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
David Lewis Brooks	...	Earnhardt Pit Crew
Russell Brooks	...	Earnhardt Pit Crew (as Russell Dean Brooks Jr.)
Joe Chrest	...	Jake Elder
Russell Cook	...	Press Conference VIP
Teresa Delgado	...	Kelly Earnhardt
Tony Devon	...	Will
Thunderbird Dinwiddie	...	Connie (as Traci Dinwiddie)
Tricia Dyar	...	Daisy (as Tricia Quattlebaum)
Corri English	...	Kelly Earnhardt
Michael Flippo	...	Wayne Robertson

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:

character name as title | dale earnhardt character | four word title | daytona 500 | auto racing | 

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Taglines:

One man, One sport. One nation.

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Genres:

Biography | Drama | Sport

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Did You Know?

Trivia

The song Kryptonite is playing on Little Dale's boom box when Dale visits him on the boat dock. Racing is his kryptonite, or weakness.

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Goofs

Though the cars used in re-enacting the races of the 1970s and 1980s are authentically correct, the track billboards are not. You can see the current Pepsi logo on one of the billboards. Also, Sunoco (the current fuel supplier of NASCAR since 2003) has their logos on the track when the fuel supplier of NASCAR during Earnhardt's era was 76.

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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

All I wanna do is race, Daddy.

I am sure this was a good movie for those who knew who Dale Earhart was BEFORE he died. For the rest of us, it is just OK.

The movie stars Barry Pepper as Dale Earnhart. Pepper has done some good work before (The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada, The Green Mile), and puts forth an excellent performance here.

J.K. Simmons (The Closer, Law & Order) was also very good as Ralph Earnhart, Dale's father.

As I said, if you are into NASCAR, then you will enjoy this movie. Of course, if you are a rabid NASCAR and Dale Earnhart fan, then I doubt that 88 minutes will satisfy you.

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 (Entertainment & Sports Programming Network), ESPN Original Entertainment, Orly Adelson Productions

Technical Specs

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.78 : 1