3: The Dale Earnhardt Story

3 The Dale Earnhardt Story sometimes referred to as The Dale Earnhardt Movie is a 2004 television movie produced by ESPN depicting the life of NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt. It chronicles his life from his humble upbringing in Kannapolis, North Carolina, throughout his career racing automobiles to include his rise to dominance in NASCAR, culminating with his death in the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Its central theme focuses on the relationship between him and his father, Ralph Earnhardt, as well as the relationship between him and his youngest son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. It was first broadcast on December 11, 2004, and subsequently released on DVD. Barry Pepper was cast in the lead role to star as Earnhardt giving a credible performance which earned him a nomination for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie.

The script of this film was not approved by Earnhardts widow, Teresa Earnhardt, and his family. The film, although capturing the essence of Earnhardt, is inaccurate in many of the events seen in it. Richard Childress, the former car owner and team owner of Earnhardt, sued ESPN for copyright infringement with its use of thelogo.The relationship between Darrell Waltrip and Earnhardt in the film focuses primarily on their fierce rivalry, with little attention given to the friendship that would develop between the two. Waltrip noted this on his website during the runup to the film. Waltrip eventually drove for Earnhardts race team in 1998. Also, it is Waltrips tearfilled voice that can be heard saying I just hope Dales okay, during the films depiction of Earnhardts fatal crash at Daytona due to the use of NASCAR on Foxs original footage and commentary, which is now owned by NASCAR Images starting in 2001, NASCAR Images owns all NASCAR race footage they also own the footage of the former Sunbelt Video. ........

Source: Wikipedia