Original subtitles

[soft electronic music]

[indistinct chatter, cheering]

[engine revs]

[crowd cheers]

[commentator] And now, watch this final descent very closely.

[man] When I think about Sunday races,

every week,

you're with your friends on the road,

your wife's with you.

They put you in a car, they strap you in,

you put your helmet on.

There's no guarantee that you're gonna come back

at the end of the day.

[crowd cheering]

You think you will...

- [engine starts] - ...hope you will...

you pray you will.

But you leave pit road,

and you look back and see your wife waving goodbye.

You don't know if you'll ever see her again or not.

[tires screech]

[man 2] Lot of drivers are getting hurt.

Lot of 'em are getting killed.

I mean, it had to hit you at some point.

But we don't talk about it.

Guys don't talk about emotional shit.

You put that stuff out of your mind.

You have to.

[ESPN reporter] There is an official competition

to determine the most popular driver in NASCAR,

and it comes complete with ballots and voting and all the rest of it.

But we here at ESPN decided to conduct an unofficial contest.

Who's the best driver in NASCAR?

- Dale Earnhardt. - Dale Earnhardt.

- Dale Earnhardt. - Richard Petty.

Dale Earnhardt is.

- Some people say he's a dirty driver. - No, no.

[chuckles]

A lot of people think he cheats, but he doesn't.

He's just very aggressive.

I don't like him.

[reporter] Who are you pulling for in today's race?

Anybody but Dale Earnhardt.

I agree, anybody but Dale.

[interviewer] Let's turn now to the image of this team.

With the success that you've had, it's somewhat inevitable

that people will take potshots at you.

A lot of people view Richard Childress racing

and Dale Earnhardt as the bad guys, the black hats of racing.

How do you view that?

I love the shit out of it.

[chuckles]

We don't want to be the bad guys,

but if that's the image people want to put on us,

and we can still race and keep sponsors and stuff, hell...

["Gimme Back My Bullets" by Lynyrd Skynyrd]

[commentator] He's won four straight races this season,

six out of the eight.

But he's drawn criticism for the way he's gone about it.

[interviewer] You're the bad boy on the circuit.

Is that something you're comfortable with?

Well, that's what a lot of talk is, that I'm the bad boy on the circuit, but...

I think it's because we win so much.

[David Allen] He put the life into that sport.

♪ Gonna walk all over you ♪

♪ Gimme back my bullets... ♪

[David] People were tuning in every week.

Well, let's see what old Ironhead does today.

♪ Sweet talkin' people ♪

[commentator] Elliot trying to slide underneath him, and Dale won't buy it.

Elliot now, right in behind Earnhardt.

Earnhardt loses it, goes on the grass, comes back,

and Earnhardt's still got the lead! Incredible. Decent driving by Earnhardt.

♪ Ain't foolin' around 'Cause I done had my fun ♪

Elliot's something else. You know, Bill come up there

and tried to spin me out twice. I didn't take it.

I think he's a little upset.

[Bill Elliott] You know, the thing of it is,

I have been not the aggressive driver all my life.

You know, I try to give and take with the best of things.

But when a guy cuts you off that bad and that obvious,

that ain't the way I was brought up racing.

[interviewer] How did he respond to the criticisms

of rough riding this season?

What can he say?

It's opinion. And everyone has an opinion.

[Kirk Shelmerdine] Dale had one comment to cover all those things.

Maybe they're right. I don't know. Fuck 'em.

[commentator] Bodine in the five. He gets trapped on a slow car.

Earnhardt just drives around it.

[commentator 2] He goes through the dirt.

[Darrell Waltrip] You knew if you were in contention

that he would probably wreck you.

But every driver had to go through that experience.

You know, one week, it might be Bill Elliott,

the next week it might be Geoff Bodine.

I guess the tactics are if you can't pass, you just knock the guy out.

That's an Earnhardt move. And if they don't do something about it...

Crazy when you end up in a war out there.

[man] Dale had no friends on the racetrack.

Everybody else was an enemy.

Except Neil Bonnett.

[commentator] Here he comes. Back straightaway.

Bonnett on the inside, Earnhardt on the outside.

Wheel to wheel at 190 miles an hour.

[Neil Bonnett] They talk about Dale,

how aggressive he is on the racetrack. I like him.

Our fans come to see door handle to door handle, fender to fender,

beatin' and bangin' and pushin' and shovin'.

That's our brand of racing.

[Dale] It's hard to have a friendship in racing.

Neil and I have always got along.

I think because Neil and I are a lot alike.

What drives us is racing, the competitive side of it and everything.

That we can leave racing to where it's at

and go off hunting or fishing and enjoy being together.

Have you been fishing in this lake before?

Yeah, why?

- You know where the fish is at? - Where are they?

I don't know. Do you?

You better move.

I got the idea. [chuckles]

[reporter] In the late '70s and early '80s,

no one was tougher to beat on the racetrack than Neil Bonnett.

Eighteen checkered flags, including back-to-back wins

in the World 600 in '82 and '83.

I always felt like I should run my car as hard as it would run.

