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#Earnhardt
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00:00How do I turn it on?
00:14How do I turn it on?
00:19It's on.
00:20Damn?
00:21Yeah, it's on.
00:22Hey, buddy.
00:23My old man, my old heart ain't turning on.
00:24How you doing, pal?
00:25Ready?
00:26Good.
00:27Do you think your reputation on the track has made you misunderstood off the track as
00:36far as who Dale Earnhardt really is?
00:40How long did you race before you reckoned you were really good?
00:44You had to know that you could beat guys.
00:48You like your, uh, the anti-hero image you have, the man in black, intimidator, dominator.
00:56You know, there were people, Dale, who said that, um, sometimes success can be a bad thing.
01:03You sacrifice your family, you sacrifice everything, you put your whole life into what you're doing.
01:14If your dad was here, what do you think he'd say?
01:18You talked about how long it takes to feel the physical pain.
01:22How long does it take you to get over the mental pain?
01:28What is the story behind the man in black?
01:30I mean, what drives Dale Earnhardt?
01:47And a round on Earnhardt, up in the air!
02:18Alright, we're ready.
02:21It's hot in here.
02:23Part of what we're going to do is...
02:24I don't care, just ask the question.
02:26For a feature, so...
02:27What feature?
02:28An up-close-and-personal on Dale Earnhardt.
02:30You're going to have to do more than this shit.
02:33Come ride around the farm with me, I'll show you a personal of Dale Earnhardt.
02:36Bullshit.
02:37Was there ever a time, Dale, that you didn't think about wanting to be a race car driver?
02:41Probably when I was born, I didn't know any better.
02:45But, I mean, from the get-go, I mean, with your dad and everything, I mean, racing was all you knew.
02:49All I ever remember is racing.
02:52So, you know, from the time I can remember, racing.
03:02When you grow up in the Southeast, we didn't have professional sports.
03:09We didn't have baseball, basketball, football.
03:13We had racing, that was it.
03:18There was a local short track everywhere.
03:22Every gas station, somebody knew somebody that run local.
03:28They raced because they could make more money riding around in circles than they could working seven to four in a mill.
03:35It's a way of life.
03:44Good afternoon, sports fans. It's NASCAR's Grand National Stock Car Racing.
04:04Man, this exciting NASCAR season has got everybody talking stock car racing.
04:09Everybody has their favorite they're pulling for, and they want to win.
04:14At that time in the sport, it was a changing of the guard.
04:18You had the old guard.
04:20Cale Yarborough, David Pearson, Buddy Baker, Bobby Allison, and the king of stock car racing, Richard Petty.
04:29I think it's more exciting in the sense that, you know, the competition and everything is so much better now.
04:34I think that I just get jacked up a little bit more for racing now than I used to.
04:39We all looked up to Richard. I mean, Richard was the king.
04:43Richard Petty, the king.
04:45And so, we all wanted to be at least as good as he was, if not better.
04:51A driver has to be good and lucky.
04:54Darryl Waldrop, do you feel lucky today?
04:56No, but I feel good.
05:01You know, I think that Darryl Waldrop had seen himself as the heir apparent to the old guard.
05:07An interesting, perhaps, changing of the guard taking place this year with Darryl Waldrop up on top,
05:13and two rookies in the top six in the point standings.
05:17He had put in his eight or ten years to get to that point.
05:22But when he turned around, there was another guy standing there that slid in behind him to take his crown.
05:28And it was Earnhardt.
05:30Number two, Dale Earnhardt, Kannapolis, North Carolina.
05:38As a rookie, a new kid on the block, do you get intimidated running with the Pettys and the Waltrips?
05:43Nah, we get along pretty good, so I think it's going to be a hell of a race.
05:47I think it was 79 in Bristol.
05:49Dale was driving for Osterlin at the time, the two car.
05:54We were racing each other.
05:57We were passing and passing and passing.
05:59And the battle is between Dale Earnhardt and Darryl Waldrop.
06:02They were dueling side by side going across the stripe.
06:06And he had bumped me out of the way to get the lead, and then he won the race.
06:12I said to myself, you've got to be kidding me, who is this guy anyway?
06:17And then we became rivals.
06:19Darryl walked back with a catching distance for Earnhardt.
06:22He was somebody you had to reckon with, every week.
06:25Earnhardt has the inside cover, Darryl being forced to go high in three.
06:29Earnhardt not intimidated.
06:31He won Rookie of the Year in 1979.
06:35Well, I won the Bassmaster Classic in 1979.
06:38And bass fishing was bigger than NASCAR in 1979.
06:42When Earnhardt won, he got a 742 Remington .30-06 deer rifle and a Weaver Scope.
06:51Total value, $400.
06:54And he thought that he'd made the big time.
06:57$400.
06:59I was racing on credit and borrowed time, more or less.
07:03And I was pretty much in debt.
07:05And I was looking for the big chance.
07:09I used to listen to the race on the radio at home and listen to Richard Petty and Kel and those guys racing.
07:16And I remember about being there someday myself and wondering what it'd be like.
07:19And it's just the biggest thrill I've ever had.
07:21I never wanted anything as much as I want racing.
07:24I have let it get in my way of personal feelings a lot of times.
07:29And I've chosen racing a lot every time.
07:32I can have all kinds of problems.
07:34And people say, well, doesn't it bother you on the racetrack?
07:37Do you think about it?
07:39I don't think about it.
07:41I don't think about it.
07:43I don't think about it.
07:45I don't think about it.
07:46I can have all kinds of problems.
07:48And people say, well, doesn't it bother you on the racetrack?
07:50Do you think about it?
07:52I don't think about beating the guy in front of me or behind me.
07:56Why would you want to do something that you know darn well could turn around and bite you, could kill you?
08:03I never wanted to do anything else.
08:09Excuse me, who are you pulling for today?
08:11Bobby Allison.
08:13Why?
08:14Because I like a Ford.
08:16Who are you going to cheer for today?
08:18Richard Petty.
08:20How come?
