The Tiger
The Cannonball;
from a New York newspaper writer who compared him to the Cannonball train of the Illinois Central made famous by Casey Jones.
The Flip;
Tinley Park Express;
in honor of his hometown;
Tunney;
after heavyweight boxing champion Gene Tunney;
'Tunney' later became 'Tony.'
The Intimidator;
because of his aggressive driving style;
Man in Black;
the black paint in which the No. 3 car was painted;
Ironhead
Silver Fox;
for his calculated approach to racing.
Awesome [First Name] from Dawsonville;
Million Dollar [First Name]
Fancy Pants;
Hard-Nosed Demon of the Ovals;
The Houston Hurricane;
Super Tex
Mr. Excitement;
for his driving style
Big Daddy;
The Floridian or Swamp Rat;
from the first national drag racing meet at an airfield near Great Bend, KS in 1955; being from Florida, he was an outsider;
'Swamp Rat' also became the theme for each generation of his innovative dragster designs.
British Auto Ace
Cha Cha;
Queen of the Drag Strip;
First Lady of Drag Racing;
the first woman to receive a license from the National Hot Rod Association (NHRA) to drive a Top Fuel dragster.
Barney;
America's Speed King;
the first man to drive a car at 60 mph on an oval.
King of the Road;
King [First Name];
Stock Car Racing King;
7 championships and 200 wins.
Ace of Aces;
with 26 aerial victories, he was America's most successful fighter ace in the war.
Albuquerque Cowboy
Rushville Rocket;
he won a lot of dirt track races in the beginning of his racing career in Rushville, Indiana;
Smoke;
first for slipping the right rear tire during dirt races;
then for blowing his engine often during his '97 championship run.
Front Row [First Name];
during his times with the more elite teams he would routinely either qualify 1st or 2nd.
Fireball;
as a pitcher for the Zellwood Mud Hens, an American Legion baseball team, he earned the nickname because of his fast ball.
Rocketman;
he was grabbing many poles and breaking a few track records in qualifying.
The Kid, or Wonderboy;
early in his career both given by Earnhardt Sr.
D.W. or D-Dubya;
Jaws;
aggressive driving style and outspoken demeanor.
Iceman;
for his cool demeanor behind the wheel;
Ironman;
when he broke Richard Petty's record for number of consecutive starts in 1996.