Dale Earnhardt Year  Highlight  1975  Made stock-car racing debut May 25, finishing 22nd in the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway.  1979  Earned first victory on April 1 at Bristol, Tenn; Won Rookie of the Year Award.  1980  Won first Winston Cup Championship, becoming only driver to win Rookie of the Year and season championship back-to-back.  1986  Won five races to take second Winston Cup Championship.  1987  Won 11 races for third Winston Cup Championship, finishing in top five 21 times in 29 races.  1990  Won nine times to take fourth Winston Cup Championship, earning a then-record $3,083,056.  1991  Won four races for fifth Winston Cup Championship.  1993  Won six races to earn sixth Winston Cup Championship.  1994  Won seventh Winston Cup Championship, tying Richard Petty for most career titles. Topped $3-million mark in earnings for third time in five years.  1996  Became third driver to start 500 consecutive Winston Cup races.  1997  Became first driver to reach $30 million in American Motor Sports winnings and first race car driver to appear on box of Wheaties Cereal.  1998  Won first Daytona 500 in 20th career start, breaking a 59-race winless streak overall. Finished eighth in season standings, his 18th top 10 finish in 20 years.  1999  Won 10th consecutive Twin 125 qualifying race at Daytona.  2000  Won Winston 500 on Oct. 15 at Talladega Superspeedway for final career victory.        Career Pole Positions: 22. Career top 5 finishes: 268. Career top 10 finishes: 404. Winston Cup Championships: 7 (1980, '86, '87, '90, '91, '93, '94). IROC Championships: 3 (1990, '95, '99). American Driver of the Year: 2 (1987, '94). Won record nine races at Talladega Superspeedway. Owns record 34 victories in all forms of racing at Daytona Speedway.