Brian Cleary|Getty ImagesYou know how it’s going to end. Everyone knows the Dale Earnhardt Sr. story. Son of an old-school stock car racer drops out of high school to pursue his own racing career, becomes famous for an aggressive and fearless driving style along with an unapologetic tough-guy persona, wins 76 races and seven championships, and dies in what had seemed like a minor wreck at Daytona in 2001, becoming a sort of NASCAR saint in the religion of racing. Even folks who have never seen a NASCAR race in their lives and those born a decade after his death have some awareness of the Intimidator, the Number 3, the Man in Black. But just because he’s a well-known cultural figure doesn’t mean there’s not more to learn about NASCAR’s villain turned tragic hero. Earnhardt, a four-part documentary series now streaming on Amazon Prime, takes a look at Dale Sr. through archival clips and contemporary interviews with his rivals and family (occasionally, we find, those two categories overlap). The series starts at the cusp of Earnhardt’s success, but it interweaves backstory about his childhood and personal life with the scenes of his early Cup wins and challenging losing streaks. View full post on YouTubeThat Earnhardt was a rebel on the track will be no surprise to anyone with even a smidge of stock car interest. That he may have hyped up that persona to cover insecurity about his lack of education and fear of public speaking adds dimension to his bump-and-pass racing techniques. Director Joshua Altman tracked down clips of press conferences and behind-the-scenes footage of marketing campaigns, as well as home videos that show the Intimidator in a slightly softer light than we’ve seen him in the past. “NASCAR was extremely helpful,” said Altman when we asked him about sourcing material for the documentary. He told us that NASCAR opened its archives, and there was almost too much to work with. “They had 15 petabytes,” he said. “I was like, ‘We don’t even know what a petabyte is.'” All that footage added weeks, if not months, of research, but it allowed Altman’s team to find segments that hadn’t been used in previous Earnhardt documentaries.In this series, Earnhardt Sr. is more approachable than we may have seen him in the past. But while sympathetic, Earnhardt still takes jabs at the main character. Interviews with fellow racer Darrell Waltrip in particular act as a foil to some of the more lionizing views we’ve seen of Dale. Waltrip is like a gleeful mean girl, pointing out Earnhardt’s flaws while still admitting to some affection for the man. Altman says Waltrip proved invaluable in tying the episodes together. “Once we sat down with him, editor Billy McMillin dove deep into the history of the two of them throughout all the years, what sparked the animosity between them later on, all the little sort of jibes between them. Darrell was very honest in terms of calling Dale out on the bullshit, as he saw it.”David Taylor|Getty ImagesWhile the racing segments of the documentary are interesting, and in several cases, heartbreaking (the Neil Bonnett segment had us in tears), it’s really the interviews with Earnhardt’s children, Dale Jr., Kelly, and Kerry, that make Earnhardt more than just another collection of NASCAR clips. It’s a story of fatherhood, of generational traumas and emotional blocks that will resonate with anyone who has struggled to find connection with or support from a parental figure. Earnhardt Jr. faced an assumption that he was getting advice from one of the best in the biz, but in reality he was just as in awe of his untouchable father as anyone else in NASCAR. George Tiedemann|Getty ImagesRacingOne|Getty ImagesIn the background, daughter Kelly and son Kerry were torn between wanting independence and hoping for a moment of their father’s approval for their own successes. Add in a frigid relationship with stepmother Teresa Earnhardt, who was both the foundation for Sr’s financial and media success and a major stumbling block in his relationship with his children, and you have a story that’s about much more than going fast in a circle. Motorsport Images-LATHardcore racers might have hoped for a few more clips that showcase exactly how spectacular Dale Sr. was in competition (the series tends to focus more on his aggressive bumps than his clean passes), but anyone with interest in the man behind the merchandise will find watching Earnhardt to be time well spent. Raise hell, praise Dale, and try to connect emotionally with your children.From the C/D Archive
- Brock Yates Eulogizes Dale Earnhardt, 1951–2001
- From 2002: NASCAR B.C. (before crash) and A.D. (after Dale)
Source: caranddriver.com
