Happy Birthday to ol’ Ironhead.
You may have known him as The Intimidator. Or perhaps the Man in Black. The true legends had more than one nickname, you know.
Dale Earnhardt would’ve been 74 today.
Or is it 73?
For a while there, Earnhardt even managed to put a lap on Father Time.
But the ultimate race official — his mom, Martha — delivered a stop-and-go penalty that put her famous son back on the right track.
It’s a fun story and worthy of a recap on April 29, which many NASCAR fans like to call Dale Earnhardt Day.
When Dale Earnhardt tried to turn back time
It was 1991 in Daytona for Speedweeks (back when it was weeks, plural). Back before everything was digital, we had physical media guides — made of paper, of all things! I was looking through the brand new 1991 edition but also glancing back at a couple from previous years to gather some facts and figures on Earnhardt.
It was all about Earnhardt in those days at Daytona, where he was winning damn near everything he entered except, famously, the Great American Race.
Not sure how it caught my eye, but it did. In previous years’ media guides, Earnhardt’s birthday was listed as April 29, 1951. That meant during this particular season — 1991 — the Intimidator would turn 40.
Except in the new media guide his birth year had switched to 1952. Turns out, Earnhardt had gone to the PR guy at NASCAR with what he labeled a “correction” to previous bio info.
I became intrigued, and along the way, I was given the phone number to Martha Earnhardt’s home in Kannapolis, N.C. — surely Dale’s mom could clear this up.
Did she ever.
Martha Earnhardt sets the (birth) record straight
To paraphrase Martha, since I can’t find the original story: “Dale was born in 1951, not 1952. His brother Randy was born in late 1952. It would’ve been some kind of trick for me to have Dale that year on April 29.”
If anyone should be considered an expert witness, it was Martha.
Shortly thereafter came the old IROC luncheon at Indigo Lakes golf club, where (after a free lunch!) the 12 IROC racers would draw their starting positions for the annual Friday race, which was always a big highlight of Speedweeks. There was also some light banter between the emcee (Dr. Jerry Punch, I believe) and each driver.
Afterward, all the drivers mingled for a short while and were available to reporters. A semi-circle of about five regular NASCAR reporters were chatting with Earnhardt outside the banquet center, on the sidewalk alongside the parking lot. I waited until they were basically done with questions when I sprung the news on him.
“The new media guide says you were born in 1952.”
“That’s right.”
“The previous media guides have you born in 1951, which means you’ll be 40 this season.”
“It’s ’52.”
I had a couple inches and probably 30 pounds on him, but I still smiled sheepishly — I was young and, frankly, he really was a bit intimidating.
“Well,” I said after clearing my throat, “I talked to your mom a few days ago. She says you were born in ’51.”
There were a few chuckles around us at that point. Nervous chuckles? In retrospect, probably so, as Earnhardt’s face went from relaxed happiness to blank. Uh-oh. But at least it wasn’t clear anger.
Turns out, he wasn’t upset one bit. He went from blank-faced to that famous half-grin that settled in somewhere between smile and smirk.
He reached out with his right hand and semi-firmly stuck his index finger in my chest, right around the breast pocket, and uttered the greatest retort I’d ever heard, regardless of how wrong he was about his mom’s testimony.
“She’s wrong.”
So Happy 74th to Dale. For those still a little intimidated, feel free to wish him a Happy 73rd.
— Email Ken Willlis at [email protected]
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