after the fire, she gave up custody of the two children to Earnhardt Sr. prior to his marriage to Teresa Houston. During her childhood, Kelley took care of Dale Jr. while their father and Teresa were busy with the race seasons. Three weeks after 12-year-old Dale Jr. was sent by his father and Teresa to a military school for delinquency, Kelley left high school to join him. Kelley attended University of North Carolina Wilmington until transferring to University of North Carolina at Charlotte to be closer to home. As soon as Dale Jr. started earning money in his racing career, Kelley offered to handle his finances. She married Raymond Walter Holm Jr. on June 29, 2001, in Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. They were divorced by 2004 in Iredell County, North Carolina. She was formerly married to Jimmy Elledge, by whom she has two daughters. After divorcing Elledge, she married former NASCAR driver L. W. Miller III on January 22, 2011. The couple has one child. Kelley's daughter Karsyn Elledge participates in midget car racing. She scored her first win at Millbridge Speedway on April 19, 2018. Karsyn made her first Chili Bowl start in January 2019. On April 22, 2019, Brenda Jackson, Earnhardt's biological mother, died at the age of 65 after years of battling cancer. She had served as an accounting specialist for JR Motorsports since 2004. References Living people 1972 births People from Kannapolis, North Carolina NASCAR team owners University of North Carolina at Charlotte alumni Earnhardt family Racing drivers from Charlotte, North Carolina Racing drivers from North Carolina American female racing drivers Racing drivers' wives and girlfriends