Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Mother, Brenda Jackson, Dies of Cancer at 65: 'She Will Live in Our Hearts'
Brenda Jackson, the mother of famed NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Jr., has died at the age of 65, the family’s company confirmed on Monday.
“I’m glad her suffering has ended and she can be at peace,” Dale Jr. wrote in a post on Twitter. “She would be in tears of happiness over the words of support and remembrance she’s been shown today. Our family appreciates it as well. She will live in our hearts forever.”
Jackson had been battling cancer, JR Motorsports — the company Dale Jr. founded and where she worked for 15 years — announced in a statement posted to their website, which also lauded her charisma and quick wit.
“Her sarcastic musings and straightforward approach injected a brand of humor at JR Motorsports that became part of its fabric as it grew into a full-time NASCAR racing operation in 2006 and a championship-winning organization in 2014,” the company said.
Jackson and Dale Earnhardt Sr. married in 1972 and had two children together, before they separated as Dale Sr. struggled at the start of his NASCAR career. Dale Jr. and his sister, Kelley Earnhardt, would live with her until a house fire that left them without a home and the children moved in with their father.
According to JRM, Jackson would remarry in 1985, move to Virginia, then back to North Carolina to work with Dale Jr. and Kelley at the company after retiring.
“I am a very, very lucky woman, as I get to interact with my kids almost every day,” she said last year, according to JRM.
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“I’ve got two bright, beautiful kids that I am very proud of. Kelley’s standards are very high,” Jackson continued at the time. “She conducts herself that way and she expects that of everyone else. Dale Jr. just gets bigger and bigger. I am very proud of his accomplishments, but as a mother, I am proudest of the way he handles himself with honesty and the way he cares about his family and his friends.”
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Dale Jr. referenced the house fire that devoured their home in an emotional letter to Jackson in 2017.
“You, a single mother, us losing everything in a house fire. You gave custody of us two kids to our father, knowing that he could provide a promising future,” he said in a video for ESPN.
“I’m thankful that we are together today, as I am older and wiser to appreciate the sacrifices that you made for us,” Dale Jr. continued. “You never failed at making me feel loved. I love you.”
