Daughter of NASCAR legend making name on rodeo circuit
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Dale Hubler-dhubler@timesuniononline.com
Her family is synonymous with speed and racing success. For Taylor Earnhardt-Putnam, however, horsepower has a very different meaning. Earnhardt-Putnam, 26, is the youngest child of seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt, who was killed in a crash on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. While the men in her family made a living and a name for themselves driving 800-horsepower stockcars, Earnhardt-Putnam races with the horsepower of one. Earnhardt-Putnam is a professional rodeo rider. She competes in barrel racing and breakaway-roping events. Monday night she was at the Kosciusko County Community Fair with the Broken Horn IPRA Rodeo. “I’ve always rode horses,” Earnhardt-Putnam said in a southern accent, standing outside her horse trailer before the start of Monday’s event in the grandstands. “I grew up on the farm with my dad. I always liked riding horses, and I always wanted to do more with that. After he passed, I went to a barrel race with one of my friends and really enjoyed it. It just kind of grew into something that’s a career and a lifestyle for me.” Earnhardt-Putnam said at the beginning of the rodeo season she participates in two or three shows per week. Now in the busy part of the summer it’s turned into four or five shows per week. Sunday she was in Terre Haute, tonight she’ll compete at the Fulton County Fairgrounds in Rochester. Much the way her famous father’s racing career started, Earnhardt-Putnam is traveling from small town to small town trying to make it to the bright lights of the big city. Her father went from racing small dirt tracks in the south to winning the Daytona 500. Earnhardt-Putnam’s dream is to win a gold buckle at the national rodeo. “It’s an honor being an Earnhardt,” she said. “My dad went from nothing and he built himself up to a household name. That’s what I’m trying to do. Yes, I’m building off his name, but people are starting to know me as Taylor Earnhardt, not just Dale Earnhardt’s daughter. “I’m making a name for myself in the sport that I want to make a name for myself in, and that’s really awesome. Ultimately, every girl or guy that rodeos, their dream is to make it to the National Finals Rodeo in Las Vegas. The IPRA is pretty much the next biggest rodeo circuit ... but we’re hauling just as far, and for a lot less money, and that makes it even harder sometimes. To make IFR (International Finals Rodeo), or anything this year, would be awesome.” Earnhardt-Putnam, who resides in North Carolina with her husband, fellow rodeo rider Brandon Putnam, has been on the road for a month straight, and will continue to travel the circuit before returning home for a few days in August. After a short break, however, she’ll hit the road again. “Racing, for Dad, was a job, but he loved doing it,” said Earnhardt-Putnam. “This is my job, and I love doing it.” Monday’s rodeo in Warsaw featured a number of former and reigning world champions in various events. Among the competitions Monday were barrel racing, bronc riding, bull riding, calf roping, steer roping, team roping and steer wrestling. In her spare time, Earnhardt-Putnam is a spokesperson for the Dale Earnhardt Foundation, which is a charitable organization dedicated to children, education and wildlife preservation.