I ran cars in the ground, and I stuck 'em in fences

and I put 'em in little holes they didn't need to go to.

And I paid the price.

[commentator] Benny Parsons spins to the infield.

And Neil Bonnett's car goes up on its left side.

Neil Bonnett collapses beside his car, prone on the ground,

and the safety crews have been dispatched.

[interviewer] Everybody must think about the dangers of the sport.

You've been in a couple accidents yourself.

[Dale] Well, that's a factor.

But I'd rather be running hard and be up front,

racing the issue like that than just sort of just playing it easy.

You know, you put it in places some people wouldn't go

or some people hesitate, then try to be the one to beat.

[commentator] Needling his way through comes Dale Earnhardt.

He's going to win it.

It's a great day for it. I can't believe I won this race like that.

I just can't believe it.

[commentator] The scene for 1987 has been Dale Earnhardt

leading in points and dominating the season.

I look back at what we were able to accomplish in 1987,

and I just don't think anybody can do that anymore.

[crowd cheering]

We won 12 races. We lapped the field.

There's not many drivers who have come to this sport who have had an era.

And for Dale, that third championship

was a real sign that he was the man.

[reporter] Dale, you look at other professional sports

and see how hard it is for anyone to repeat as champion,

yet you did it easily this season.

Compare for us your first national championship,

your second championship, and now your third.

They just keep getting better. Just keep getting sweeter.

[interviewer] If your dad was here,

what do you think he'd say about your career so far?

[Dale] I think he would be proud of my career.

I think he'd probably kick my butt for doing a lot of things I did

getting to where I am, sacrificing at times with family.

Go back out and let Uncle Phil back in.

[Kerry Earnhardt] Growing up, I'd play ball

not far from here, in Jackson Park.

I don't remember how old I was, I was young,

'cause I was light-headed, like snow white.

- [cheering] - [coach] Go, go, go!

[Kerry] I always seen this woman with two girls

all the time at the baseball game.

They was always watching me and following me around.

One day, I remember her coming to me and saying, Kerry Dale?

I said, yes.

She goes, I'm your Mamaw Earnhardt, and this is your cousins.

You know, I didn't know how to take it.

[Cathy Earnhardt] Latane was Kerry's mama.

Her and Dale had met in school...

then they were married, and they had Kerry.

Dale was a young man. Seventeen, eighteen.

She wanted him to stay at home with the baby.

She was not happy that he wanted to be a mechanic and a race car driver.

I know she moved out while he was a work one day.

[Kerry] You know, she met someone and they got married,

and he adopted me when I was 3 years old.

You know, that's who I knew was my family was my dad Jack and my mom Latane.

'Cause I didn't know anything about Dale being my dad.

After I met Mamaw,

my mom, she went to explain how everything went down.

Whenever I turned 16, I got my license and went straight to Mamaw's home.

'Cause that's where Dale was at, always working on his race car.

I hear him laughing and tools clanging.

I remember walking in the door, and it just got quiet.

And Dad was in the back corner

and had a machine, lathe, he was working on.

He looked up, and he's like, Well, hey, son, how you?

Cut the lathe off and says, C'mon, let's go riding.

So, we went and jumped in his truck and rode around town.

Talked about how my life was growing up.

Thinking about me and wondering how I been and what I been doing.

He invited me to the house.

I remember pulling in the driveway

and Dale Jr.'s throwing a football in the front yard. He was like, oh, hey.

- This is Kerry Dale's best friend. - [kids laugh]

I met Kerry. He lives with another family.

He's adopted by that family. I don't really understand the mechanics.

But I'm like, oh, cool, Kerry. But Kelley,

she was like, Kerry, sit on the couch with me.

Tell me everything about you.

He just sort of fit right in because his mannerisms

and his looks and things like that were exactly my dad.

[Kerry] Back then, I didn't realize Dale was traveling all the time

and not being at home. 'Cause that was his life, was racing.

Welcome to my office. I'm glad y'all could be here.

This is where I work every day.

[Kerry] Fortunately, I didn't miss growing up without a father

'cause Jack was there raising me and doing all the father things with me.

[light orchestral music]

[Dale Jr.] The funny thing about being his son was...

like, I knew him as this dad...

and then, I also knew him as this almost fictional character,

a superhero.

I had taped in my school locker...

I had a series of photographs of Dad's flip

at Pocono in 1982 driving Bud Moore's car.

I would open my locker and see that and go,

My dad's a badass, and I'm his son.

But him and I didn't connect mentally.

He was this tough, ornery, hardworking,

dirt-under-his-fingernails, could-do-anything guy.

And I was tiny, short and shy and quiet.

Like, I wasn't making any sense to him. [chuckles]

[David Allen] He was really hard on Junior.

Mainly because Junior probably screwed off and acted out more

just, I think, to get his attention.

- [Dale Jr.] Hey, Dad. - How you doin', Dale?

- [Kelley] Wee! - [Dale Jr.] Do something stupid, Kelley.

Whoo! Turn that thing off there, Junior.

[Tony] Me and Dale Jr., we grew up three miles down the road.

We would be hanging out together on Christmas Eve,

and we'd all get to see each other.

