Teresa Earnhardt has quietly stepped into one of the most contentious legal storms North Carolina’s seen in years. The widow of NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt Sr. is behind a high-stakes rezoning petition that aims to transform nearly 400 acres of untouched farmland in Mooresville into a colossal $30 billion data center complex. The land, steeped in family history, now sits at the center of a public hearing scheduled for September 15, 2025, where the Mooresville Board of Commissioners will decide the project’s fate. With backing from Tract, a Denver-based data center developer, the proposed Mooresville Technology Park promises 277 jobs and a surge in local tax revenue. But as the official review process barrels ahead, Teresa’s name has reemerged in headlines.

Now, in 2025, Teresa’s land war feels like déjà vu. She’s previously locked horns in court with her stepchildren over Dale Earnhardt’s name and image rights, most notably against Kerry Earnhardt over the “Earnhardt Collection” trademark. Now, with the spotlight on a $30 billion industrial pivot, Teresa is once again facing scrutiny, only this time, it’s a growing wall of opposition waiting just outside the hearing room.

Protest wave hits Teresa Earnhardt as Mooresville community rises

The backlash to Teresa Earnhardt’s $30 billion data center plan has officially boiled over. On August 5, a crowd of nearly 200 furious residents packed Mooresville Town Hall, as reported by The Charlotte Observer, via X. Though the Board of Commissioners meeting was only to approve the upcoming public hearing date, the protestors didn’t wait for formalities. Ten residents spoke before the board that night, every single one voicing outrage, and not a soul defending the project. Teresa wasn’t in the room, but her absence only added fuel to the already raging fire.

One of the loudest voices belonged to Rene Earnhardt, wife of Kerry Earnhardt, Dale’s son, who blasted the proposed Mooresville Technology Park as “a monstrosity of a complex… gobbling away resources.” She urged officials to “preserve the last sliver of agricultural land in the area” before it’s swallowed whole by concrete and corporations. Kerry, who had already slammed the project publicly, didn’t mince words either.

Teresa who has notoriously been involved with legal tussles against her step-children, is now facing a growing number of angry locals. And they are organizing themselves against her. With the protest group called ‘No to Rezoning! No to Mooresville NC Tech Park,’ where Kerry Earnhardt wrote, “Frankly, I’m ashamed our family name is involved in the request to rezone a community that is thriving as a Rural Residential/Agriculture zone to be changed to Industrial.”

But his anger didn’t stop there. On X, he erupted with a statement that shook even diehard fans: “Dad would be livid, his name is associated in this title! Data centers don’t belong in neighborhoods… natural resources are depleted, wildlife uprooted! The landscape, lives that call this home… forever changed.”

Residents echoed that sentiment throughout the evening. Lynn Taylor made it personal, warning the board, “Our health does not need to be sacrificed for the almighty dollar.” Neighbor Ellen Abercrombie criticized the data park as an industrial eyesore, saying, “This is more suited to a more remote area, where it will not be seen or heard.” Protest leader Kerry Pennell, who started the online movement, reminded the room what’s really at stake: “Patterson Farm Road is one of the last areas of true rural residential in Mooresville. Open space, clean water, safe roads.” Many questioned the promises made by Tract, the Denver-based developer backing the proposal, and dismissed claims that power and water resources wouldn’t be affected. Teresa’s vision for a billion-dollar future is facing a full-throttle rebellion from the very people her project would surround.

Legacy on the line as Dale Earnhardt’s family wounds reopen

Dale Earnhardt Jr. carried his family legacy far from boardrooms and zoning maps, through restoration, memory-preservation, and honoring what his dad created. From preserving remnants of rural NASCAR lore on the Whiskey River compound and the Kannapolis homestead, he’s been the custodian of his father’s legacy, steadfastly grounded in place and family. Yet now Dale Jr. has maintained a deafening silence. He hasn’t publicly weighed in, supported Kerry, or aligned himself with either side.

That silence is particularly resonant when you remember the mess that tore them apart before. After Dale Sr.’s tragic death, Teresa inherited control of Dale Earnhardt Inc., while Dale Jr. and his siblings demanded a 51% stake, only to be rebuffed. The negotiations collapsed, and Jr. left DEI for Hendrick Motorsports in 2008, in one of NASCAR’s most dramatic exits. Teresa reportedly declared, “If Dale Jr. doesn’t want to stick around here, we’ll make another Dale Jr.” With trademarks, including the beloved No. 8 car number, kept under Teresa’s thumb, Jr. lost not just territory but identity. Fans still debate if DEI would have thrived had Teresa shared ownership but Dale left and built his own story anyway.

The long-standing rift within the Earnhardt family and between Teresa Earnhardt and the community once tied to her late husband’s legacy, appears to be deepening with this latest controversy. What began as a rezoning proposal has reignited years of tension, widening the gap between those seeking to preserve Dale Earnhardt’s memory and those pushing forward with a vision that many believe strays too far from it.