08:22Because I want to, that's why.
08:24I've got to go with Dale Earnhardt.
08:26That's probably one of my favorites right now.
08:28Why?
08:30I like to see the young boys run with him, you know what I mean?
08:32In tenth position will be Dale Earnhardt.
08:34You can't say enough about this young driver.
08:36Last year, he made the veterans sit up and take notice of his driving style.
08:39The whole team was, we were all new.
08:41I was new.
08:42Is there a lot of pressure?
08:44Not, well, there's more pressure now, but I'm trying to put it aside.
08:48We're trying to win this championship this year.
08:51It'll be the first time a rookie has ever won rookie of the year and went on the next year to win the championship.
08:57You always strive to get to the top.
08:59You want to be the best.
09:01So you had to put a year together.
09:0332, 34, 36 races.
09:05Get as many wins as you could, get as many points as you could, and hopefully hang on and win the championship.
09:10There's some people in front of me that are, I'm maybe not one to talk, but they're lesser experienced than I am.
09:17And lesser experienced drivers, no matter how good they are, sometimes cause problems.
09:22Some of us rode a while, raced a while, rode a while, raced a while.
09:26Dale raced all the time.
09:28He didn't care.
09:30He was hard on the car.
09:32He would wear a car out.
09:34Here's Dale Earnhardt in the pits as they try to tape the thing back together.
09:37He drove the hell out of it.
09:39Every race, every lap, every inch.
09:48You talk about post-racing, look at that.
09:51That number two is running really tough out here today.
09:58What people don't realize in that race car, if you take your head and go, that's what it's like.
10:04It's like it drains your fluid in your head and your eyeballs vibrating so bad.
10:10He was comfortable being out of control.
10:14He'd be laid back in the seat, leaning to the side, looking out the side window.
10:20That's how he got comfortable.
10:22Dale Earnhardt jumps on the brakes and barely misses Richard Petty.
10:35But when it all did come together, it's like all of a sudden he's driving his butt off.
10:40He's passing people left and right.
10:43We were having good pit stops.
10:45I mean, everything's got to click.
10:49You know what it is, Dale?
10:51Yeah, it's smoking.
10:53He doesn't know what the problem is, sitting here fuming and waiting for things to get better.
10:59Dale Earnhardt currently leads the Grand National point standings in the chase for the national driving title.
11:06The edge is what you have to find to win NASCAR races.
11:12Do you take that chance and run that car in a little bit deeper that it might not stick?
11:18You have to be able to run every lap on the edge, just flirting the disaster.
11:27Look at that precision driving right to the line.
11:36Earnhardt will win it.
11:39We're into victory lane.
11:41It is absolute ecstasy.
11:43We're into victory lane.
11:45It is absolute ecstasy.
11:47I think he's a little shocked.
11:49I just can't handle it.
11:51This team has really worked hard and it's really coming all together now.
11:55I just can't believe it.
11:57You've got to think, a lot of veteran drivers, they've been doing it for years when we showed up.
12:01And then here comes this kid and he beats them.
12:05Earnhardt will become the first sophomore driver in history to ever win the national championship.
12:11It's a big job just getting by with nine kids and a wife.
12:17But I've been a working man, dang near all my life, and I keep on working.
12:23We all went to the airport and welcomed him home, you know, welcome champion and that kind of thing.
12:32It feels great, I'm telling you, I wasn't expecting this reception here.
12:35I got a lot of people to thank and I reckon I have to thank them all one at a time, there's too many of them.
12:42We all met up at the shop, at Daddy's shop.
12:45Dale Cain brought his trophy.
12:47We all celebrated with some champagne.
12:49Of course all of Kannapolis was excited.
12:52Are you one of their local heroes up there now?
12:54I think so, I got a lot of fans up there.
12:56I drank a little beer that evening, sang a little bit of these working man blues.
13:02I had just been hired by Wrangler.
13:04You know, their marketing campaign was, here comes Wrangler, one tough customer.
13:11They had a model from L.A. coming out here and puts on a fake mustache and pretends he's a cowboy.
13:17It's like, what are we doing?
13:23Here comes Dale, like John Wayne in a race car.
13:27He didn't get any tougher.
13:28Time to go back working, gotta buy my kids a brand new pair of shoes.
13:35It was all built around Dale.
13:37He was our image, he was our point of sales, he was everything.
13:41This song's for the working man.
13:48Not all moments are fast and hectic for this young lion.
13:52Dale enjoys quiet moments, hunting and fishing with his dog Killer.
13:55And he lives here in this three-bedroom split-level home on Lake Norman in North Carolina.
14:01I remember back then, Dad's career is starting to take off.
14:05He just won a championship in 1980.
14:08But during this period, we lived with Mom in a meal house in Kannapolis.
14:14I don't remember regular visits, but there were times when we were living with Mom that we were seeing Dad.
14:24But it was very rare.
14:27My mom worked third shift, and I kind of was like the mother hen, so I would get our lunch together
14:36or get us ready in the morning for school because she would just be coming home from work.
14:40I mean, just really looking after the two of us.
14:44When Dale and Brenda got married, and then I got pregnant with Kelly and Dale Jr. and all that,
14:50family wasn't priority.
14:52Dale was trying to build a career racing, and Brenda was working full-time,
14:58wanting a husband that was helping pay her bills and buy her groceries.
15:02And Dale wasn't doing any of that.
15:05And I think that started breaking them both apart.
15:12I know that racing was number one.
15:15Everything sacrificed to race.
15:18But he ends up getting where he wants to go.
15:22He ends up becoming a Cup Series champion just two years after Mom and him split up.
15:28So in his mind, he was right to sacrifice.
15:32Things are scoring great for us right now.
15:35You know, just bigger and better all the time.
15:39Woke up one morning, Mom's boyfriend, he comes in there, get up, man, we got to get out of here quick.
15:44I put on some incredible Hulk underoos.
15:47We walk out of the bedroom, and I look to the right, and I'll never forget it.
15:51It was like a blanket of fire.