I think we both kinda wanted the same thing.

You know, we were looking for that attention you could get from your dad.

Anything, if it was good, bad, didn't matter.

Just get the attention.

Dale, get the Pop Tart out of the way.

[woman] Put the Pop Tart down.

[woman 2] It wasn't the Pop Tart that was the problem.

Do that again, I'm gonna wear you out.

[Kelley] I just remember it being about not following directions,

and not making the grades that you needed to make.

[woman 2] Dale, Jr.

I mean, I kinda feel like because we had a stepparent and our dad,

the amount of time he was away from home,

they didn't feel that they could control the situation.

So, they were looking at military schools.

I was like, Why don't you want me with you?

Why am I not better in your care?

I had no clue how high the expectations and standards would be.

[officer giving indistinct command]

[Dale Jr.] You know, study from this hour to this hour,

and lights out at this time.

When they finally plop you down in that room and the lights go out,

there ain't no radio.

You're in the middle of Greensboro, an hour from home.

Not in your bedroom, not in your bed. And you're crying.

Like homesick as you can freakin' believe.

[interviewer] Is it difficult being Dale Earnhardt?

[Dale] I've been lucky the last couple years not having many problems.

You know, our kids are doing great.

Dale Jr.'s up at Oak Ridge Military Academy.

Teresa and I are happy.

[interviewer] In a perfect world,

what would Dale Earnhardt like to do in the next five years?

[Dale] I just look for more.

I look for winning more races, running for more championships.

[Darrell] I think in the back of his mind,

I think he always thought that he could be

the greatest NASCAR driver that ever lived.

[Kyle Petty] When you've laid out the history of the sport,

it's like a mountain range.

There's a lot of... one championship, little mountains, little mountains.

There's some twos. There's a lot of threes.

When you get to seven, nobody had been there but my dad.

[Dale] Petty's a seven-time champion.

You know, that's a goal you set for yourself.

Whether I ever beat him or not or win as many as he did,

you know, I'd like to try.

["Gonna Raise Hell" by Cheap Trick]

[Richard Childress] Going into '88, we changed sponsors.

We went to GM Goodwrench.

We knew that we wanted to go out and win the championship.

And I wanted something to show we were still the toughest guys out there.

[engines roaring]

[reporter] How'd you get that nickname?

[Dale] They put that on me when we painted the car black for Goodwrench.

It doesn't really do anything for me

as much as it might do something for the competitors.

Might put a little intimidation in their heart.

[Kyle] He already had that reputation.

Now, he's showing up in the mirror in a black car.

It's like, is he gonna hit me when he goes by me?

[Darrell] There's a lot of ways to wreck somebody.

You can body slam somebody.

Or you can get your right front fender against their left rear quarter panel

and spin 'em out.

♪ Gonna raise hell Gonna raise hell ♪

And he did all those things to Geoff Bodine.

♪ Gonna raise hell ♪

I always gave him the benefit of the doubt.

He won't keep doing it.

I was a slow learner.

[CBS reporter] Geoff, you know, you and Dale have not been getting along too well.

We gonna see any skirmishing on the track today?

- What'd he say? - Oh, now, c'mon.

[Geoff] It seems anyone that challenges Dale Earnhardt, he's out to get.

A lot of drivers get out of his way.

Well, that isn't the way I play this game.

♪ Gonna raise hell ♪

[commentator] Fifty-six laps are now complete

- as Sterling Marlin... - [commentator 2] Oh!

cuts, and around Bodine goes into the wall hard with the back end.

[commentator 2] Earnhardt on the radio was saying

that he never touched number five.

- Want to see that again? - [commentator chuckles]

And down here on pit road, NASCAR officials are conversing

with Richard Childress and Kirk Shelmerdine.

[commentator 2] There are NASCAR officials standing in front of Earnhardt's car.

They were just told from the top to stand in front of that car and hold him.

Richard, what's the penalty?

No comment. Talk to NASCAR.

[commentator] Major development. Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt,

a five-lap penalty, and it is punishment

for his second consecutive hit on Geoff Bodine.

It all but takes away his chance of winning this race.

[Richard] '88 was a tough year.

We lost a lot of races.

And we got a lot of people mad.

I have never done anything intentionally trying to wreck somebody.

And if I ever go sit in a race car,

and it's in my mind to go out there and wreck somebody,

I hope Ralph Earnhardt kicks my tail, somehow or 'nother.

[commentator] Bill Elliott has won the Winston Cup for 1988.

You can't just go through and act like a bulldozer,

wreck anyone and hit 'em, and do whatever, just to win.

It's gonna come back on you.

[reporter] One man we have not yet talked much of

from Chesapeake, Virginia, Ricky Rudd.

[Kyle] In the '80s, Ricky drove for Childress.

And when Earnhardt and Childress got together,

Earnhardt just stuck it down Ricky's throat.

This is my deal, and I'll show you.

So, he didn't like Dale.

[Ricky] Dale, if you want to learn how to get around this racetrack,

just follow me.

[commentator] Six laps from the end of the race, and we are under caution.

