Jr. Not 1st Earnhardt to Drive for Rick - the Robert Gee / Dale Earnhardt / Rick Hendrick Connection Led to Dale Earnhardt Scoring Rick Hendrick's 1st NASCAR Win
Stock Car Racing History
Our RR member Dennis Andrews made a point to thank Tim Leeming in a recent Darlington Labor Day Southern 500 post for recognizing and naming car owners - in the case of the particular post, Reid Shaw who would field cars driven by Dennis' dad, Wayne Andrews.
In another post I posted photos of Dale Earnhardt winning the first ever race in what is now the Nationwide Series driving a #15 Wrangler Jeans car owned and prepared by the late Robert Gee at Daytona in 1982.
Gee was Earnhardt's former father-in-law and grandfather of Dale, Jr. and Kelley. A teddy bear of a man with a gruff scowl worse than Earnhardt's, he had a heart of gold and helped many aspiring racers. Robert Gee also loved to party and to sing. He called everybody "guvnor."
Gee had a shop behind his modest home on Hudspeth Road in Harrisburg, NC within earshot of Charlotte Motor Speedway. In the small shop, side-by-side, were two NASCAR superspeedway Late Model Sportsman cars - one for Dale Earnhardt and one for Darrell Waltrip. They were sleek and fast. They won. They were beautiful cars.
We put our Wrangler Jeans blue & yellow colors on Earnhardt's Robert Gee ride. He won big races at Daytona, Charlotte and Rockingham wheeling that car.
That wasn't the first time, though, that I had seen Dale Earnhardt in a Robert Gee car. In 1977, Robert Gee and Dale Earnhardt showed up on a frigid November Thanksgiving weekend with their #17 Camaro at Wilson County Speedway and won the Southern Late Model 200 giving a severe whipping to other North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia regulars in their Novas, Chevelles, Mustangs and Fairlanes.
A young Dale Earnhardt & car owner Robert Gee can be seen in the 1978 Wilson County Speedway weekly event program above hoisting the trophy for winning the Southern Late Model 200 at Wilson on Thanksgiving weekend 1977.
SOUTHERN LATE MODEL 200 - TOP 10 RESULTS - WILSON COUNTY SPEEDWAY
Wilson, NC
200 Laps - One-Half Mile Dirt Track - 40 Cars
NOVEMBER 1977
(As Reported in the next day's Wilson Daily Times)
1) Dale Earnhardt Kannanapolis, NC #17 Robert Gee Camaro $2,500
2) Tommy Houston Hickory, NC #95 Nova $1,500
3) Monk Tate Ruffin, NC #86 Nova $1,150
4) John Matthews Raleigh, NC #16 Chevelle $ 850
5) Earl Arnold Raleigh, NC #1 Nova $ 650
6) J.E. Beard Bailey, NC Nova $ 590
7) Dennis Smith Goldsboro, NC Nova $ 400
8) Sam Ard Asheboro, NC Pontiac $ 300
9) Tommy Tudor Emporia, VA Chevelle $ 200
10) Stick Elliott Shelby, NC Mustang $ 150
When we moved Dale to the Richard Childress Winston Cup operation in August 1981, Robert Gee went along to hang bodies on the superspeedway Wrangler Pontiacs for RCR.
At one time, A.J. Foyt would let nobody but Robert Gee do any fabrication work on his Grand National and Cup cars.
Most people would not guess that Rick Hendrick's first ever NASCAR win came with Dale Earnhardt behind the wheel.
Dale first introduced me to Rick Hendrick in the garage at Charlotte in 1982 as "a fellow who wants to go NASCAR racing." Rick asked if I'd explain sponsorship and promotions by a big sponsor, which I did.
By 1983, Rick Hendrick had bought into the Robert Gee Superspeedway Late Model Sportsman operation. When Dale Earnhardt won the May 28, 1983 Mello Yello 300 NASCAR Budweiser Late Model Sportsman race in the blue & yellow #15 Wrangler Jeans Pontiac at Charlotte, Rick Hendrick was co-owner of the team. It was Rick Hendrick's first NASCAR win . Dale Earnhardt drove the car and I sponsored it for Wrangler.
May 28, 1983 - Dale Earnhardt, Sr. in Victory Lane at Charlotte Motor Speedway with a young Rick Hendrick. It was Hendrick's first ever NASCAR win and it came with Dale Earnhardt, Sr. at the wheel. Hendrick Motorsports photo
Before 1983 was over, Hendrick had formulated plans to go Winston Cup racing in 1984. He couldn't get Dale Earnhardt as his driver, but he did ask if Dale could help shake down his new equipment, with the fabrication done by Earnhardt's former father-in-law, Robert Gee? The answer was "Yes" and Dale Earnhardt gave Rick Hendrick's Winston Cup cars their initial shakedown at Charlotte Motor Speedway in late 1983. Robert Gee would go on to head up fabrication for Hendrick Motorsports until his death from a second stroke in 1994.