16:00After the fire, I remember them bringing in these two bags of our stuff that this is all we had left.
16:08We had nothing.
16:10We're broke.
16:11And so Mom was like, I can't take care of these kids.
16:14We got nowhere to stay, live.
16:16What am I going to do?
16:18I'm going to go to Norfolk, Virginia, try to get my life back together.
16:22I guess they had a conversation.
16:24Dad said, I can provide for these kids.
16:28And so he's like, I'll take them.
16:33You know, you're leaving your mom to go live with your dad, who you didn't really...
16:37super know that well.
16:40I remember going to a place in Kannapolis.
16:44It was a furniture store.
16:46We got these 18-inch black-and-white televisions, and we each had a stuffed animal.
16:52And I remember the ride to my dad's lake house.
16:55That anxiousness, you know.
17:02Dad put me in the car.
17:04Dad put me in this bedroom.
17:07Kelly was on the end of that hall.
17:09And we're happy.
17:11We're in a good place.
17:14I know he had those regrets when they divorced.
17:17But when the fire happened, and the kids needed a place to live,
17:22I think it kind of gave him the opportunity to give as a father.
17:29Feel it, Tori! I've got it!
17:31Feel it, Tori! I've got it!
17:37That thing is rough, ain't it?
17:39Yeah.
17:46You know, the pressure is on a little bit more this year than what it was last year.
17:52As far as having a sponsor like Wrangler,
17:55and so you feel like you've got to produce, plus being the defending grand champion.
18:01Earnhardt was a meteor.
18:04Straight to the top.
18:06But when you're the best, or you're perceived as the best,
18:12you don't rest on what you just did.
18:14You've got to go prove to everybody you can do it again.
18:20Dale won the championship.
18:23It was demoralizing.
18:25I hated it.
18:27How do you feel about this new crew? New year, new crew?
18:30Well, it's really one of the most exciting things that's ever happened to me in my whole racing career.
18:35To be with Junior Johnson and to have a new sponsor mount and do,
18:39it's like a rebirth for me, and I couldn't be happier.
18:55Dale was the most aggressive driver I've ever raced with.
18:59He was the hardest guy on the racetrack to pass.
19:04And so I prided myself in being unpredictable.
19:11I kind of set you up, figured you out, and then made my pass.
19:16With one lap to go, Walter Mount ran Earnhardt to take the lead
19:19and took the checkered flag a half second ahead of Earnhardt.
19:23Darryl, he understood finesse.
19:26What is your job here today?
19:27Try to relax and just take good care of the car.
19:31Don't do anything foolish. Don't beat myself. That's the main thing.
19:34And Dale didn't have time for finesse.
19:37How do you feel?
19:39Great, man. Ready for it.
19:41He's ready for it. He's always ready. One of the hardest charger young lions in this sport.
19:45He wasn't like Darryl Walter.
19:50You can't pass going into turn three because you get up in the loose stuff going in there
19:54and you go right straight into the wall.
19:55And that's the best philosophy to use at this racetrack. Don't race nobody.
19:59Dale couldn't stand that. It's a race.
20:02It's not get in line and follow until 40 laps to go.
20:06And there's Darryl making a move on Darryl Walter, but he gets through.
20:10He's past him. He's in second place.
20:12And Earnhardt hit the wall and hits it again.
20:15He almost became his own worst enemy at times.
20:19And it was hard to build equipment to stay under him.
20:22We are at Dale Earnhardt's pits and the engine is not running right at the moment.
20:26It looks like he's coming behind the walls.
20:29The sophomore jinx.
20:31It's something all Grand National Rookie of the Year winners are supposed to suffer through in year two.
20:35So what's wrong?
20:37Has a sophomore jinx come to Earnhardt a year late?
20:40Hopefully over the year I can learn to cope with the pressure
20:45and people asking me things at the wrong time.
20:47I just got to learn to save my emotions at the right time, you know.
20:52Darryl Walter up in victory lane for the eighth time this season.
20:58A real rough diamond.
21:00You know, young and excited about racing.
21:04But I really didn't pay attention to the financial things going on around me
21:08until 81 when Austin walked out on the deal and sold it.
21:13The shockwaves are still being felt here at what was the Austin Racing Team.
21:17It was gone, sold lock, stock and barrel as of about nine o'clock this morning.
21:21The asking price, approximately $2 million for Jim Stacy to buy the Rod Austin Racing Team.
21:28All of a sudden the five-year deal I had, or I thought I had with Austin was gone.
21:32And I didn't know what to do.
21:34I didn't know what to do.
21:36I didn't know what to do.
21:38I didn't know what to do.
21:39All of a sudden the five-year deal I had, or I thought I had with Austin was gone.
21:42And I was driving for a guy that, you know, Jim Stacy that told me,
21:46he said, well, you can stay and drive or you can quit.
21:49It really don't matter to me.
21:51And that really, you know, I said, well, this guy really cares a lot about me, so.
21:57Dale was furious.
21:59You know, we just thought we were like a bunch of cattle that just got sold to the next farm, you know.
22:04He just couldn't believe it.
22:05And so, when he decided to leave, we all just up and left.
22:13And that was unheard of.
22:16You've got people begging for rides.
22:19And you say, I'm out. I'm gone. See ya. Bye.
22:24I think everybody took a step back and said, ooh, maybe this kid's not thinking right.
22:29You are the son of another NASCAR driver, Ralph Earnhardt, who was also very famous.
22:34And he was nicknamed Ironheart.
22:36Now, you've kind of inherited that little nickname.
22:39But I understand that some fans call you Ironhead.
22:42Why is that?
22:44I think it's because I'm hard-headed. I don't know.
22:46Your father passed away how long ago?
22:48In 1973.
22:50A heart attack.
22:52He was a 1956 LeMans Sportsman champion.
22:55And I started driving quite a year or so before he died.
23:01And there he goes from Kannapolis, North Carolina, Ralph Earnhardt.
23:05The winner of the Modified Sportsman's 250 here at the Charlotte Motor Speedway.
