due to heart problems. Martha Earnhardt would then go on to nurture her children and grandchildren before passing away in 2021.

Martha Earnhardt died a peaceful death on Christmas Day in 2021 at the age of 91 in her home. Her grandchildren Kelley Earnhardt Miller and Dale Earnhardt Jr. confirmed the news of her passing away in a public statement made on December 26, 2021.

The untimely passing of Ralph Earnhardt (aged 45) and Dale Earnhardt (aged 49) made Martha Earnhardt the elder of the family, and she took up the responsibility to look after the wellness of her children and grandchildren. Both Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Jr. were deeply attached to their grandmother.

Kelley Earnhardt shared a post on her Instagram informing the world of her grandmother's death as she uploaded a selfie with Martha. The caption read:

“It is with great sadness that we share the news that Martha Earnhardt passed away Christmas evening. As we grieve her loss and begin to imagine life without our beloved "Mamaw", we find solace in knowing she is at peace in eternal glory and in joyous reunion with her husband Ralph and sons Dale, Randy and Danny.”

“Please keep our family in your thoughts and prayers, and thank you so much for loving our Mamaw as if she were your own. She was not just the matriarch to our family, but she was the matriarch to multiple generations of race fans.”

Martha Earnhardt was nicknamed as ‘Mamaw’ by her grandchildren. Her funeral was held on December 29, 2021, at noon at Memorial Baptist Church in Kannapolis.

When Dale Sr. gifted Martha Earnhardt diamond earrings for Christmas

Former NASCAR employee Joe Whitlock, a confidant of Dale Sr. revealed the story of the Intimidator not being able to hold back tears when he gifted his mother Martha Earnhardt diamond earrings for Christmas. Fresh off a win, Dale Earnhardt Sr. bought the diamond earrings for his mother from the prize money.

Whitlock narrated the story in a video uploaded by @nascarman_rr on social media platform X as he said:

“After he (Dale Sr.) had won the once-a-cup crown, we came home. And he's driving the car, I'm sitting in the passenger seat. And he starts crying. He's laughing and crying. It's not a serious crime. And I said, 'What are you crying about?' And he says, 'You don't understand. This will be the first Christmas of my life I have ever given my mother something that she doesn't have to plug into the wall.' I guess he'd been giving toasters and stuff like that, and then he bought her some diamonds.”

Martha later revealed that she still had the earrings and that his son Dale Sr always managed to bring one thing or another for her as a Christmas present.