And it's a good thing because Dale Earnhardt

had slipped a little, and Ricky Rudd was just about to catch him.

Here it is, green flag is out. Three more laps to go.

Here is Ricky Rudd, right alongside Dale Earnhardt.

[commentator 2] Two laps to go.

[commentator] Here comes Ricky Rudd moving to the inside of Dale Earnhardt.

He's not gonna be able to pass him at the moment

as they go into turn number one and both of them spin!

And Geoff Bodine wins!

[Geoff] I was kinda hoping they'd do that.

We were discussing it out on pit row. I like to see that.

I will say this: Dale can dish it out, but he couldn't take it.

Hey, get back!

[reporter] Dale, what happened out there?

[Dale] I gave him the whole bottom lane, he knocked the shit out of me.

How will this affect your championship view? You've got three more to go...

How do you think?

They ought to fine that son of a bitch and make him sit out the rest of the year.

[Richard] That took a lot of points away from us.

And Rusty Wallace ended up beating us

by only a few points and winning the championship.

[man] Winning's probably one of the worst things

that ever happens to a race car driver.

It's the worst and the best thing.

Once you start winning, you can't be satisfied with anything less.

[interviewer] Were you ever at a point in your career in the Winston Cup

where you said, This isn't worth it?

Might've had a flash of it.

[commentator] Just a few weeks ago in Dover, Delaware,

Neil Bonnett had a violent impact with the fourth turn wall.

[Neil] I broke my breastbone and sternum completely.

Split it completely in two.

Then I started questioning why in the world I do this for a living.

And when they threw at me what I would have to do to recover,

they turned my healing process from a question mark to almost you can't do it.

And then, I kinda wanted to prove that I could.

[crew man] Have a good run today, Neil.

I hope so. Thank you.

I've always been full speed, whatever I've done.

Boy, I look forward to the day in my life when I can slow down and enjoy it.

But I don't like slowing down.

[power tools whirring]

[commentator] Neil Bonnett is a lap down. So is Alan Kulwicki.

And then here comes Ernie Irvin...

[commentator 2] ...is loose again.

[commentator] What's wrong with it?

[interviewer] Let's go back to the crash that Neil had.

Do you remember that day?

[ESPN reporter] Neil was knocked unconscious,

was taken here to the infield care center.

He's awake and knows where he is, but for safety reasons,

they feel he may have a little bit of a concussion.

They're gonna transfer him to McCloud Regional Hospital

here in Florence for a computerized CAT scan.

[Dale] I wanted to go down and take Susan and he home

after he came out of the hospital and transfer him back to Alabama.

But she told me, she said, Dale, don't come.

She said, he won't know you.

And I couldn't grasp that. I said, Neil Bonnett won't know me?

[reporter] We're gonna update you on Neil Bonnett's condition.

He was hospitalized, is now back home.

Susan, thanks for joining us. How's Neil doing today?

[Susan] You know, he's recognizing people that he's known all his life.

And he knows that he knows them, but it's gonna take some time.

[Dale] I stayed in constant touch with Susan.

You know, when can I come down? When can I come see him?

When he started coming 'round, then we started, you know,

seeing each other a little bit and talking.

He was looking at a deer that he killed when he was with me.

And he started putting some things together.

[Neil] It's been a crazy deal. I've been going through extensive testing.

Simple as it can be, I-I... the doctors, uh,

tell me I couldn't get in a race car for the remainder of the season,

for a year.

I think all of you know me well enough,

I've never listened to a doctor in my life.

But when Dale Earnhardt's pilot flew me home,

and I stepped off the plane and I didn't know my kids

from the people at hangar one in Birmingham,

and I walked to the car 'cause I didn't realize that was my children.

And my mother and daddy came to visit me, and I asked them who that was.

Well, that got my attention.

I want to be involved in the sport in some manner,

but I gotta see how to do that. I don't have any idea which way,

but I already see it's gonna be hard to do without it.

[overlapping chatter]

- [man] Thank you. - Thanks for coming out.

How you doin'?

[interviewer] If you hadn't been a racer, what do you think you would've been?

Probably a bum.

I'm short on education.

Be in an autograph session and wonder how to spell somebody's name.

That's how tight it gets sometimes.

- To who? - [indistinct]

You have to spell that.

Not having a good education,

it made it tougher to handle the money at first.

You know, I've got a dealership. I've got some other investments.

I'm fortunate to have a wife that has a good business head on her.

- [chuckles] - [man chuckles] Gotcha.

Nah, you didn't get me.

[Teresa] We're really heavily involved in planning for the future

and starting different businesses because who knows how long Dale's gonna race.

It's something that can't go on forever.

He couldn't do it without me, and I couldn't do it without him.

[Dale] Teresa and I bought this property. It's close to 300 acres.

It was rough, there wasn't nothin' on it.

It's really fun, all the stuff I've done. Just like running the bulldozer,

clearing property and fixing things like I want.

I can't just pay taxes on it for nothing,

so we've made it a working farm.

This is old Winston.

Shake your head.

[Tony] He ended up building a small shop up there.

We call it the deer head shop

'cause there's probably 125 deer head hanging up on the wall.