23:11From what mother has told us, he come home one day and said, Martha, I want to race.
23:18I threatened to leave him when he first started talking about racing.
23:22But then I could see I was going to have to join him or leave him.
23:27He said, I promise you, if I can't feed you and the kids racing, I'll stop.
23:35Ralph won 17 races straight at Hickory.
23:40They put a bounty on him to see if anybody could outrun him.
23:44But they had to wreck him to outrun him.
23:45They never did outrun him.
23:50It was determination. He had to be successful to raise five kids and a family back then.
23:56Out of every race car driver that ever lived, he held no one in esteem like he did his dad.
24:02His dad was his absolute hero.
24:05He must have encouraged you.
24:07Well, not really. He didn't want me to race. He wanted me to do something else.
24:10But he knew it was tough.
24:12Dale didn't really concentrate on school.
24:15His dad tried really hard to get him to finish school, but he wouldn't.
24:19So Ralph wouldn't do anything to help him, you know.
24:23He said, if you want to drive bad enough, you'll go out and get your own ride.
24:27And so Dale did everything his own self.
24:31Ralph was just trying to protect Dale by pushing him away because it's a tough business.
24:38But Dale took that as rejection.
24:41When Daddy died, Dale changed. He really did.
24:48When he first died, I was mad for several years about it.
24:51I just didn't even think about it. I didn't even want to think about it.
24:54But he's still with me all the time.
25:04I'm with Bud Moore, the chief of the Dale Earnhardt car.
25:07Bud, you're a veteran campaigner of many years, but I must say you're looking a little nervous right now.
25:14Here's Earnhardt coming up behind Richmond.
25:17Bud, we've got trouble in segment one.
25:25That's Dale Earnhardt in the Lumberjee's machine, upside down.
25:29As you can see, oil pouring out of the rear of that car.
25:32Safety crews.
25:33Oil pouring out of the rear of that car.
25:36Safety crews on the speedway to see if Earnhardt is okay.
25:44And there's Earnhardt. He's okay.
25:52You know, right after my dad got hurt at Pocono, his girlfriend at the time, Teresa went to see him in the hospital.
25:59And the next thing I know, you know, they're professing their love for each other.
26:04And then we had a wedding in November.
26:07When I first met him, you know, we were just acquaintances and friends because he used to race against my uncle and my dad.
26:16From the time we met, we've been friends.
26:20And then we started dating.
26:22Teresa was there when I didn't have anything.
26:24Teresa was there when I didn't have anything.
26:27And she stayed there and she's been there through the whole thing till we got something.
26:32We were living with them when they had the wedding.
26:35I just remember us being just so excited as kids running around and the excitement to be a part of something grown up, you know.
26:43But, I mean, honestly, I don't really remember a relationship with her prior to that at all.
26:50It was like some new person came in.
26:52I think when Teresa's like, hey, you know, I want to marry this guy.
26:56I want to build this life with him.
26:58Me and Kelly weren't in that life.
27:02And so I can imagine when dad and her sit down and they're like, hey, we're going to take this on.
27:09Probably not exactly what she'd signed up for.
27:13Darryl Waltrip has won a tremendous victory here this afternoon.
27:19I would like to thank the good Lord because he rode with me all day and I'm so proud of this Mountain Dew Buick.
27:25I'd like to thank Goodyear tires because I'm going to tell you one thing, the tires took a punishment today.
27:29And they stood up and they took it and so did our Valvoline oil.
27:32So I just want to say hi to all those folks.
27:33I'd like to thank Goodyear tires because I'm going to tell you one thing, the tires took a punishment today.
27:37And they stood up and they took it and so did our Valvoline oil.
27:40So I just want to say hi to all those folks.
27:43Oh, listen, 81 and 82 were two of my best years ever.
27:47To be dominating is what every owner and what every team strives for.
27:53I think I won 11 or 12 races that year in 81.
27:59In the championship.
28:01Again in 82, I won 10, 11, 12 races in the championship.
28:06It looked like kind of an easier day for you. What kind of race was it for you?
28:10That's the problem with me. I make it look too easy.
28:12We were unbeatable.
28:17After winning the championship last year and again this year, there's a couple of things that a race driver just can't get along without.
28:25Money and money.
28:26And money.
28:28To think about how fortunate everybody in this room is to have the type of sponsors that we have acquired the last few years.
28:35We figured it's about time we gave something back to you.
28:43Darryl was a sponsor's dream, you know, I mean, he knew how to schmooze and he knew how to talk and he knew the game.
28:51Don't ask me anything new. I got all my answers.
28:53I know you do.
28:55Darryl thought he was moving the sport from blue collar to white collar.
28:59And these people were really going to pay attention because I comb my hair when I get out of the car.
29:03And then here comes Earnhardt, and Earnhardt's just a throwback redneck.
29:07We're working on you.
29:09That looks like a man you'd buy a used car from.
29:14Darryl was very conscious of not being overly educated in terms of being articulate, that kind of stuff.
29:21Because he'd always be like, yeah, I don't want to go talk to those guys, you know, they're going to ask me the same dumb shit.
29:27How's the psychological factor of doing so well one year and not doing well at all this season?
29:32Is that pressed on your mind a whole lot?
29:35At that time, Dale was driving for Budmore and Budmore had been around the sport forever.
29:42I mean, he was a legend.
29:44But it just wasn't happening.
29:47Earnhardt slowing just a bit.
29:49You can see some smoke off the back of the car.
29:51Bad break for Earnhardt.
29:53Give him the black flag.
29:55I wonder if he could see it as he came through there.
29:57And he's blowing up engines, he's pushing the limit on things.
30:01You had the black flag for a number of laps because you were leaving smoke.
30:04Did you see that black flag?
30:06Wasn't looking for it, I was looking for the checkers.
30:08For that violation, NASCAR find Dale, $10,000.
30:11He just couldn't stand to be anywhere but in front in a race.
30:16Earnhardt and Waltrip, they're still banging each other out there.
