Dale Earnhardt’s widow suffers $30billion defeat after very public family battle

Teresa Earnhardt - widow of NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt - has suffered defeat in her bid to build a $30billion data center in North Carolina.

Teresa, now 66, had requested rezoning to industrial use of around 400 acres of land she owns in North Carolina.

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The ‘Mooresville Data Park’ development sparked fierce opposition from neighbors and local residents - including some members of the Earnhardt family.

Dale’s son Kerry was one of the most vocal opponents, saying his father would have been “livid” at what was taking place. Protestors also set up a website to rally support against the plan.

A public hearing had been set for September 15 to make a final decision on the rezoning request, but earlier this week Mooresville Mayor Chris Carney revealed publicly that he would be not supporting it.

Developer pulls the plug on $30bn plan

This made defeat almost inevitable for Mrs Earnhardt, and Denver-based developer Tract. Tract has now admitted that defeat by officially pulling the plug on the development.

Writing on social media, Carney said: “This morning, the Town of Mooresville received official notice from Tract developers that they have withdrawn their request for a proposed data center in Mooresville. This means the item will be removed from the September 15 agenda and will not move forward.

“We appreciate the public’s input and the collaborative discussions that helped determine whether this project was the right fit for our community. As always, we want to keep residents informed, and we felt it was important to share this update as soon as possible.

“There is no request to postpone - this is a full withdrawal. At this time, there is no active request for a data center in Mooresville.”

Tract claimed the proposed Mooresville Technology Park would create 277 “recession-resistant” jobs, including some 195 paying $125,000 a year. It also claimed hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues would be generated for Mooresville, Iredell County, and local public schools over 20 years.

But opponents cited multiple concerns, including strain on local infrastructure and a potential fall in property values in the area.

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