Doing it for Dale is a subtle nod to the times before. It seems like a distant memory but in his prime the Internet was a gadget and NASCAR had gained national attention on ESPN, etc. We still had guys like Benny Parsons and Ned Jarret calling the race. Davy, Neil and Alan were all there.
As a kid who grew up in the shadow of Charlotte Motor Speedway I went to the track to see my heroes, and I never appreciated the risks. When Mike Helton made the announcement everything changed, just like 9/11. The irony is that Dale Earnhardt would have not liked the comparison, but history has written his legend and it is what it is.
Oh my, bless you Brett and thank you for your service then and now!
I remember reading an article/interview with John Edwards when he was running for president (or maybe VP in '04 by then.) He told basically the same post 9/11 story (at a gas station and a guy at the next pump shook his head sadly and said "First Dale, and now this shit.") I guess to illustrate what being from North Carolina is like. (And I honestly can't really think of a story that would do a better job.)
I... had never heard this story? I just looked for it and the only mention I can find on the entire internet was from a June 2002 story in Vanity Fair:
"The Senator is good in a context like this; he has an infectious laugh and a talent for anecdote. Raleigh is an area where the name of the late stock-car gladiator Dale Earnhardt still has totemic power, and Edwards tells of meeting a man at a gas station up in the hills right after September 11. 'Real bad year,' said the man. The Senator solemnly concurred. 'Yeah,' said the guy. 'First Dale and now this shit.' Edwards somehow manages to relate the story without condescension."
That must be the one! "First Dale and now this shit" has been stuck in my mind forever. Five'll get you ten it didn't actually happen to Edwards, but he heard the story and decided he'd make it his own.
Doing it for Dale is a subtle nod to the times before. It seems like a distant memory but in his prime the Internet was a gadget and NASCAR had gained national attention on ESPN, etc. We still had guys like Benny Parsons and Ned Jarret calling the race. Davy, Neil and Alan were all there.
As a kid who grew up in the shadow of Charlotte Motor Speedway I went to the track to see my heroes, and I never appreciated the risks. When Mike Helton made the announcement everything changed, just like 9/11. The irony is that Dale Earnhardt would have not liked the comparison, but history has written his legend and it is what it is.
I'd read the heck out of a book of "nontraditional 9/11 stories" like this.
I loved this story. The guys comment cracked me up. Thanks for sharing!
Oh my, bless you Brett and thank you for your service then and now!
I remember reading an article/interview with John Edwards when he was running for president (or maybe VP in '04 by then.) He told basically the same post 9/11 story (at a gas station and a guy at the next pump shook his head sadly and said "First Dale, and now this shit.") I guess to illustrate what being from North Carolina is like. (And I honestly can't really think of a story that would do a better job.)
I... had never heard this story? I just looked for it and the only mention I can find on the entire internet was from a June 2002 story in Vanity Fair:
"The Senator is good in a context like this; he has an infectious laugh and a talent for anecdote. Raleigh is an area where the name of the late stock-car gladiator Dale Earnhardt still has totemic power, and Edwards tells of meeting a man at a gas station up in the hills right after September 11. 'Real bad year,' said the man. The Senator solemnly concurred. 'Yeah,' said the guy. 'First Dale and now this shit.' Edwards somehow manages to relate the story without condescension."
That must be the one! "First Dale and now this shit" has been stuck in my mind forever. Five'll get you ten it didn't actually happen to Edwards, but he heard the story and decided he'd make it his own.
I’m so glad you shared this moment and time story. Often he said a kind of stories that stay with me for longer than others.
Hey Jeremy, I've moved since I subscribed to your newsletter, what's the best way to get you an updated address?
You can email it to me