30:20Well, that is hand-to-hand combat.
30:22Let's take off the gloves and go to the middle of the ring.
30:25I mean, he was one tough customer.
30:27I think he bought into that.
30:29And that's how he drove.
30:33And so he's starting to get this reputation of,
30:36well, this guy's a bull in a china closet.
30:39How did he ever win one championship?
30:40I remember the newspaper column about how he was a one-hit wonder.
30:45Dale Earnhardt's critics have called him a flash in the pan.
30:48He was Rookie of the Year in 1979, National Champion in 80,
30:52and then in 1981, he was stock car racing's biggest and most baffling disappointment.
30:57He didn't win a race, and his harshest critics said he might never be a big winner again.
31:04He had started hearing, you know, Wrangler was going to get out,
31:07or move somewhere.
31:09And I know Dale was very concerned about losing the sponsorship.
31:19So I arranged to meet with Dale at Talladega in 83,
31:23and I'll never forget it.
31:26He said, I want to go with Wrangler.
31:29I want Wrangler to stay with me.
31:31I'm going to get this figured out, and I can do this.
31:35Dale and I were hunting buddies.
31:38I remember us dragging an old trailer to our hunting camp.
31:42Six-pack of beer.
31:44We'd lay back there and talk about, you know,
31:47what we were going to do next.
31:49And he'd say, you know,
31:51we're going to do this,
31:53we're going to do this,
31:55we're going to do this,
31:57we're going to do this,
31:59we're going to do this,
32:01we're going to do this,
32:02and we'd lay back there and talk about
32:04the fun we had racing together.
32:07Here's Richard Childress,
32:09one of the major independent drivers on the circuit.
32:12What kind of competitive was he on the track when he was driving?
32:15Well, he was serious.
32:17You know, he sure already wanted to win,
32:19and had all those thoughts and dreams like I do,
32:22of winning and being competitive.
32:24But the money, the equipment,
32:26you know, sort of held him back in ways.
32:30We were not doing well.
32:32Independent teams and racers
32:34were really, really struggling at that point
32:37because there were more and more big teams.
32:40You know, most of the guys that drove
32:42that were independents like Richard Childress,
32:44they would run the tires that the good teams were taking off
32:47just to try to save money.
32:49That's the way I had to operate.
32:51When they'd drop that green,
32:53all them four or five good teams
32:55that had new tires, they were gone.
32:57We were back there sliding and holding on for life.
33:03I could see if I didn't do something,
33:06I was going to be out of business.
33:09Dale and Richard had come up the same way, really,
33:12from nothing, building their own cars,
33:14scraping together whatever they could
33:16to race any little track.
33:18I knew his dad.
33:20I raced against Ralph way back when
33:22at Concord and dirt tracks.
33:25Ralph Earnhardt was a legend on his own time.
33:28He was the guy you had to beat
33:30when you went to the racetrack.
33:32That's what he wanted to be.
33:34I want to be the guy like my dad.
33:36When I pull in the racetrack,
33:38you know you got to beat me.
33:41He knew where he came from.
33:45And he knew he didn't want to go back there,
33:47just like me.
33:49And we talked about
33:51what we felt we could do together,
33:53and that was go out and win a championship.
34:00I'd like to say the rest of it's history.
34:03And now the President of the United States...
34:16Ladies and gentlemen,
34:18the starting grid for the 1984 Daytona 500.
34:23We saw ourselves as a little small,
34:25like engine that could kind of team
34:28versus all the mega guys.
34:29I'm in the Goodyear Tower
34:31where the President of the Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company
34:33has his corporate guests
34:35and business customers.
34:37Lovely ladies are here.
34:39We've just had some great food,
34:41a catered luncheon.
34:43Ozzy Olsen, Roger Penske,
34:45and other people are here
34:47looking at the competition on the track.
34:49It's really the great way
34:51to see the Daytona 500.
34:53And here comes Terry Levati for the lead.
34:56Earnhardt's there too.
34:57Dale Earnhardt we've rather ignored,
34:59but he has, in fact,
35:01been in that lead group the whole time.
35:03Let's go to that judge.
35:05We're standing by with Richard Childress,
35:07a former driver himself.
35:09Now the owner of the car, Dale Earnhardt,
35:11is running in third place.
35:13We didn't have the number of employees
35:15these other teams had,
35:17so I had to get people that were versatile
35:19to win races.
35:21I was the underneath guy.
35:23If we're changing the engine,
35:25I'm under the car
35:27because I was also the gas guy.
35:30It's pretty simple.
35:32The least amount of time
35:34you spend on pit road
35:36is the further up the racetrack
35:38you're going to be.
35:40Dale Earnhardt's crew
35:42have been working extremely well today.
35:44He's made some very, very good pit stops.
35:46We're Richard Childress' crew.
35:48Their whole persona,
35:50the guys that were on the crew,
35:52Kirk and Will and Chocolate
35:54and all those guys,
35:55they just fit so well
35:57with who Dale was.
35:59You know, we just needed
36:01something to put up there,
36:03so we stuck it up there.
36:05Then we got a taxidermist friend
36:07at home.
36:09He fixed the back part up for us.
36:12Everybody has their family,
36:14and they have their racing family.
36:16Y'all ready back here?
36:18Ready.
36:20Waddell!
36:22Waddell!
36:23I'm telling you,
36:25we've spent more time
36:27with our racing family
36:29than we did our family.
36:31February the 8th!
36:33Get going!
36:35Down, boy, down!
36:37If you wanted to work on a race car,
36:39you had to be totally devoted to it.
36:41We'd work right up to the time
36:43the truck was loaded
36:45and get in the van
36:47and drive to the racetrack.
36:49Rinse and repeat every week.
36:54Get back Sunday night
36:56and get up to crack of dawn
36:58Monday morning
37:00and start all over again.
37:02There were a damn few racers
37:04that had that same passion.
37:06They might last a few months
37:08or maybe a year or two,
37:10and they just couldn't take it
37:12and they'd quit
37:14because they didn't have that bug.
