''Dale'' is a 2007 documentary film about the life and career of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and ...

race car driver

Dale Earnhardt Ralph Dale Earnhardt Sr. (; April 29, 1951February 18, 2001) was an American professional stock car driver and team owner, who raced from 1975 to 2001 in the former NASCAR Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notably dri ...

. The film follows his career all the way to his

death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...

in the 2001

Daytona 500 The Daytona 500 is a NASCAR Cup Series motor race held annually at Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Florida. It is the first of two Cup races held every year at Daytona, the second being the Coke Zero Sugar 400, and one of thre ...

. Produced as a collaboration between CMT Films and

NASCAR Images NASCAR Productions, LLC is an American production company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. The company is a subsidiary of NASCAR and produces programs to promote the sport of professional stock car racing Stock ...

, the film premiered in theaters in selected cities in February 2007. A lot of the cities the film premiered in were cities where the

Sprint Cup Series was racing that week including

Daytona Beach Daytona Beach, or simply Daytona, is a coastal resort-city in east-central Florida. Located on the eastern edge of Volusia County near the Atlantic coastline, its population was 72,647 at the 2020 census. Daytona Beach is approximately nort ...

. ''Dale'' made its television debut on CMT on September 4, 2007, setting a new ratings record for the network of more than 3.1 million total viewers.CMT.com : Index : Dale Breaks Ratings Records for CMT
/ref> The film included interviews from legendary NASCAR drivers including Dale's rival

Darrell Waltrip Darrell Lee Waltrip (born February 5, 1947) is an American motorsports analyst, author, former national television broadcaster, and stock car driver. He raced from 1972 to 2000 in the NASCAR Cup Series (known as the NASCAR Winston Cup Series dur ...

. The film is now available on DVD as a 6-disc set. Narrated by

Paul Newman Paul Leonard Newman (January 26, 1925 – September 26, 2008) was an American actor, film director, race car driver, philanthropist, and entrepreneur. He was the recipient of numerous awards, including an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, three ...

, it was one of his last films and the final one to air in his lifetime.

References

External links

* * 2007 documentary films 2007 films Dale Earnhardt American auto racing films Documentary films about auto racing Documentary films about sportspeople NASCAR mass media 2000s English-language films 2000s American films {{sport-documentary-film-stub