In 1983, Teresa became the first person on the payroll assisting Dale in his racing ventures. The first "corporate headquarters" was a three-bay garage where Dale had an office.

As the need for additional space for racecars and equipment grew, Dale and Teresa moved the offices into a brick house located next door on Coddle Creek Highway. There were five offices for a handful of employees with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. fielding a part-time Busch Series team for its namesake.

To say the team was successful would be an understatement. Dale and his team won 21 races, had 65 top-fives and 76 top-10 finishes.

While racing was a part-time job, the business side of Dale Earnhardt, Inc. was a full-time initiative. The popularity of racing was growing, and Dale was leading the industry in merchandise and sponsorship sales. That little office house was selling some big sponsorships that are still part of the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. corporate structure today.

When Dale and Teresa fielded a full-time Busch Series team and added a Craftsman Truck Series team in 1995, another shop had to be built. Jeff Green was the Busch driver through the 1995 and 1996 seasons. Ron Hornaday drove the truck from ’95-98 with NAPA Auto Stores as the sponsor.

In that second season, Hornaday and NAPA gave Dale Earnhardt, Inc. its first NASCAR Championship and repeated the achievement in 1998. In 1997, a young Modified ace from East Northport, N.Y. was called upon by Dale to drive his Busch car.

Enter Steve Park. But, he almost lost out on his chance when he didn’t believe the phone call from Dale really came from Dale.

"I just got back from the Saturday-night track when there was a message on my machine from someone saying he was Dale Earnhardt and wanted to talk to me," Steve said. "Well, I didn’t believe it and thought it was just one of my buddies playing a prank on me."

"Two days later, the phone rang again and in an instant I knew who it was. It was the real deal Dale and I was all ears."

Steve took over the Busch ride with ACDelco as the sponsor for the 1997 season. He won three races en route to Rookie of the Year honors and finished third in points.

As the need for employees and racecars grew, so did the need for office space. In June of 1999, Dale and Teresa proudly opened the doors to the beautiful headquarters with administration offices, exquisite Trophy Room, showroom, retail store and home of the 1 Pennzoil team.

The golden exterior shines like a symbol of success in the light of day and the black marbled entrance commands respect upon entry. The architectural beauty of the main complex has become a "must see" for race fans visiting the town called "Race City USA." It truly has become a corporate headquarters in every sense.

In 1998, Steve Park was moved to the Winston Cup Series ranks with Pennzoil on board with the 1 Chevrolet. That left the seat for the Busch Series car open for a new driver and Dale didn't have to look far for a replacement.

Dale Earnhardt Jr. spent some years racing in the Street Stock and Late Model ranks at tracks in the Carolinas. In 1996, he made the jump into NASCAR with his inaugural Busch Series start at Myrtle Beach (S.C.) Speedway.

Dale Jr. went on to capture the Busch Rookie of the Year honors in 1997 and Series Championships in 1998 and 1999. It was time for the company to grow once again and that brought forth the expansion of another new building.

Escalating the fact was that Dale Jr. and his Busch team were going Winston Cup racing for the 2000 season.

So, the red brick house that once served as the Dale Earnhardt, Inc. office was sacrificed and bulldozed to make way for Dale Jr. and the 8 Budweiser team. In that complex the No. 1 shop, Licensing Department, Engineering, Communications, Sales and Marketing and Speed Brokers offices can be found.

While only a slight physical expansion for the Fab Shop has taken place since 1999, the company has grown internally. Bass Pro Shops, Budweiser and Menards have come together with Dale Earnhardt, Inc. to keep the company moving forward.

In 2003, the Dale Earnhardt Foundation kicked off its charitable endeavors with the Dale Earnhardt Concert held at Daytona International Speedway. Since then, the Legends Leadership Awards, E Trees and many other initiatives have furthered along their goals in Education, Children and Wildlife Preservation.

In 2004, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. won the Daytona 500 giving DEI three Great American Race victories in four years. In 2004, Chance 2 Motorsports fielded a full-time team for Martin Truex, Jr. with Bass Pro Shops.

Truex and team rewarded co-owners Dale Earnhardt, Jr. and Teresa Earnhardt with the Busch Series titles in 2004 and 2005. Also in 2005, Paul Menard became part of the team in the Menards Chevrolet entry competing in the Busch Series.

In 2006, Tony Eury, Jr. took over the crew chief duties for the No. 8 team while Truex, crew chief Kevin Manion and team became the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops team in Cup competition. Menard and the No. 15 Chevrolet are a part-time Cup team while competing full-time in the Busch Series, as well.

Dale Earnhardt, Inc. has grown to be one of the premier NASCAR race teams housed on 14 acres of land utilizing 240,000 sq. feet of building space.