37:16A lot of the folks
37:18that were part of that team
37:20had never been to Victory Lane before.
37:22♪♪
37:26Crew's done their job.
37:28It's all up to the driver.
37:30Terry Levante in front.
37:32Bernhard is there in second.
37:34♪♪
37:39Bernhard closes ground.
37:41He's going to try the high side.
37:43They are side by side
37:45coming through the fourth turn.
37:47Back in front goes Bernhard.
37:49The Cheshire flag belongs today
37:51to the Richard Childress crew.
37:53♪♪
37:56Dan Bernhard's plowed
37:58on pit road aesthetic.
38:00♪♪
38:06We only won one race,
38:08but we couldn't kind of believe it.
38:10Like, damn, we're good now.
38:12We're okay.
38:13We're okay.
38:15♪♪
38:24You know, this crew's just doing better
38:26and better all the time,
38:28getting stronger and stronger,
38:30and I think next year will be our year.
38:32Kids and family stay healthy.
38:34Everything will be all right.
38:36Tell me about your daughter Kelly
38:38and Dale Jr.
38:40I know they're a big part of your life.
38:41Teresa, my wife,
38:43has really done a good job with them.
38:45They all get along good.
38:47It's just an ideal situation.
38:49♪♪
38:53When my dad married Teresa,
38:55life at our house
38:57just got a lot stricter
38:59and, you know,
39:01just all these different rules
39:03that we had to abide by
39:05and things like that.
39:07Looks like he's going to,
39:09and he is, lifts him high to the air
39:11and he does!
39:13I was hyper like any kid.
39:16Loved watching wrestling
39:18on Saturday morning,
39:20and, man, I had this big pillow.
39:22It was kind of like
39:24one of them chair pillows
39:26that had arms.
39:28Corduroy.
39:30I would take that thing
39:32and body slam it,
39:34and I wrestled in the floor
39:36every Saturday morning.
39:38And Teresa would say,
39:39don't watch wrestling.
39:41It makes you too hyper.
39:43And I'm like, shit.
39:45And I was mad because dad wasn't there.
39:47And in my mind,
39:49if he was here,
39:51he would frickin' be on my side.
39:53Teresa, what's it like
39:55being married to a race car driver?
39:57Hectic.
39:59Do you travel with him?
40:01Yes, I try to go everywhere
40:03that I can.
40:05When dad went out of town
40:07to a race with Teresa,
40:09I missed mom terribly.
40:11So Kelly and I
40:14latched on to each other
40:16in this time.
40:18You know, she was always
40:20looking out for me,
40:22making sure that I had lunch money
40:24or if she heard an argument
40:27coming in the room
40:29after everything had settled down,
40:31are you okay?
40:33I mean, he and I,
40:35mainly me, looked out for him,
40:37but he was my support person.
40:39Because we didn't really have
40:41that safe, secure person
40:43in our house.
40:46On this Father's Day,
40:48we are at Michigan
40:50International Speedway.
40:52More people are in attendance
40:54at this two-mile oval
40:56than ever.
40:58Are you a good dad?
41:00Try to be.
41:02It's a tough job.
41:04It's a tough job.
41:06All I think the best you can do
41:07is make the right way,
41:09and if they make it, they make it.
41:11I mean, that's the way I was done.
41:13One thing that I know about Dale
41:15more than anything else,
41:17he was starved
41:19for Ralph Earnhardt's approval.
41:21He maybe wanted a relationship
41:23daddy wasn't capable of giving,
41:25you know,
41:27for Christmas one year.
41:29Dale got a model motor.
41:31It come in pieces,
41:33and Dale put it together
41:35by himself.
41:37And when my daddy looked at it,
41:39he said,
41:41well, wasn't that supposed
41:43to be on this side?
41:45And walked out of the room.
41:48He never said,
41:50good job, boy, nothing.
42:0484 and 85, both,
42:05we had these like flashes
42:07of brilliance,
42:09but making it consistent,
42:11we still had a lot of work to do
42:13on that part of it.
42:15Dale Earnhardt now is
42:17without power steering,
42:19so the car is awfully hard to drive.
42:21My arms kept going to sleep
42:23from, you know, tugging on it
42:25all the time.
42:27You know, we didn't have
42:29as good a car as he needed.
42:31And if you had
42:33three or four bad races,
42:35you'd be fucked for the year.
42:38I remember when I told Dale,
42:40I said, man,
42:42you don't need to be driving here.
42:44You're a champion,
42:46you have a lot of championships in you.
42:48And I will forget him
42:50looking over at me and said,
42:52we started it together,
42:54we're going to finish it together.
42:56We know he's unbelievable,
42:58he's like this superman,
43:00but you can't hamstring him
43:02with shit with a car.
43:03Everything that you build,
43:05suspension stuff,
43:07body, work,
43:09even things with the engine,
43:11you tailor it to
43:13what he thinks he needs.
43:15There's a half a dozen
43:17or maybe 10 great,
43:19well-financed cars.
43:21You're not going to be
43:23way faster than everybody else
43:25in a straightaway.
43:27The cars slow down in the corners.
43:29And you're in the corners
43:31more than half the lap.
43:33It's like you're trying
43:35to control the thing.
43:37What if we can go 160?
43:39That's where you're going
43:41to pass him.
43:43Dale's the guy that wants
43:45to drive the corners
43:47as fast as a straightaway
43:49if he doesn't slow down.
43:51So let's give it to him.
43:53Nobody was thinking like that.
43:55Dale Earnhardt,
43:57not running as fast
43:59as Darrell Waltrip,
44:01but he's been able to hold back
44:03by saying,
44:04this is tremendous.
44:06But anything that had
44:08a long straightaway,
44:10we'd blow the engine on.
44:12I think we blew 11 engines.
44:14We pulled the pan off,
44:16spent all night
44:18trying to find out
44:20what was happening.
44:22We didn't have a handle
44:24on some things yet,
44:26but Dale believed
44:28we could get there.
