3: The Dale Earnhardt Story (2004)

Barry Pepper portrays legendary race car drive Dale Earnhardt, who died in 2001 during the last lap of the Daytona 500.

Director:

Russell Mulcahy

Writer:

Robert Eisele

Stars:

Barry Pepper, Elizabeth Mitchell, Ernest Whitted

Nominated for 1 Primetime Emmy. Another 2 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Barry Pepper	...	Dale Earnhardt
Elizabeth Mitchell	...	Teresa Earnhardt
Ernest Whitted	...	Pit Crowd
Andrea Powell	...	Martha Earnhardt
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Sean Bridgers	...	Neil Bonnett
Joe Chrest	...	Jake Elder
Russell Cook	...	Press Conference VIP
Teresa Delgado	...	Kelly Earnhardt
Traci Dinwiddie	...	Connie
Tricia Dyar	...	Daisy (as Tricia Quattlebaum)
Lori Beth Edgeman	...	Latane Brown
Corri English	...	Kelly Earnhardt
Michael Flippo	...	Wayne Robertson
Daniel Freeze	...	Dale Pit Crew
Frank Glidden	...	Kerry

Storyline

Biographical story of Dale Earnhardt, Sr. starts with his young life and growing up with his father, Ralph, who raced for a living, but initially wanted more for his son. When Dale quits high school to start driving full time, his father aids him and shows a reluctant pride when he is initially successful. Armed with many of his father's philosophies, Dale pushed himself to be the best. His aggressive track mannerisms earned himself fans and detractors. Fellow racer Neil Bonnett was one of those long time friends and whose death deeply affected Dale. Darrell Waltrip clearly was a detractor and the two men's rivalry is clearly depicted. Off the track, Dale's determination to make it impacts two marriages. Third wife Theresa was closer to racing and met Dale when he had started his rise into the Winston Cup circuit. The story also looks at his relationship with his children, particularly son Kerry from his first marriage and whom he did not see again after age 5 until Kerry in his late ...

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Plot Keywords:

daytona 500 | auto racing | nascar | number in title | character name in title

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Taglines:

One man, One sport. One nation.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Details

Official Sites:

ESPN Original Entertainment

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

11 December 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

3

Filming Locations:

Charlotte, North Carolina, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

ESPN, ESPN Original Entertainment, Orly Adelson Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

Many cars depicted in the 2001 Daytona 500 are incorrect in terms of body styles and paint schemes. Most noticeable are the cars of Jeff Gordon, Bobby Labonte, and Rusty Wallace. Gordon's car sports the old rainbow color scheme when 2001 was the first year his car sported the blue/red flame paint scheme. Bobby Labonte's Interstate Batteries car is Chevrolet Monte Carlo, his actual 2001 car was a Pontiac. Wallace's car in the film is a 1998 Ford Taurus using the old blue/white Miller Lite paint scheme (the actual car was a 2001 with an all-blue Miller Lite paint scheme).

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Quotes

Neil Bonnett: You pissed off a lot of people out there today, Earnhardt. You almost ran me over a couple times.
Dale Earnhardt: So I suppose you're pissed off at me, too, then?
Neil Bonnett: What the hell do you care? We ain't out there to make friends.

User Reviews

Missing a Few

Being a die-hard NASCAR fan you have to look at this movie with a different eye than the general public. For example, the movie should have been longer. With "3" being only 90 minutes long they skipped some very critical points in Dale Earnhardt's life. Such as the creation of his company/team DEI, Dale Earnhardt Inc. Or the refusal to go to Adam Petty's funeral when he was killed in a stock car during a practice run. Adam was one of his son's best friends and because Dale Sr. did not attend, Dale Jr. did not go. How about his rival with Jeff Gordon? Or even his son's first Winston Cup win at Texas or his son winning 2 back-to-back Busch Championships. When Dale Jr. set history and won the Winston in his Rookie year as the first Rookie to win. That was an important day for the Earnhardt family. Not to take away from the movie but I do believe that Barry Pepper did a great job at Dale Earnhardt. The story was good and it showed some of the hard times he went through to get to the Winston Cup. For that reason I give this Film a rating of 8/10.