Kelley Earnhardt reflects on bittersweet moments during nostalgic detour to O.R.M.A

JR Motorsports co-owner Kelley Earnhardt recently went down memory lane as she visited her alma mater, Oak Ridge Military Academy (O.R.M.A). She attended the school alongside her brother, Dale Earnhardt Jr.

Kelley and Dale Jr. are the children of the seven-time NASCAR champion, late Dale Earnhardt. They initially lived with their mother, late Brenda Lorraine Gee, in Virginia, before moving to North Carolina to be by their father's side. Dale Jr., however, was sent away to study at O.R.M.A at the age of 12, while Kelley followed suit to finish her high school.

In a recent Instagram story, Kelley shared an image of herself striking a salute at the school's entrance. She followed it up with a caption, opening up about her experience at the military academy.

"Took a detour today! Memories made here, happy and sad ones. But thankful for the experience. It made me a better person," Kelley Earnhardt wrote.

Kelley Earnhardt's Instagram story about her visit to O.R.M.A. Source:@Instagram/kelleyearnhardtmiller

Dale Earnhardt was sent to the school due to his behavioral problems at the time. In August 2024, the former Cup Series driver recounted the ordeal of attending a boarding school in an episode of his podcast, Dale Jr Download.

"You had to learn to handle things. If you were in a house like I was where you were used to everything being done for you and you just worried about going and eating, and that’s all you had to worry about was getting food out of the fridge, it was great, because I learned a lot of responsibility,” he said on YouTube channel 'Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dirty Mo Media' (15:25 onwards).

Kelley Earnhardt managed Earnhardt Jr.'s early NASCAR career before becoming the General Manager of JR Motorsports in 2001. Under her leadership, the brand grew from a three-car street stock team to an official entry into the Xfinity Series in 2005. The team has produced multiple Xfinity Series champions, with Chase Elliott, William Byron, and Tyler Reddick clinching the titles in their rookie seasons.

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When Kelley Earnhardt reflected on her grief compared to Dale Jr.'s after their father's tragic death

Dale Earnhardt Sr. died after a fatal crash on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. His son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., was in the race when the incident occurred. In an interview with NASCAR Daily in March this year, Kelley Earnhardt opened up about her and her brother's differing connections to the tragic incident.

"I didn't go through the emotion of running down the racetrack like my brother, or going to the hospital, you know, and then finding out the news. Like, I mean, I experienced it differently, which was emotional, but it wasn't the same connection," she said on YouTube channel 'NASCAR' [17:42 onwards].

Kelley Earnhardt further detailed her brother's experience, from rushing down the racetrack to getting the news of their father's death at the hospital. Despite the tragedy, Earnhardt Jr. returned to racing the following weekend at Rockingham Speedway, where he endured a first-lap crash that mirrored his father's fatal wreck.

These incidents prompted NASCAR to implement the mandatory use of HANS (Head and Neck Support) to better safeguard the drivers.