Submitted by NASCAR Eclectic

“Dale” the movie premiered last night on CMT. The production is a work of art and class with the focus being on the positive growth of Dale coming up the ranks as a driver and what he did for NASCAR and the fan base. The movie had me mesmerized, yet I kept expecting to see parts of the turbulence that surrounded the Earnhardt family. All of that was left out. There was nothing about the distant relationship between father and son’s or the big whip Dale Sr. carried that drove a wedge between he and the young Earnhardt’s. That’s another story I suppose, but in my mind it is all part of his legacy. I learned some things I had not known, the biggest being the incredibly close relationship he and Richard Childress had and the influence D.W. had on the young Dale. I also have a new found respect for Teresa. This woman stuck by her man, a man that undoubtedly drove her to the brink of insanity, yet she remained his constant companion and business partner. I have a better understanding as to why his estate was left to her and why she maintains her steadfastness in the running of DEI. If it wasn’t for her DEI would not be. So many Jr. fans feel that Dale would want Jr. to own DEI, but I feel the opposite after watching the movie. DEI is where it belongs and there is no one better qualified or more deserving of it than Mrs. Dale Earnhardt.

If you missed last night’s airing, it will be re-broadcast tonight.