44:30Waltrip jumps right
44:31in, makes a big touch twice,
44:33and Waltrip's in the grass.
44:35Johnny, you called it.
44:37Earnhardt will do
44:39what he has to do.
44:44It was an up and down year
44:46for Dale Earnhardt
44:48and the Richard Childress
44:50Wrangler team.
44:51For finishing 8th
44:53in the Winston Cup
44:55point standings,
44:57I'd like to present Dale
44:59with a check for $40,087.
45:01That's all I get.
45:03We had a lot of problems
45:05this year with engines,
45:07but next year I'd like
45:09to be set up where old Darryl is.
45:11I think it'll be alright then.
45:15In a strange way,
45:17Darryl brought out
45:19the worst in Dale.
45:26Dale Earnhardt,
45:28they call him the street fighter.
45:29He won this race last year.
45:31Can you do it again?
45:33Well, we feel confident we can.
45:35The car's running real good.
45:37We're starting from 10th,
45:39but I think we can get up
45:41to the front.
45:43Short tracks are...
45:45that's a driver's track.
45:54That's where you get up
45:56on that wheel and you drive
45:57and this is a track
45:59that can just chew you alive.
46:01As they go into turn number 3,
46:03they're the leaders
46:05and directly behind them,
46:073 cars spinning into the wall.
46:095, 6, 7, 8 automobiles
46:11have tangled up.
46:13This may be the race
46:15that nobody wins.
46:17On to pit road
46:19goes Darryl Walch at number 11.
46:21A lap down.
46:23Earnhardt down the front
46:25leaning out the window
46:27at the rear of the field.
46:29He's going to start up front
46:31if it kills him.
46:33And here comes Earnhardt
46:35looking on the inside.
46:37He slams it down to the bottom
46:39and Earnhardt pulls up
46:41another spot.
46:43Earnhardt in the grass
46:45and he wants five.
46:47Crowd's up and excited
46:49about this one.
46:51Earnhardt tries the inside.
46:53Earnhardt's in first.
46:55Waldrop has made up his lap.
46:58Junior was on my case
47:00from the very beginning of that run.
47:02You've got to get by Dale.
47:04You've got to get by Dale.
47:06Five laps to go.
47:08I was just trying to get by him.
47:10I just wanted to get by him.
47:12That's all I wanted to do.
47:14This is what it's all about.
47:16Trying to win the race.
47:18You've got a faster car
47:20but the guy in front of you
47:22ain't letting you go by.
47:24Darryl Waldrop,
47:25I'm pushing him a little bit,
47:27he's pushing me a little bit
47:29and Junior's on the radio.
47:31Go, DW, go.
47:33Waldrop moves in.
47:35Down to the inside.
47:37Side by side.
47:39I get alongside of him
47:41and I got him.
47:43I got him.
47:45Oh!
47:47Oh, no!
47:49Caution is on the racetrack.
47:52Checkered flag will come down
47:54and I think Kyle Petty has won it
47:56but we want to look again
47:58at exactly what happened up here
48:00in turn number three.
48:05Dale Earnhardt,
48:07what was your view
48:09on what happened in that accident?
48:11Just hung up with old Darryl.
48:13We got in a wall.
48:15Who do you feel hit who
48:16between you and Darryl?
48:18I'm just racing.
48:20Darryl's got to race week to week.
48:22There ain't nothing to it.
48:29I've never had anybody
48:31do anything like that to me.
48:33This is the all-time best.
48:35What about this makes you the maddest?
48:37That it's been going on
48:39as long as it has.
48:41All of last year,
48:43now it's started off
48:44and I'm in the grandstand
48:46surprised about what happened.
48:48Well, who hit who anyway?
48:50To me,
48:52Earnhardt definitely put Walker
48:54up in the wall
48:56and ruined the whole finish
48:58of the race, I think.
49:00I don't know any other way
49:02to put it.
49:04He was a better driver than that.
49:06Darryl should have won the race.
49:08I mean, he had his feet.
49:10Dale just flat out wrecked him.
49:12But we didn't care
49:14because we were 100%
49:16on board with Earnhardt
49:18and whatever he did.
49:20I'm numb.
49:22I don't know what to say.
49:24It's supposed to be
49:26a family kind of a thing.
49:28You think they should be fine?
49:30Well, I think somebody
49:32should get something out of Dale
49:34because look at all the mess
49:36they made.
49:38Richard comes to my house
49:40the day after the race
49:42and was all worried about,
49:44what does this Wrangler
49:46want us to do?
49:48And I was like,
49:50do it again?
49:56And we have a crash.
49:58It's Richard Petty
50:00on the main straightaway.
50:02Petty bangs the wall.
50:04What happened out there?
50:06Anytime you get close to racing
50:08with Earnhardt,
50:10you're in trouble.
50:12And I wasn't smart enough
50:14to think about that.
50:16Two laps to go.
50:18It's a sprint race,
50:20Earnhardt and Waltrip.
50:22He looks inside.
50:24Waltrip is sideways.
50:26Unbelievable.
50:28Dale Earnhardt is on the lead
50:30and accepts the checkered flag
50:32and wins the TransSouth 500.
50:35Dale Earnhardt has won
50:37his second consecutive
50:39women's cup race.
50:41This year it has developed
50:42to a point in the season
50:44each of the drivers has learned
50:46to play his particular role.
50:48For example,
50:50Darrell Waltrip,
50:52current national champion.
50:54You're leading the points
50:56and I believe that it's consistency
50:58that you want to go for.
51:00Well, we want to finish
51:02all the races.
51:04If you do that,
51:06then you'll win the championship.
51:08Or how about Dale Earnhardt?
51:10He's the tough guy,
51:12he tries to cut you off.
51:14He tries to do what he can
51:16to keep you back there.
51:18You stand your ground.
51:20Kyle Petty has spun up
51:22in turn number three.
51:24Kyle, this is Bob Jenkins
51:26up in the booth.
51:28What happened up there?
