February 16, 2009
By Loren Dorrell
Saturday night, on the eve of the Daytona 500, I was surfing the gazillion or so satellite TV channels for something watchable and stumbled across a marathon of past races on ESPN Classic. I love watching the old races and switched over to find myself reliving the 1998 Great American Race. The images were only a decade or so old but they looked almost ancient, like we were witness to a long-gone era. I caught the race about 80 laps in and stayed glued to the screen for the next hour or so.
Yeah, I knew how it ended, but it didn’t stop the thrills and, I’m proud to admit, the tears as I watched Dale Earnhardt erase 20 years of frustration and finally win the one race that had eluded him for so long. After the black and silver number 3 eased through the crowds and into victory lane, and after The Intimidator had left the cockpit, the first person that gave him a congratulatory hug was his wife, Teresa.
Back then, she was just Mrs. Dale Earnhardt, still over a decade away from becoming the Evil-Step Mother and the personification of what many race fans see as all that has gone wrong with Dale Earnhardt Inc. – now Earnhardt-Ganassi Racing; the keeper of the flame allowing the light to fade to a mere flicker.
Over the past two years, Mrs. Earnhardt has borne the brunt of the criticism for DEI’s decline. To many fans of her husband and step-son, she’s the sole reason Dale Jr. left his father’s team for Hendrick Motorsports; stubbornly refusing to give him majority ownership of his father’s company – whether he deserved it or not.
Her reclusive ways have not endeared her to the faithful and the recent mergers first with Ginn Racing and then with Chip Ganassi, economic considerations aside, has seemed to be more of a palace coup then a business deal. She was remaking things into her own image, trying to squeeze out The Intimidator, perhaps even rewrite history and make herself into the real power behind the throne. And because many of us, myself included, wanted to believe that – if she could have gotten away with it – she’d have renamed the company Teresa Earnhardt Inc., we were ready to paint her all bad and paint the Earnhardt siblings – primarily Kelly and Dale Jr. – all good; like St George versus the dragon.
Even after Dale Jr. went public and asked us not to bash his step-mom, we still did because we couldn’t get over her betrayal. Trouble was, we were on the outside looking in and had no real clue about what was really going on. Truth was, we just needed someone to blame.
Truth is, Teresa doesn’t deserve half the blame and flame she’s been given. Truth is, for nearly 20 years she was the power behind the throne. Truth is, that she was the reason Dale Earnhardt was free to become the legend, the Intimidator.
Don’t believe me? Then let’s go channel surfing again.
At about the same time I was watching Big E win the ’98 Daytona, ESPN was also airing “3 - The Dale Earnhardt Story”.
Now, the movie doesn’t present Teresa as being a legend maker, but I also happen to have the companion book which, while no “Gone With The Wind”, provides a lot of background information. After the race, I pulled the book out and read it cover to cover and discovered what a disservice we – I – had done Teresa.
To make a long story short, she made it possible for him to chase his dreams; she understood him probably better than anyone else in the world. She raised his kids, kept house, did all the things that had to be done so Dale could concentrate on racing.
In 1983, Teresa took over DEI and ran the business so Dale didn’t have to. Teresa was responsible for the marketing giant Dale would become. And to a great extent, it was Teresa who helped mold a small-town boy into a legend. With her, Dale became not just a star, but a super-star.
Would Earnhardt still have won seven championships without her?
Probably.
Would The Intimidator still have been – and continue to be – one of NASCAR’s greatest icons?
Most likely.
But the man he became with her at his side, the Dale Earnhardt we all remember and love, the man thousands of fans still grieve for after all these years, may not ever have been, and for that, at least, we should cut her some slack.
We may not like what Dale’s legacy has become, we may not like the way she’s run things since he’s been gone, but if she was good enough for him, then she can’t be all bad, right?
So maybe we ought to give Teresa her due, give her credit for trying to save his race team in rough economic times instead of tearing her down for trying to ruin it. It would have been easy for her to phase out all the souvenirs, flags, memorabilia and merchandise; but there it is, just as popular as ever.
So yeah, it makes millions, but let’s just for once put that aside and say she’s doing it for all of us who loved Dale almost as much as she did. I’m willing to give her the benefit of the doubt from now on, and criticize when there’s a valid reason to do so. And if you have trouble going that far, how about calling a truce - for at least 500 laps.
I’m sure Dale would appreciate it. Heck, you might even get used to it.
The thoughts and ideas expressed by this writer or any other writer on Insider Racing News, are not necessarily the views of the staff and/or management of IRN.
You can contact Loren Dorrell at 
