The case can be made that Earnhardt was a working class hero. As the other poster pointed out that story, this video really gets into it and how he connected with the working people of the south who were his fans. Earnhardt came from a very small town in North Carolina and dropped out of school to start racing.
Earnhardt had other appeal with working class people, given his 1980 championship was one of the few in the sport done on a small market team and with no sponsors. He eventually picked up the Wrangler sponsor and that helped build the image around him with his fan base of being an everyman.
That man did not give a fuck about rules or norms. Watch videos of him driving and you'll see what I mean, and how that video points it out. He was known as a dirty driver most of his career and a bully on the track. For a while, he was NASCAR's greatest heel and most hated driver. He got the nickname "the intimidator" due to his aggressive style of driving and how it made drivers fearful to see him in their rear view. As the video I linked pointed out, it's similar metaphorically to someone cutting corners and just trying to make the best out of life.Dale didn't care what people thought of him or the "right way to race", you either got the fuck out of his way, or he was going to make you pay for it.
The case can be made that Earnhardt was a working class hero. As the other poster pointed out that story, this video really gets into it and how he connected with the working people of the south who were his fans. Earnhardt came from a very small town in North Carolina and dropped out of school to start racing.
Earnhardt had other appeal with working class people, given his 1980 championship was one of the few in the sport done on a small market team and with no sponsors. He eventually picked up the Wrangler sponsor and that helped build the image around him with his fan base of being an everyman.
That man did not give a fuck about rules or norms. Watch videos of him driving and you'll see what I mean, and how that video points it out. He was known as a dirty driver most of his career and a bully on the track. For a while, he was NASCAR's greatest heel and most hated driver. He got the nickname "the intimidator" due to his aggressive style of driving and how it made drivers fearful to see him in their rear view. As the video I linked pointed out, it's similar metaphorically to someone cutting corners and just trying to make the best out of life.Dale didn't care what people thought of him or the "right way to race", you either got the fuck out of his way, or he was going to make you pay for it.
The man basically perfected the 190 MPH PIT maneuver.