Dale Earnhardt: Tribute to a Legend

Dale Earnhardt changed the face of NASCAR

By Tim Packman, Turner Sports Interactive

MOORESVILLE, N.C. - Many fans who have gathered outside of the Dale Earnhardt Inc.-owned race shop since his death in the Daytona 500 are expressing a "Now who do I watch?" attitude. As they place their flowers, signs and mementos at the black wrought-iron fence at the edge of the property some just stand and cry, while others have this blank look on their faces.

To say "The Man in Black" brought a few fans to NASCAR would be an understatement. To say he changed the way NASCAR was regarded could be a safe statement as well. Of those gathered at the sprawling complex that houses his three cars driven by Dale Earnhardt Jr., Steve Park and 2001 Daytona 500 victor Michael Waltrip, they openly wonder who they're going to cheer for now.

In countries all over the world, the name of the man referred to as "The Intimidator" was known. They may not have known what NASCAR was all about, but they knew Earnhardt. To some in the United States, he represented what this country was all about. He came from the barest of essentials in his hometown of Kannapolis, N.C. and grew up doing what his dad did -- race cars. He came from having almost nothing to having everything he could ever want. He was proof of the American Dream, and he proved it at high speed.

Part of his legacy will be that he made a name for himself by being the best at what he did. He may not have been that way when he entered his first NASCAR Winston Cup Series race in 1975, but he sure did make a point to correct that through the years.

Rookie-of-the-year honors in 1979, followed by the first of seven championships in '80 and countless other achievements, put the name of Earnhardt in peoples' ears. He brought NASCAR to people who otherwise would never have felt the need to watch 43 drivers battle it out on a Sunday afternoon for a checkered flag.

Richard Petty has the title of "The King of Stock Car Racing" and deserves his share of credit for the recognition he brought to the sport. When Petty retired in 1992, Earnhardt picked up where he left off as the dominant personality representing NASCAR.

Earnhardt's battles with the old school of drivers -- Bobby Allison, David Pearson, Cale Yarborough and Petty -- when he first started racing, let people know he was a force to be reckoned with. Allison liked how Earnhardt went about his racing.

"Earnhardt made due with what he had -- he made his equipment better," said Allison, the 1983 series champion. "Some drivers today start to complain about conditions and their foot gets lighter on the gas pedal. Earnhardt just went out and raced harder."

He was often referred to as the "Master of the Draft" for his ability to dominate and win on tracks like Daytona and Talladega Superspeedway --two tracks where he heads the sport's all-time victory list.

"Dale Earnhardt seemed to have the business sense to be able to market himself in the way nobody else ever had, and hasn't to this day" said Grant Lynch, president of Talladega. "That's a side of him that when we think about him on the race track, he was just as savvy in his race car as he was sitting at his office in Mooresville. Some of the things he brought to the sport, through the marketing of himself with his name and his image, broke new ground for NASCAR away from the track."

Bristol Motor Speedway was the site of Earnhardt's first victory in '79. It was also where he had two exciting finishes under the lights in '95 and '99. Both instances involved Terry Labonte. The first one went to Labonte as the victor, but in the second event it was Earnhardt going to Victory Lane.

Track spokesman Wayne Estes said Earnhardt changed the face of racing at the famed .533-mile concrete oval.

"Before Dale Earnhardt started to race here it was just a race to make it to the end," he said. "After he started racing here the challenge became to get by Earnhardt. The fans that are mourning here by the thousands came to this track to see him race. He was what made the show here at Bristol with the spectacular things he could do on the track."

Dale Earnhardt changed the face of NASCAR

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