Teresa Earnhardt was the driving force behind Dale Earnhardt‘s business ideas while he was alive, and took over his empire after his death. Although her ownership of the entirety of Dale Earnhardt Inc. and the multiple businesses associated with the seven-time champion’s name made the community sour, there was nothing that could stop her from having full control over it all. Among these businesses was also a charter plane service started by Dale Earnhardt.

Going by the name Champion Air LLC, the business operated private charters using LearJets and Embraer aircraft. One of the aircraft operated by Champion Air was spotted by the community, which started to question its whereabouts and current condition. The original poster added the image of an aircraft with the license number, N500DE, leading to a heated discussion online.

Dale Earnhardt’s private jet causes buzz in the community

The N500DE is an Embraer ERJ-145EP aircraft registered under Dale Earnhardt’s company, Champion Air. The 500 is a reference to the Daytona 500 race, which was one of the best events in Dale Earnhardt’s career. Whereas the DE refers to his initials.

The original poster wanted to enquire more about the said aircraft and the other aircraft, N138 DE. Both of these aircraft are valued at nearly $14.5 million each, coming from the ERJ145 family.

His question was answered directly by one commenter who explained the charter service, ⁠”They’re a part 125 operation. Think NetJets but for larger aircraft. They fly whoever pays them.” Chiming in, another user went forward and informed the rest about the operations of Champion Air LLC.

“⁠Champion air is one of the private jet companies many teams use to grt to the track each weekend. Nascar employees also fly on Champion as well. In the off-season, champion will rent their planes out to college teams normally too.” One of the users revealed that the South Carolina men’s basketball team uses this aircraft for travel.

There was also confusion surrounding the charter business’s owner, “I’ve heard Dale jr talk about a king air but I don’t know if it was DEIs or his.” While, another commenter confirmed that Teresa Earnhardt operates Champion Air LLC, having taken over Dale Earnhardt’s businesses. “IRC, Teresa still operates what’s left of DEI, and that includes their air charter business.”

The appearance of these two aircraft has reignited the questions surrounding Dale Earnhardt’s businesses. Meanwhile, the owner, Teresa Earnhardt, seems to be dealing with her own family in the past few months…

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Teresa Earnhardt earns Dale Jr.’s approval over emotional history

Even though Dale Jr. started his NASCAR journey with his father’s team, he had to part ways with them on bitter terms. The transfer of ownership to Teresa Earnhardt left deep wounds in their relationship. For years, there was no hope for reconciliation, and neither side agreed to the other’s demands.

But when a fan posted pictures from a private tour, Dale Jr. couldn’t help but be emotional, “It actually made me feel good that some of my cars are still there, like in the front, like when you go and you look and you’re looking back there, that they still celebrate all of the history.”

Dale Jr. confirmed that he has not reached out to Teresa Earnhardt for a long time, but ended his words with a hopeful message surrounding their future.

“Gives me some hope that there’s a chance of reconciliation somewhere down the road. Even though maybe even though it’s unlikely, I just, yeah.”

It seems that years of bad blood between the two most important aspects of Dale Earnhardt’s legacy might end with reconciliation after all. Let us know if you also spotted the above-mentioned N500DE and N138DE aircraft somewhere.