When Dale Earnhardt Jr left DEI in 2007, he left with a heavy heart, and also full knowledge that he might never be back. Initially entangled over visions about the team’s future, Teresa Earnhardt and her stepfamily’s issues ran deep. Dale Earnhardt’s legacy, for one, was one thing that his widow held close to her heart. Maybe too close, at times. The result? Three children who, for 25 years, have stayed shunned from their old family home, their father’s legacy, and even his final resting place. Yet, as The Intimidator‘s body stayed memorialized in a mausoleum, protected by fences and cameras, the kids never complained.

When Teresa Earnhardt banished them from looking through their late father’s “sentimental possessions, childhood items or family photos” Junior and his siblings never protested. As painful as it sounds, even when Teresa rejected any opinions from her stepchildren regarding Sr’s funeral and grave site, they never uttered a word. “She’s so extreme that we might get arrested,” Kerry Earnhardt-Miller said when talking about being back. But, there are only so many things the siblings could silently accept, especially when it came to something their father had worked all his life for. In April this year, Jr’s step-mother, on behalf of Earnhardt Farms LLC, submitted a rezoning request for 148 Patterson Farm Road and 338 Rustic Road to build a massive data center campus.

However, the issue was that this $30 billion data center was to be built on the Mooresville, North Carolina, property originally owned by Dale Earnhardt, prompting even Kerry Earnhardt—never one to comment around family dynamics—to raise a voice. Before the scheduled public hearing, he tweeted, “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!” Thankfully, after fierce public backlash from residents concerned about preserving the area’s rural character, developers have officially withdrawn the proposal.

On the same day that Mooresville’s mayor announced the project withdrawal, Kerry further released a 22-minute YouTube video outlining his stance. “I think, you know, some people have voices that reach further than others. And if my voice is that voice, I’m here to speak it … for our community, for our neighbors, for our family, for our friends,” he said.

Moreover, he also went on to emphasize the property’s deep personal significance, noting it was land his father, Dale Earnhardt, both farmed and hunted on. He explained, “It’s property that Dad was proud of. He would always go out there deer hunting, turkey hunting, but our favorite time was dove hunting … The smile he always had on his face when he was riding around, picking with guys, bringing them shells, bringing them snacks, bringing them drinks, riding the outskirts of the property to try to flush the doves back up — that’s what it was about.”

With the development officially canceled, the Earnhardt property will remain as it is, at least for now. The Mooresville mayor confirmed the project has been removed from all future town meeting agendas, with no active request to move forward.

Denver-based developer, Tract, who was involved in the project, said to The Charlotte Observer in an email: “We are both disappointed and surprised to learn of the Board’s position in this manner. In light of this development, we are carefully evaluating our next steps.”

Originally introduced in June, the proposal has been projected to create nearly 200 jobs. Teresa’s big plan has officially come to an end.

The uncertainty of the buyer and operator leads to Teresa’s plan’s downfall

Mooresville mayor, Chris Carney, rejected Teresa Earnhardt’s bid to construct a $30 billion data center on her property. According to reports, Teresa had partnered with Denver-based developer Tract to create the massive facility but faced resistance from the mayor due to the lack of clarity about its eventual buyer and operator.

While Teresa has extensive experience in the racing industry, she is not expected to manage a project of this scale. This uncertainty fueled speculation about potential tech giants such as Apple, Google, or Meta being involved, but no definitive buyer was identified.

Citing these unresolved questions, the mayor refused to grant Tract permission to proceed with the project in Mooresville, North Carolina.

The mayor said, “Every one of us has raised that as our biggest issue because, at the end of the day, even if we really liked the development crew, they’re really not the person we’re going to be married to for the next two or three decades. Their model is to get it built and then go find the user, and I guess that’s the way the world likes to work now. I get that. If I’m Apple, I don’t want to be building a campus. I want somebody to build it for me, and then I can just move in, right?”

Well, looks like Dale Earnhardt’s legacy is one to stay for now.