In the News: ‘Youngest Earnhardt also thrives on horsepower’

Did you know that Taylor Earnhardt, the 24-year-old daughter of late seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, is a champion barrel racer?

From a story posted on Yahoo! Sports yesterday:

She started riding horses at 3, but it was after her father’s death in the 2001 Daytona 500 where she first turned to rodeo in earnest. Back then, it was just a distraction for a 12-year-old trying to deal with life-altering circumstances. Soon enough, it became something else entirely.

‘It really just gave me something to focus on after Dad died, something to keep me going and not focus on everything that was happening. And it turned into something that’s an honest career path for me,’ she said.”

VIDEO: Taylor competing at the 2012 NBHA Colonial Nationals on Packin Sixes Cowboy.

These days Taylor is on the road every weekend, and sometimes for weeks or months at a time, following the circuit with her husband, Brandon Putnam, who is also a rodeo competitor.

A big thanks to our friend Helene Gallagher for the tip.

Read the full story here.