When I turned 16, I started working over there.

You could be working on race cars one day,

the next day you could be pulling barbed wire on the farm.

Jump in that brown truck and bring me a cold beer back out here.

I'm gonna need something to get my ass pumped back up and going.

[Dale] It's tough. There's not enough time in the day.

You got your businesses, and then your racing.

And you got your personal life with your family you gotta look after.

And you don't get much time with them a lot of times, and it suffers.

It's Mother's Day.

I never really heard from Dad or Teresa in military school.

And then, one day, I walk outside

and my sister walks up. And she's wearing the shit.

She's a student.

My mind could not register what I was seeing.

I'm like, what are you doing? And she goes, I'm here.

I missed you.

[Kelley] I made the choice to go because I wanted to take care of Dale.

He was this scrawny little skinny... We used to call him chicken legs.

Even in military school, it was like, kid, kid, kid, Dale.

So, I had to go there and protect him, because I didn't have a clue

what was gonna go on at military school.

But I figured he wasn't gonna be able to handle it without me.

[Dale Jr.] Then it was like immediately she fit right in.

Here I am, missing home, wanting to be home,

and here she is looking at it like she started her first semester in college.

[Kelley] You just had to follow the rules,

like, no matter how hard it was or how tired you were.

My experience as my home life wasn't that much different.

[small footsteps tapping]

[woman] Kick it.

Throw it.

[interviewer] Dale, you and Teresa just had a child.

How is that going, having another infant around the house?

Well, learning to be a daddy again.

Taylor Nicole, she's been a great addition to our family.

Man, she's great.

[overlapping chatter]

[Kelley] We'd come home Christmas. We'd get out of school.

I remember being excited about her being born.

And I remember, I liked being looked up to as a big sister.

Hey, Taylor. Give me a kiss. [kiss sound]

Give Daddy a kiss.

I thought, you know, he was a really, really great dad

for Taylor.

[Dale] I love you.

[Dale Jr.] I was certainly envious of that a little bit.

Hey, Dale Jr.

What do ya think?

[interviewer] What was Dale like as a father to Taylor?

Different from how he was with the kids.

He was more loving.

[David] I remember going to Dale and Teresa's house.

I said, I need to go back to town 'cause I'm flying out in the morning.

He said, Oh, no, you can't go yet. You gotta see Taylor.

Try another one.

[David] She just did this little jig.

He giggled like a schoolboy.

What, did you get a little shy streak?

And I'm like, I have never seen this in my life.

I mean, it was him in a whole different light.

[engines roaring]

[Dale] Tell 'em who won the race.

Daddy.

- Who? - Daddy.

There you go. That's okay.

[reporter] He's still recognized as NASCAR's toughest customer.

Yet, so far this season, Dale Earnhardt has been a choir boy.

I mean, Earnhardt hasn't even put a scratch on Geoff Bodine's car.

And without any controversy, Dale Earnhardt leads in points.

[cheers]

[Richard] He's done a hell of a job trying to stay out of trouble.

I know he'd come on the radio and say, I'd like to bust this motherfucker's ass.

But you know, we're both trying to do right.

I've tried to get Dale Earnhardt back into frame of mind he needs to be in.

Like the Ralph Earnhardt frame of mind.

[crowd cheering]

[Dale Jr.] Right around that period of time,

Dad decided that he had had enough of us being gone.

He started to want us to come home from military school.

[light orchestral music]

You know, I'm going to the track. I got a couple guys

that are sons of crew chiefs and sons of drivers.

And we're just kids running all over the racetrack.

Let's get on the highest thing we can find and get a good view

so we can watch practice.

Dad came to me one day and said, you're gonna get fitted for a uniform.

When we're going to the races, you're gonna help.

I show up to the racetrack, and my buddies see my uniform, and they're like...

What are you doin'? And I'm like,

I don't know. Whatever they tell me to do.

I was excited about being around him.

And I realized, I wanted that life. I wanted to race.

[cheering]

- [overlapping chatter] - Earnhardt's number one!

[Dale] The race fans have been tough on me over the years,

but now, they're pretty much behind me, the majority of 'em.

Earnhardt! Whoo-whoo!

[interviewer] What do you think has changed their heart?

Is it that you've been around so long?

Yeah. Well, they've got...

Well, he's pretty likable guy, let's... I don't know.

I think just the competitive year we've had.

It's building back to trying to win a championship.

Ready for a race, are we?

- Damn right we're ready. - All right!

You bet your buddy hammer down.

[commentator] Sold out crowd here at Atlanta Motor Speedway

rises to their feet.

[engines roar]

Dale Earnhardt is on his way to another Winston Cup Championship

if things can hold on for just two and a half more laps.

He's perhaps tried to change his race strategy and just take it easy.

[commentator 2] That's all he's gotta do is circle this racetrack.

[commentator] Here's the checkered flag.

Dale Earnhardt wins the Winston Cup.

[cheering]

Yes!

[Kyle] For Dale to get to four, he's breathing some rare air.

Because only one other person had ever made that clout.

Taylor Nicole and Teresa, his wife and young daughter getting in here.

We's happy.

[ESPN reporter] It puts you in some elite company.

You're a four-time champion now.

[Dale] Well, it does, and I'm proud of that, you know.

We're very happy to be right there in behind the king.

[cheering fades out]

[Hank Parker] But let me tell you something.

There's not many men in this whole wide world that are satisfied.

When you achieve what you think's gonna be the pinnacle and you're gonna be happy,

you realize you're not.

So, you need to step it up, and it's a constant challenge.

I always look at it that if I set a goal,

and I get to it, I didn't set it high enough.

And if I don't ever get to it, then I set it too high

and I'm always gonna be disappointed.

[commentator] Back-to-back Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt.

[commentator 2] Dale said, I'm looking ahead to a sixth

and trying to join Richard Petty in the record books

as the only seven-time Winston Cup champion.

[Hank] He couldn't come to the point in his career to say,

okay, I think I'm gonna sit back and take it easy for a while.

How you gonna do that?

How do you slow down?

[engine roars]

[Neil] When I come around the racetrack, I want to get involved.

I really get depressed at times.

I can go to the racetrack and it just kinda sinks in.

I can't get in one of those things. I can't do what I want to do.

And it's almost like throwin' a brick wall in front of me.

Everybody in the garage are friends of mine.

And, uh, I just miss the fans.

- How ya doin'? - [woman] Fine.

We enjoy you on TV.

[Neil] Well, glad you do.

[woman] We miss you racin', though.

Yeah, I kinda miss it myself.

[upbeat music]

Hi, I'm Neil Bonnett. Welcome to the show and welcome to my home here in Hueytown.

I honestly thought when I had that injury, I'd get well in a year.

And then, it didn't happen, so then I figured two years.

I said, I gotta stay around, I gotta keep that visibility.

When you're hot, you're hot. And when you're not, you're not.

Now, y'all just think about that.

And we'll be back in a minute.

All right, now, what do you want me to do?

[Neil] We'll just bullshit as we walk over there.

Well, what's our topic of conversation?

All they're gonna do is get some footage of us around the car.

And then, when we sit over there and ask about us running it,

then they'll show this as we're talking some.

Anyway, we was talkin', you know, when we was fishin'

- you asked me if I wanted to run anymore. - Mm-hmm.

- I said, I'd like to try it. - Mm-hmm.

All of a sudden you've got a car you want to test for yourself.

- Mm-hmm. - That I ended up...

We still gonna test it some.

But, shoot, it's a good race car.

[Dale] Whenever the conversation comes up, we talk about things.

I know it's been killing him inside 'cause there's a driver inside of him

that wants to go out there and race.

I mean, he's not last of anybody.

You know, he's a proud man and a proud person.

I mean, I'd do anything in the world for him.

I said, why don't we just test this car and see how you feel about it.

[soft orchestral music]

[interviewer] What's your favorite part about racing?

[Dale Jr.] Just being here.

You know, I want to be a race car driver someday.

It's a great sport, I love it.

It's all I've ever known, racing.

[interviewer] What does your dad think about you wanting to be a racer?

I don't know. It kinda looks like he's kinda hesitant, you know.

He said he can't trust me. He says I don't pay enough attention.

My dad never did promote racing to me.

As a matter of fact, he really just sort of played it down.

His philosophy was always you help yourself, and I'll help you.

[Dale] I think that's what I do with Dale.

If he wants to race bad enough, he'll show the interest.

Dad's like, well, if you want to do it, just go in the shop, start cleaning tools.

I need to see some initiative.

But if I was around Dad's cup team,

it was so hard to approach them.

They were tough, mean.

Always that look on their face, like, I ain't got time for you.

[Kirk] I didn't know how to treat a little boy.

I could've given him more stuff to do

and let him be a bigger part of it. He was a smart kid.

[Dale Jr.] It's kind of like double-Dutch.

I didn't know how to jump in there and start skipping rope.

And I was probably a little spoiled. A little unaware.

I'm here with Dale Earnhardt after he just won the Die Hard 500.

What's the question, dude?

Are you gonna give me some money when we get home?

- I doubt it. - [all laugh]

You've spent enough down here this week.

Oh, okay.

But I just wanted him to talk to me and give me some damn wisdom, right.

[interviewer] Where were you during that?

Well, I just had a uniform. I wasn't in the pits.

I don't know if he didn't think that girls could drive race cars

or whatever, I don't know.

I think my dad just wanted more for me.

He wanted me to go to school. Like, that was a number one thing for him

was that he quit school in the eighth grade,

and so finishing high school, and even going to college

was very high on his list.

Growing up, my dad just had expectations.

You made straight-As because you were supposed to make straight-As.

There were no kudos, you know.

But if you made Bs, or you made Cs, or you made Ds,

the wrath of, you know, Dale Earnhardt was upon you.

As we got older, I mean, not that I didn't want to make good grades,

but you start questioning why you were doing it, you know?

Like, you're doing it just to please your dad.

So, I went to school in Wilmington

and was away from my dad and Teresa.

I really didn't come back home.

Kelley was very strong-willed, independent.

And I thought once she got out of the house and was going to school

that you know, I didn't know if she'd ever come back.

[overlapping chatter]

Just turn it around this way.

- Here you go. - What's that?

Blow on that, man. That's on fire.

I better get around this way.

- Can I make a wish? - Yeah.

[Teresa] Make a wish.

[Neil] Maybe it'll come true this weekend.

Don't know if it'll help this weekend or not, but he can try.

[laughter]

[man] Basically, I guess, the thing that we need to say is

that Neil received clearance this morning

and will drive a Richard Childress-owned car

at Talladega Superspeedway in two weeks.

My main concern is I don't want to jeopardize those other guys.

If I'd done it a year ago, I would have.

If I'd done it six months ago, it'd be questionable

if I was in a position to do it.

I feel comfortable doing it now, and I've taken every test

and I want to see where I'm at.

I asked Dale before this last announcement,

you know, how do you feel about how he's gonna be around the other cars.

He said, no problem. He said he's gonna be right in there good.

During the process of doing all this testing,

I got really close with Childress's crew.

You know, all the guys that work on the cars,

'cause we spent a lot of time together.

And they do not have one thing to gain

by going to Talladega with that second race car

other than a favor to me to go down there and have a good time.

And there's no way I can repay that.

[interviewer] Neil, all I can say is, for us as fans,

it's good to see you back in the race car. I know you must feel good too.

Man, I've been looking for this a long time.

I can't wait to get in that thing and see what it feels like.

[commentator] Neil Bonnett, choosing the hottest day we've had in years

at a stock car race to come and make his comeback.

[commentator 2] Neil, how do you hear us down there?

[Neil] Everything looks good. We're gonna see what we can do here.

It's gonna be a lot of fun.

[commentator] We've been saying all week.

He's within striking distance, about a second back to the leaders.

Number 31, Neil Bonnett, 1980 winner of this event.

[Neil] You know, the doctors were the guys that told me I had to quit before.

And I really honestly feel like after I run this race,

I can step out of this car and say, if I want to quit, I can quit on my own,

but I got a lot of race car under me right now,

and we haven't used it all yet.

I'll just have to see how this thing plays out.

[tires screech]

[commentator] There are four cars that have crashed here in the trial,

but there is Neil Bonnett's number 31 torn up front and rear.

[commentator 2] Wow, his car went upside down.

[commentator] And into the catch fence.

[Neil breathing hard]

[commentator 2] All right.

[commentator] Neil looks okay.

[man] If you go back and look at that, Neil Bonnett gets out of the car,

changes clothes, goes up in the booth and finishes calling the race.

[Ken Squier] And Neil Bonnett has swapped the race seat

for a seat up here again. Boy, am I glad to see you.

[Neil] Yeah, Ken, I tell you what,

I wanted to make sure nobody gave my job away up here.

[Ken] It's a heck of a way to do it.

[Neil] Oh, man, I tell you, that was a...

it's a shame, man. For a change, I was having a lot of fun.

Yeah, but I mean, you're okay. You checked out okay.

Yeah, but now I gotta go face Earnhardt. That's gonna be the hard part.

[all laugh]

[Dale] Man, it's close racing all day long.

Lucky my buddy Neil didn't get hurt. I was thankful for that.

He was having a good time, though.

I don't think that scared him any. I think he's ready to go again.

[man] I know that everybody was worried.

What happens if Neil gets back in the car and gets hurt?

But he didn't get hurt.

He went through a violent crash, got out of the car

and had a smile on his face.

So, maybe he has healed up.

And maybe we don't have to worry about this anymore.

[program opening music]

Dale, I want to talk to you about the championships.

You got six behind you now.

[cheering]

[Dale] I tell you, Neil, winning six championships is pretty gratifying.

I'm pretty proud of that. And now, we can focus on the seventh.

What is it keeps driving you as hard as you do?

You can answer that. You want to get back in a race car

just as bad as I want to be in one.

[reporter] Neil, you're coming back on a limited schedule for '94.

You've gotta be looking forward to it.

[Neil] Yeah, they're running six races.

Country Time's gonna help us with James Finch's Phoenix racing deals.

- We're ready? - [cameraman] Yep.

I gotta wish Happy Valentine's to my wife Susan.

Since I'm putting her through all this punishment while I'm running Daytona.

[cameraman] Great, thank you.

[engine roars]

[tires squeal, distant crash]

[soft orchestral music]

[newscaster] Well, unfortunately, tragedy tops tonight's sports news.

47-year-old NASCAR driver Neil Bonnett suffered massive head injuries

after he lost control of his car during a practice session today

at the Daytona International Speedway.

Bonnett was well known on the NASCAR circuit not only...

[commentary fades out]

[Hank] Earnhardt was there practicing when Neil was loaded up.

Earnhardt went to his knees when that ambulance went past him.

He knew Neil was gone.

Then the next week's the funeral.

Hueytown, Alabama, I'm gonna get a ride with Earnhardt on the plane.

He ain't goin'.

I said, I cannot believe-- He said, I talked to Susan.

She's good, she understands.