51:30Earnhardt knocked the track
51:32out of me in the rear
51:34and spun me going in three.
51:36I don't know what he thinks
51:38this is.
51:40I don't think it was
51:42a good idea.
51:44He's won number three
51:46this season.
51:48He looks a sure bet
51:50to win a mid-season
51:52$150,000 bonus
51:54from Winston for leading
51:56the points standings.
51:58So in 86,
52:00everything's in pretty
52:02fucking good shape.
52:04I'm not sure,
52:06but damn,
52:08we're running good.
52:10It seemed like our formula,
52:12but it wasn't.
52:14I'm off the fourth corner,
52:16it's Darryl Waltrip.
52:18Darryl Waltrip,
52:20so important.
52:23I know all along
52:25there's only going to be
52:27two cars chasing them
52:29points at the end of the year.
52:31And smoke.
52:33It's Dale Earnhardt
52:35and he's losing control.
52:37Remember that,
52:39he is the leader
52:40I don't know how many races
52:42we won in 86,
52:44we had twice that many won
52:46and something happened.
52:48Waltrip and Earnhardt,
52:50the two main contenders
52:52for the national championship.
52:54Travel out of turn two
52:56and Earnhardt tagged the wall,
52:58loops it around,
53:00tagged it again with the rear
53:02of the car already missing
53:04the right front fender.
53:06Now let's break out
53:08the sledgehammer time
53:11Can it be happening again?
53:14Is Darryl Waltrip
53:16making yet another
53:18late season patented
53:20charge to late,
53:22the Winston Cup championship?
53:24It was a hard race.
53:26My car ran great,
53:28thanks to Budweiser
53:30and Goodyear and Valvoline
53:32and Kentucky Fried Chicken
53:34and the Lord.
53:36Hey, what about the run
53:38for the Winston Cup?
53:40Let's get a few more runs
53:42in like tonight
53:44and we may just have him.
53:46It could all end here
53:48this afternoon
53:50as far as the Winston Cup
53:52is concerned.
53:54You're looking live
53:56at Dale Earnhardt,
53:58his quest,
54:00the Winston Cup championship.
54:02There's only one man
54:04that can keep him from that,
54:06that's Darryl Waltrip.
54:08I think things are
54:10looking good.
54:12I got a good feeling.
54:14I've had them before
54:16and most of the time,
54:18I'm right.
54:20Back out onto the racetrack,
54:22Darryl Waltrip.
54:24And now Darryl Waltrip
54:26is in trouble.
54:28A big puff of smoke
54:30from that car.
54:32He's pulling directly
54:34into the pit area.
54:36This could be the season
54:38for Waltrip right here.
54:40This is the season.
54:42We all wanted it for him
54:44but we knew
54:46that we had to finish
54:48that race to win.
54:50Dale Earnhardt from
54:52Kanapolis, North Carolina.
54:5434 years of age.
54:56His father, Ralph,
54:58was one of the most feared
55:00dirt track drivers
55:02in the very early days
55:04of NASCAR racing.
55:06I think that every time
55:08he was in that race car,
55:10I think he cared about
55:12what that ghost thought.
55:16I think Dale would have
55:18given everything he had
55:20just for his dad
55:22to come back, put his arm around
55:24and say, boy, I'm proud of you.
55:26I love you, Dale Earnhardt.
55:28Earnhardt is getting ready to lap.
55:30Richard Petty, the king.
55:32Richard moves down
55:34to protect his position.
55:36He's trying to hold on
55:38as long as he possibly can.
55:41He was chasing a ghost.
55:44Dale Earnhardt is on the backstretch.
55:46He won rookie of the year
55:48in 1979.
55:50He came back the next year
55:52and won the Winston Cup in 1980.
55:54And now, Dale Earnhardt
55:56wins the Atlanta Journal 500
55:58and wins the Winston Cup
56:00for the second time in his career.
56:02Dale Earnhardt is champion.
56:08No way we fucking did that.
56:10What?
56:19Welcome to Victory Lane, champion.
56:21Feels good, don't it?
56:23I'll tell you what.
56:25Somehow you can feel the presence
56:27of the late Ralph Earnhardt
56:29here in Victory Lane.
56:31He's been with me all year, Jackie.
56:33That's the reason I've been winning
56:35and running so good this year.
56:37You like to say hi to the kids
56:38because they've worked so hard.
56:40We're coming home tonight.
56:42We want to win that championship
56:44really for Richard Childers
56:46and his team.
56:48They've worked awful hard.
56:50It's nice to win it for Dale Earnhardt,
56:52but it's great to win it for that team.
56:57I could have won this race
56:59and I might have could have won
57:01this championship,
57:03but we'll never know.
57:05You never think it's you.
57:06You think you're good enough.
57:08Team's not good enough.
57:10Motors aren't good enough.
57:12You never look at yourself
57:14in the mirror and say,
57:16it might be you.
57:18What I always wanted
57:20when I came into this sport
57:22was to be on Madison Avenue,
57:24Wall Street, all those places
57:26that all of us would like to be.
57:28And I think NASCAR is there now.
57:30I think I've helped a little bit.
57:32Darryl had his years.
57:34Will go down as one of the greatest
57:37but he wasn't Dale Earnhardt.
57:43Ladies and gentlemen, again,
57:45the 1986 Winston Cup champion,
57:47Mr. Dale Earnhardt.
57:55If you would, Dale,
57:57we'll ask you to step over
57:59to the other podium.
58:01Darryl left his shopping bag
58:03and I think they're about to
58:05You know, I have a deep,
58:07deep concern for where
58:09our sport is headed.
58:11Dale's reputation,
58:13no matter what Dale Earnhardt
58:15does or doesn't do,
58:17his reputation and what he's
58:19done in the past is going to
58:21make him guilty of whatever
58:23crime or whatever incident
58:25he's involved in.
58:31Dale learned the value
58:32of becoming Dale.
58:37But none of us had any idea
58:39that it would blow up
58:41into what it did.
59:02Here's a look.
59:32You.