A bearded Dale Earnhardt made his first visit to North Carolina's Wilson County Speedway a winning one when he drove father-in-law Robert Gee's
#17 Camaro formerly driven by Billy Scott and Darrell Waltrip to victory in the rich Southern Late Model 200 - his only trip to the Wilson track. Finishing second was Tommy Houston, uncle of Earnhardt's future wife Teresa, making his first dirt track start in 8 years. Wilson Daily Times photo from November 14, 1977. Left to right - Hill Barnes of Skyland Chevrolet in Snow Hill, NC, dale Earnhardt, Robert Gee
Hill Barnes on the left, president of Skyland Chevrolet in Snow Hill, NC furnished the trophy being held by 26-year-old Dale Earnhardt and his father-in-law Robert Gee after winning the November 13, 1977 Southern Late Model 200 at the half-mile dirt Wilson County Speedway in North Carolina.
The October 14, 1993 edition of the Brunswick Beacon newspaper in Shallotte, NC showed that the provider of Dale Earnhardt's 1977 Wilson County Speedway trophy had met the same fate as many small town auto dealerships when its assets were advertised for auction: