STATESVILLE, N.C. -- NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt willed most of his business interests and property, including race teams and the rights to the "Intimidator" trademark, to his wife, The Charlotte Observer reported Wednesday.

Some of Earnhardt's estate will remain a secret because it was willed to a trust, the Observer said.

Earnhardt, winner of 76 Winston Cup races and seven series championships, died Feb. 18 in a crash on the final lap of the Daytona 500. He was 49.

Teresa Earnhardt inherited her husband's numerous business interests, such as his Catawba County Chevrolet dealership, numerous boats and cars and their $300,000 Iredell County home, according to Earnhardt's will on file in Iredell County Superior Court.

The will's other beneficiary is the trust. Because of federal tax laws, some of the estate's assets -- as much as $675,000 worth-- may go to that trust, said Charlotte attorney William Patterson, who reviewed the will for the newspaper.

The trust also could contain money or other assets for Earnhardt's four children, said Patterson, who has handled wills and estates for wealthy clients, but has no connection with Earnhardt's will.

The public may never know the contents of the trust because it doesn't have to go through public probate courts, he said.

Earnhardt's children also could be named as beneficiaries in insurance policies and retirement plans, Patterson added.

Jean Adams, a Winston-Salem attorney who is helping Teresa Earnhardt handle the will and estate proceedings, declined comment, saying she wants to protect the family's privacy.

Iredell County tax assessor Brent Weisner has reported that Earnhardt holdings in the county total $43.9 million. The value of his estate is not cited in the will.

Forbes magazine named Earnhardt one of the world's 40 highest-paid athletes in 1999, earning $24 million.

A partial list of the assets included in the Earnhardt estate, and on file in Iredell Superior Court, include: