Showing posts with label Dale Earnhardt Sr.. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dale Earnhardt Sr.. Show all posts

Monday, November 23, 2009

True grit for a Lion


I'm not hurt, much: I admired the grit of Detroit Lions QB Matthew Stafford after he hurt his shoulder Sunday against Cleveland. They replaced Stafford with Daunte Culpepper, but the Browns called timeout. Stafford normally would have to stay out one play because he was taken out, but the timeout allowed him to return.

He threw a one-yard touchdown, and the Lions won the game of 1-8 teams. Actually, it was one of the most exciting games of the day, and Stafford and Cleveland QB Brady Quinn were two good reasons.

I loved the quote by Lions coach Jim Schwartz.

“Matt’s best play of the day might have been eluding four team doctors to get back on the field,” Schwartz said.

You have to wonder about the shape of Stafford's shoulder, though.

As slippery as an eel: The Dallas Cowboys' Tony Romo had one of the best plays of the day, as he threw a late touchdown to Patrick Crayton in a 7-6 win over the Washington Redskins. DE/LB Brian Orakpo had Romo within his grasp, but Romo spun away, rolled out, looked for an opening and hit Crayton. "Just Romo being Romo," Orakpo said. "Very elusive, very slippery. That's all she wrote. Touchdown."

Hard to believe: I was there when Dale Earnhardt won four of his seven Cup championships and when Jeff Gordon won his four titles. I've only watched Jimmie Johnson from afar, but I'm amazed that he's done what he has. Four in a row is amazing.

I wrote a story for Stock Car Racing magazine a few years ago about the eras of NASCAR. Herb Thomas had a short era. So did Lee Petty. Richard Petty's era ranged from around 1964 to about 1975. Cale Yarborough's era was from 1976 to '78. Darrell Waltrip's started somewhere around 1979 or '80 and ran to '85. The Dale Earnhardt era was from '86 to '94, and the Jeff Gordon era was from 1995 to 2001.

We didn't have an era for a few years. Then the Jimmie Johnson era began four or five years ago. And the end may not be in sight.

More later.

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EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE



BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL
(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)
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Sunday, October 14, 2007

Charging to the finish line

It wasn't easy when I wrote "I Remember Dale Earnhardt" in 2001. Current Cup drivers and all but one Cup owner (Bill Davis) would not talk to me. They said they were concerned with licensing — Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, wasn't getting a huge chunk of the pie. So I called or emailed one team after another and got a no or a no reply.

The book was good. All of the stories were genuine and heartfelt, but most of them were too nice. A few people talked about Earnhardt's often ruthless tactics, but no one could REALLY tell what it was like to race Earnhardt or to know him.

I had wanted for years to update the book. I really wanted to talk to Terry Labonte, get him to talk about winning at Bristol in '95 with a front end crumpled by a last-lap bump from Earnhardt. Or the 1999 Bristol race, when Terry was leading on the last lap, and Earnhardt "rattled his cage" all the way into the wall.

Then in August 2007, I got an email from Cumberland House, the publishing house for "I Remember Dale Earnhardt." Publisher Ron Pitkin wanted to update the book; would I be interested? Just send a quick proposal, and we'll go from there.

I did, and I quickly contacted Richard Childress Racing (Earnhardt's old team) and every Cup team that had a car owner or driver who raced against Earnhardt. Then I did the same with Busch Series and Craftsman Truck Series teams. I called and left messages. One woman told me that the guy I was pursuing was out of the country; wouldn't say where. Most teams ignored me. Kyle Petty's PR guy called and said Kyle was concerned with licensing. But he called. Jeff Gordon's assistant said Jeff isn't doing books right now.

Several people I know wouldn't call back. I called one former driver several times, and I actually got him. He said he was busy but for me to call back in a half hour. I did, expecting an interview, and he said he didn't want to talk about Earnhardt. Had nothing good to say.

I had a hard time in '01, but it was harder this time. I'd already talked to a bunch of track presidents, PR guys, fans, hometown folk and such. All wonderful, but I wanted gritty stories and, most of all, drivers.

I wasn't bashful. The first guy I contacted was NASCAR publicist Jim Hunter, the former president of Darlington Raceway. I called Mike Curb, a former car owner. I called Mike Helton, the president of NASCAR. I tried Steve Park, who raced for Earnhardt. And I called Brett Bodine, a former driver I met in 1987 and now an employee at NASCAR's R&D center. I got Hunter, and our conversation carried me mentally back to the '90s, when I was at the Charleston (S.C.) Post and Courier, an important paper to Hunter and Darlington Raceway. Jim was warm and real. Didn't get a callback from Curb, Helton, Park and Bodine, but all you can do is try.

I did luck out and get Ron Hornaday, who also drove for Earnhardt. Dick Trickle called me back. So did Geoff Bodine (Earnhardt's chief rival in the '80s), David Pearson, Larry McReynolds (Earnhardt's crew chief when he won the 1998 Daytona 500), current Cup driver Ken Schrader, and other former drivers like Dave Marcis (Dale's great friend), Jerry Nadeau and Randy LaJoie. All were terrific. Bodine fleshed out the rivalry, and Dick told me that Earnhardt didn't hassle him because of the age difference between the two men. You don't wreck your daddy. (Actually, Dick was only 12 years older than Dale.)

I did some networking and found Gary Hargett, Earnhardt's car owner in Late Model Sportsman in the '70s. Gary said that Earnhardt hadn't changed. He was always an asshole; then he became a rich asshole. Gary told some stories, and he helped breathe some life — not myth — into the Earnhardt legend.

I found Jay Wells, whom Earnhardt nicknamed the Troll (the story is explained in the book). I talked to Bob Misenheimer, then the mayor of Kannapolis, N.C., Earnhardt's hometown. And I called Dr. Joe Mattioli, the boss at Pocono Raceway, a man I've known to be human, humane and funny.

Just so you know, the book won't be "I Remember Dale Earnhardt" this time, even though some of the text is the same. A few years ago, I wrote a story about Earnhardt's kindnesses to children with the hopes of sending it to newspapers as a promotional tool. I named it Earnhardt, the Angel in Black. I chose that title because of Earnhardt's nickname — the Man in Black — and it harkened back to Earnhardt's favorite race track, Darlington, nicknamed the Lady in Black. I sent the story to Cumberland House's editor, John Mitchell, and John showed it to Ron Pitkin, the publisher. Ron fell in love with Angel in Black, and the book eventually became "Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr."

It came out in the spring of 2008.

I wish I could have gotten Richard Childress, Mike Helton and a bunch of current Cup drivers, but what can you do? You keep the engine running, keep it in gear and charge to the finish.

Like Earnhardt.

><

EMAIL: tgilli52@gmail.com  BLUESKY: PROFILE



BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL
(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)
(the book of great NASCAR stories)
- 1 comment:
Labels: , , , , , , ,
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