Legendary racecar driver Dale Earnhardt won the most Nextel Cup Series Championships during the 1990s, finishing the decade with four championships. Jeff Gordon came in second with three championships. Earnhardt also dominated during the 1980s when he won three Nextel Cup Series Championships, tying Darrell Waltrip's record for the decade. Earnhardt's brilliant NASCAR career came to a tragic end, however, on February 18, 2001, when he died in a crash on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.