Fall 1983 - Dale Earnhardt in a blue & yellow Wrangler driving uniform with no patches and wearing Wrangler boots and a Gilmore-Foyt cap, stands in the Charlotte Motor Speedway garage with Rick Hendrick during a shakedown session with Earnhardt testing new Hendrick cars for the 1984 season. Hendrick Motorsports photo
In 1984, With Geoff Bodine in the driver's seat and Robert Gee building cars, Hendrick would win in his first season of Winston Cup. The initial win came in the fall race at Martinsville.
October 20, 1984 - Robert Gee in red shirt and "Papa Joe" Hendrick flank Geoff Bodine at Rockingham as they accept hardware for winning the pole position. Hendrick Motorsports photo
SO ... when you see all those winning teams and drivers at Hendrick Motorsports and the big success of Rick Hendrick in racing, you need to think back to Dale Earnhardt's late father-in-law, Robert Gee and his little shop on Hudspeth Road near Charlotte Motor Speedway. And, when you see Dale Earnhardt, Jr. win for Rick Hendrick, don't you "young" fans be surprised to learn that he wasn't the first Earnhardt to win for Rick Hendrick in NASCAR.
Back a few years ago, NASCAR.com did a story about Robert Gee. It's good reading. However, it doesn't begin to scratch the surface of who drove for Robert Gee over the years or who he helped. One of Robert Gee's drivers on the dirt circuit was our own RR member Billy Scott .
Robert Gee Pied Piper of NASCAR
Along Highway 29 at the corner of Morehead Road stood a little diner, The Apollo - but, across the street was Charlotte Motor Speedway. During race dates, everyone from drivers, crew chiefs and parts cleaners could be found eating breakfast or lunch. It became a magnet for the hopefuls looking for work and the break needed to get into their beloved NASCAR. From there they would be sent to a house around the corner where a tough looking big guy cigar in mouth would be working on fabricating cars.
This man was ROBERT GEE , the man whose son in law would become 7 times Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt and grandfather to Dale Earnhardt Jr and Tony Eury Jr. He would also play a big part in the lives of Darrell Waltrip and Rick Hendrick, along with many others helping them get a foot in the door,
Robert Gee was the best body man of his era. Independent teams would flock to him for help where he would labor over the cars as if they were his children. The cars were so well made, there was never any question as to whether they would fit the templates, as they always did.
He had no education in aerodynamics, but he could look at the race car and figure out how to reduce drag. He was a perfectionist. Its no coincidence when a youngster called Rick Hendrick needed work on his car he headed to Gees body shop. Mutual respect was soon forged between them, and years later the two would come together with a fledgling HMS operation. Hendrick sponsored Gees dirt track car and they co-owned the Busch car in which Dale Earnhardt won Hendricks first ever NASCAR race.
Rick Hendrick employed Gee as his fabricator on the cup cars by day and Gee worked at his own shop at night working on their Busch cars. Rick thought so much of him, that when Gee suffered his strokes, Hendrick kept him on the payroll and was a fixture at the hospital. It was during those difficult times the two families grew closer together and a strong bond was formed.
Whilst working on Ken Schaders car in January 1994 Robert Gee suffered his first stroke,then a second and fatal stroke arrived in October that same year.
Following are some of the people who got their break into NASCAR due to Robert Gee:
Brett Bodine worked as a fabricator under Gee waiting for his ride,he became race winner and now a NASCAR executive.
Darell Waltrip fielded his cars out of Gees modest backyard shop for three seasons, he went on to become three time champion.
Jimmy Makar lived with Gee for four months when he first got into the sport, went on to be vice president of Joe Gibbs racing.
Tony Eury jr . - at sixteen hung round his granddads shop learning the trade says you learned the lesson, no matter what you did, you did it the best.
Robert Jr and Jimmy , Gee's sons, today hang bodies in Dale Earnhardt Jrs JR Motorsports shop.
Dale Earnhardt , the former seven times champion, was married to Gees daughter Brenda (1971-77). He often went to his in-law for assistance. It was Roberts connections that got Earnhardt his first ride in cup, promising owner Johnny Ray if he wrecks the car I will sort it out. Earnhardt raced it to the front, but was caught up in a crash. Gee was true to his word he rebuilt the car.
Dale Jr says he felt intimidated by him. Grandpa Gee always looked tough. Cigar in mouth, at the grill cooking, you felt if you got to near the big man he would slap the s##t out of you. He was scary for a kid. He looked like he was about to bite your head off. Junior finally learned what a kind generous and gentle man his grandfather really was when he got to know him whilst Gee recovered from prostrate cancer.
After Dale Earnhardts death in 2001, Kelly and Dale jr. turned to Hendrick for advice. They remembered the strong bond of trust that had formed and how well their granddaddy had been treated.
Jimmy Gee remembers People who knew my Daddy, knew what he had done in NASCAR. He just loved to help people and help get folks started. Joe public dont have a clue the impact he had on racing. He now lives through his friend Rick Hendrick and grandsons Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Tony Eury Jr. They do it for him, with every lap they turn on the track.
updated by @dave-fulton: 11/22/21 04:14:23PM