I'm not going.

I mean, everybody in the whole world was there.

But Dale wasn't there. His very best friend.

[David] I remember that weekend.

He'd just kind of stand and stare once in a while.

Like he'd just get lost in space for a little bit.

[Hank] It was so obvious there was a void there.

And he never filled that.

There was no other driver out there that had the same relationship with him.

When Neil was gone, that was a friendship that was gone.

And it didn't exist anymore.

And he missed that. I know he missed it.

[commentator] Today, let us pause for a moment of silence

to honor the memories of Neil Bonnett.

Earnhardt has said, I am not ready to share my feelings

with anyone about Neil Bonnett.

The safest place for me to be right now is in my race car on that racetrack.

[announcer over PA] Gentlemen, start your engines!

[engines roar]

[Hank] I think he was a master at blocking things out.

He went back to the track where his best friend died

and go through that same corner.

And it was just like his mind wasn't on anything else but racing.

[commentator] There is the checkered flag, and he's done it.

Dale Earnhardt moves into the points lead for 1994.

[Hank] He couldn't talk about death.

He could not deal with it.

So, he didn't deal with it.

He took all of his emotions and put it into that car.

[commentator] Dale Earnhardt gets his third of the year

and a belated 43rd birthday present. He was 43 on Friday.

Dale Earnhardt, should he gain 50 points today,

the Winston Cup Championship is his.

Caution has come out here finding big trouble in the back straightaway.

Earnhardt got through it all.

[commentator 2] It's a familiar sight, that 3 car comin' towards the front.

[commentator] Just continues to mow 'em down.

I think Earnhardt wants to go all the way to victory lane

and not share it with anybody today.

[commentator 2] We'll see.

Number three! Go, go, baby!

[commentator] Here's Earnhardt, slips in four. Mast goes to the outside.

Rick tries the outside. He can't get it. He draws to the inside at the straight.

Holding off Rick Mast, and Dale Earnhardt will celebrate

his record tying seventh NASCAR Winston Cup championship.

[commentator 3] He's got the moon, the stars and everything in the heavens.

Congratulations, Dale Earnhardt, clinching his seventh Winston Cup championship.

Congratulations, Richard Childress on a great day, a win and a championship.

Yeah, you know, not a better way to end it for this Goodwrench racing team.

[Dale] I thought nobody'd ever tie Richard Petty

or catch Richard Petty's record for championships,

but I gotta hand it to all the guys and, uh...

I tell ya, I gotta dedicate this to Neil Bonnett.

He's been in my heart ever since, uh, we lost him.

And he's really been close to us.

His family has suffered so much. I hope the best for them,

Susan and everybody. But this is for Neil.

[crowd cheering]

[Dale] It's really tough to try to put a place for why is he gone.

Or what if he'd still be here, you know. I mean, gosh, what would I say?

[clears throat]

[producer] Okay, Dale, anytime you're ready.

[Dale] All right.

Okay.

I couldn't close without a few words about Neil.

A man couldn't ask for a better friend.

He was with me and the whole team this season.

He was in the... pfft. I'm reading it.

[producer] Yeah, and if there's ever a part you don't...

I didn't want to read.

I couldn't close without a thanks to Neil.

A man couldn't ask for a better friend.

He was with me and the whole team this season.

[clicks tongue] Argh.

[producer] Let's try this, slowing it down.

Okay. [clears throat]

[producer] I just can't close without mentioning...

Okay, I got it.

[producer] A man couldn't...

All right, I got it.

I couldn't close without a thanks to Neil.

A man couldn't ask for a better friend.

He was with me and the whole team this past season.

He was in our thoughts and in our hearts.

Nobody will ever know how much Neil Bonnett has helped me in my life.

I just wish I had the chance to thank him.

[interviewer] Dale, one final question.

You know, with Richard Petty waiting until he was into his 50s to retire,

you're still a young man at 43. How many championships do you think

that you might be able to win before you decide to hang it up?

[Dale] As long as I can get in that race car

and feel like I can win that race, or my objective is to win,

I'm gonna be out there trying to win.

[Richard] Most great drivers, as long as you feel like

you can get up off the couch and get in a car, it ain't over.

There's always more.

Until there's not.

[rising orchestral music]

[commentator] You see Earnhardt dropping back and losing a lot of positions.

[commentator 2] This finish at the line, it's Jeff Gordon.

[interviewer] Do you feel like time is starting to run out on Dale Earnhardt?

[interviewer 2] Do you find yourself really wanting to make Dad proud?

[man] He's dedicated. He wanted to impress his father.

[interviewer 3] His love was very conditional.

[Dale Jr.] I was exceeding all expectations my dad ever had for me.

In our mind, man, this is just getting started.

[announcer over PA] Start your engines!

[interviewer] What do you say to the people who say Earnhardt's done?

[Dale] I got a lot of tricks left in my bag. I guarantee ya.

[commentator] Dale Earnhardt has won.

[interviewer] Why would you want to do something you know could kill you?

[Dale] I never wanted to do anything else.

[commentator] Big trouble... Oh!

[crashes]

[low orchestral music]