MOORESVILLE, NC — Brenda Jackson, mother of NASCAR’s Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Kelley Earnhardt Miller, has passed away from cancer, her family announced Monday.
Jackson, 65, was a longtime employee of Earnhardt’s JR Motorsports, based in Mooresville.
“Known for her wit, charisma and unparalleled ability to cut to the heart of any matter, Jackson became an instant favorite to her friends and colleagues at JR Motorsports when she joined the company as an accounting specialist in 2004,” the race team said Monday. “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.”
Jackson’s experience in auto racing went far beyond the time she spent working with JR Motorsports. “She was one of two daughters and four children to legendary NASCAR fabricator Robert Gee, a Virginia native who built winning cars for many celebrated racers, including one up-and-comer from Kannapolis, N.C. named Dale Earnhardt,” the team said.
Jackson would later marry Dale Earnhardt in 1972, and the couple had two children together: Dale Jr. and Kelley.
Earnhardt, who retains notoriety as one of the sport’s most popular drivers, retired as a NASCAR cup series driver at the end of the 2017 season.
“I am a very, very lucky woman, as I get to interact with my kids almost every day,” she said last year. “I’ve got two bright, beautiful kids that I am very proud of. Kelley’s standards are very high. 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.”
“Miss Brenda, we thank you for the all memories and the laughter. The office won’t be the same without you. Rest in peace,” JR Motorsports said Monday.
WATCH: JR Motorsports video tribute:
In addition to her children, Jackson leaves behind her husband of 33 years, William M. Jackson, Jr., step-daughter Meredith Davis and six grandchildren.
RELATED: Dale Earnhardt Jr To Drive No. 8 Car In Darlington Xfinity Race
Click Here: All Blacks Rugby Jersey