“Dad Worked Hard For What He Had” – Kerry Earnhardt Explains Why It Was So Important For Him To Speak Out Against His Stepmom, Teresa, Selling Dale’s Land

He made his daddy proud.

For quite a few months now, there’s been an ongoing debate and fight over what’s to become of the land that belonged to the late, great Dale Earnhardt. Last year, his widow, Teresa Earnhardt, put in a request to have it all rezoned for a $30 billion industrial complex called Mooresville Technology Park in Mooresville, North Carolina, the town where Dale owned his Dale Earnhardt Inc. race team and lived nearby.

Now, Teresa doesn’t exactly have the best reputation with fans of NASCAR and her late husband, many of whom even refer to her as “The Wicked Witch of the South.” There are plenty of reasons as to why that is, which you can read more about HERE. Bottom line is, she’s not a favorite among NASCAR fans or North Carolinians, and this is thankfully something we have some say in, though it’s been heading in the wrong direction very fast.

She and Kerry Dale Earnhardt, the eldest son of Dale Sr., in particular, have had some issues in the past. She previously sued him over sued over the use of the “Earnhardt” name when he launched his own lifestyle brand, The Earnhardt Collection, back in the early 2010s. More on that HERE. Kerry in particular has been very vocal about this issue, which we’ll get to.

Why Teresa Wanted To Rezone

In October of last year, there was a highly-attended board meeting of almost 200 neighbors, including Rene Earnhardt, wife of, Kerry, who all urged the Mooresville Planning Board to recommend denial of Teresa’s request. They denied it with a vote of 8-0, which was a great sign.

The industrial park would sit on 399 acres of beautiful countryside, in one of the less populated areas of the county, on the eastern side of Iredell. According to The Charlotte Observer, “board member Shaun Hooper made the motion against the request, agreeing with residents that the proposal was out of character with Mooresville’s more agricultural, less populated eastern side.”

Of the 13 speakers who encouraged the board to vote against the proposal, at one point, one of them asked everyone who was at the meeting and opposed to the rezoning to stand up, and the entire crowd stood up. Only one person wanted this to happen…

But because so many have spoken out against it and been so vocal, it was revealed over the weekend that town commissioners were planning to vote against it, and today, Tract, the company that pushing for this development, announced they had pulled their proposal and were not moving forward with it.

Kerry Earnhardt Speaks Out Against It

I’m personally just so tired of seeing these types of things destroyed for the sake of money, and while I don’t know Teresa’s personal financial situation or what would lead her to do something like this, I think it’s gross to she would sell her husband’s land, that meant so much to him, to put a data center there. It’s shameful, and it’s wrong, but it’s hers to sell and that’s the saddest part about it.

There’s more information on why the people of Mooresville are so against it at their website nodatacentermooresvillenc.com, and I think the reasoning against is something most people can understand and dare I say, would probably agree with. Aside from the fact that it’s Dale Sr.’s land, why would anyone want to live near something like this? The fact that it’s his land is only part of the many problems with this whole bunch of crap.

Teresa Earnhardt did not attend any of the meetings in person, but sent others to speak on her behalf. I know she’s an aging woman, and in some aspects I feel for her, I genuinely do, but she has had a bad reputation for years, and that makes it really hard to be sympathetic when it comes to something like this…

Now Teresa is trying to sell off Dale’s farm and turn it into an industrial park. Greediest woman alive.

— The Catch Fence (@TheCatchFence) October 19, 2024

But one person continually to spoke out about all of this, and that would be the aforementioned Kerry Earnhardt. He and his wife, Rene, have been extremely vocal about their disapproval of this concept, and have attended the meetings and done everything they can to stop it.

And on X about a week or so ago, he ripped his stepmother for what she’s trying to do, saying his late father would be “livid” to have his named “associated in this title,” and while I obviously never knew him, based on everything I have heard and know about Dale Sr., I completely agree he would want NO part of this whatsoever.

Kerry went onto say that it will change the lives of the people who call the area home “forever,” and will deplete natural resources and harm wildlife in the process:

“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. Build homes w/people loving the land we live as land it’s intended!”

I couldn’t have said it better myself, and I can only imagine how awful this has been for them as people who not only live very close to where this is potentially happening, but as a son who just has to stand by and watch:

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. Build homes w/people loving the land we live as land it’s intended! https://t.co/d354jhNjWY

— Kerry Dale Earnhardt (@KerryDEarnhardt) July 31, 2025

Mooresville Mayor Says Tract Rescinded Their Request

While many of us were fearing the worst for this outcome, truly, it is not going to become a reality. The Charlotte Observer spoke to Mooresville Mayor Chris Carney this week, who says the Town Commissioners plan to deny Teresa’s rezoning request if it comes to a vote. Due to the fact that it’s still unknown which tech company will purchase it, he and the six commissioners cannot support the data center.

But that won’t even be necessary, because this morning, Mooresville mayor Chris Carney announced that the company behind the data center, Tract, has withdrawn their request and so the vote has been taken off the meeting agenda:

The timing couldn’t have been better, because today, Kerry and his wife also released a lengthy video explaining all th many issues with the proposal, aside from the sheer fact that it would mean development on his father’s some 400 acres.

He shared the video with the caption saying he “appreciated” the media requests, but he didn’t have interest in any interviews, but preferred to give the full breakdown on his own Youtube channel.

The did a great job breaking everything down, and Kerry even spoke about how big of a conversationist his dad was and how important this land was to him:

“Dad worked hard for what he had & our family has benefited from his sacrifices. Emotions run deep! I appreciate the media requests, but I want clarity on why Data Centers don’t belong in residential areas, especially on Dad’s old hunting ground!”

It’s super interesting even if you don’t live in the area just to hear about an issue that sadly might become a reality for many in other parts of the country that are nowhere near Mooresville:

Dad worked hard for what he had & our family has benefited from his sacrifices.Emotions run deep!I appreciate the Media requests, but I want clarity on why Data Centers don’t belong in residential areas, especially on Dad’s old hunting ground! https://t.co/vtU5ZOxvDX

— Kerry Dale Earnhardt (@KerryDEarnhardt) August 13, 2025

You can watch the video below. Congrats to these two Earnhardt’s on all of their hard work, because they had a lot to do with bringing awareness to this issue and stopping it altogether:

Dale Earnhardt did so much to make the town and area what it is, and this large area of land was his peace and respite from a busy schedule where he worked tirelessly to become the best at what he does. The land deserves to be respected, cherished and taken care of responsibly, and even if is wife might not agree, at least the people with the ultimate say so can see that.

And even aside from Dale’s relation to the project, they did what’s best for the community, not lining a few people’s pockets, and that is something to be proud of.The post “Dad Worked Hard For What He Had” – Kerry Earnhardt Explains Why It Was So Important For Him To Speak Out Against His Stepmom, Teresa, Selling Dale’s Land first appeared on Whiskey Riff.