1 month ago
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The oldest son of NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt is hitting back at his stepmother's plans to turn the family's old North Carolina farm into a massive data center.
Teresa Earnhardt, the widow and third wife of 'The Intimidator', has plans to re-zone the 399 acres of farmland she and Dale Sr. owned in Mooresville, North Carolina into a $30billion data center campus.
She's faced public opposition to these plans from others in the community - and even from her own stepchildren, which is only the latest public dispute that Teresa has had with them.
Kerry Earnhardt, the oldest son of the late NASCAR champion, publicly denounced the plans and said this isn't what his father would have wanted.
In a Facebook post, Kerry wrote, 'My Dad would be livid for his name to be associated in this title! Frankly, I'm ashamed our family name is involved in the request to rezone a community that is thriving as a Rural Residential/Agriculture zone to be changed to Industrial.'
Kerry, who followed in his father's footsteps and raced in NASCAR for a decade, continued: 'Infrastructures like this don't belong in neighborhoods where people's natural resources will be depleted, wildlife will be uprooted, and the landscape and lives of the people that call this area home with [sic] forever be changed.
Kerry Earndhardt (L) is publicly blasting his stepmother Teresa's (R) plans to build a data center on 399 acres of family farmland in North Carolina
Teresa (seen here in 1990) is the third wife and widow of NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt
'I'd rather see homes build with people loving the land we live on... the way his area was intended to be! I look forward to Monday's meeting at the Mooresville Town Hall.'
According to the Charlotte Observer, a public campaign against the data center construction has sprung up and registered a website: No Data Center Mooresville.com.
Opponents have blasted the plans - expressing concerns over potential noise, traffic, and light pollution.
At the same time, a website in favor of the development says the data center could generate millions of dollars in tax revenue for the town, Iredell County, and local schools over the course of 20 years.
Dale's three children he had before marrying Teresa - Kerry, daughter Kelley Earnhardt Miller, and youngest son and 26-time Cup Series winner Dale Earnhardt Jr - have been in a very public feud with their stepmother for decades.
Teresa took ownership of the family race team - Dale Earnhardt Incorporated (DEI) - after Dale Sr.'s untimely passing on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
Teresa (left) has had public feuds with all of her stepchildren over the years: Kerry (second left), Kelley (second right), and Dale Earnhardt Jr (right) [pictured in 2010]
For years, Dale Jr. and Teresa were locked in a legal battle over the trademark to the No. 8 that 'Junior' popularized in the early 2000s. She lost the trademark in 2024.
The feud between Dale Jr. and Teresa led to the driver leaving DEI in 2007 for Hendrick Motorsports - where he would race until 2017. In 2009, DEI was purchased by Chip Ganassi Racing and shut down its garage.
Kerry and Kelley both also wanted equal ownership rights to DEI, but they were unsuccessful.
Additionally, Teresa and Kerry were locked in a trademark dispute after Kerry and his wife intended to market a line of homes and furniture under the name 'The Earnhardt Collection'.
After an appeals process, Kerry won the case his stepmother brought against him as a surname can't be trademarked.
