Wednesday, June 8, 2016

Which Richard? Childress or Petty?

In  1992, Dale Earnhardt Sr. wasn't having a great year — I think he finished 12th in Winston Cup points that year — and there was a controversy about where he'd race the next year.

Would he race for Richard Childress, his current car owner, or Richard Petty, the famed driver/car owner?

We were at Charlotte Motor Speedway, and Dale was asked about it in a group setting.

"I talked to Richard, and it's all fine," Dale said.

"Which Richard?" he was asked. He never said.

Obviously, he stayed with Childress and won two more Cup championships, in 1993 and '94.

Contact me at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. Also, my Twitter handle is EDITORatWORK.

Friday, June 3, 2016

Brushed by Earnhardt's bumper



I think the year was 1990, and we were at North Carolina Speedway in Rockingham. I was standing in the Winston Cup garage near Dale Earnhardt's garage stall (probably a mistake in itself).

Suddenly, I felt something brush against my leg, and I realized that a car had just come rushing into the stall. Earnhardt's bumper had barely touched me!

I didn't see Earnhardt until later, and he was in his car and heading out to practice. For a moment, I noticed that the trademark mustache was wider than usual. He was grinning, like he'd gotten something over on me.

And he probably had.

I had another brush with Earnhardt that year at The Rock, but that story is for another day.

You can find this story and many others in my book, Angel in Black: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr., a 2008 product of Cumberland House Publishing.

Contact me at tgilli52@gmail.com or nc3022@yahoo.com. Also, my Twitter handle is EDITORatWORK.