By David G. Firestone

3: The Dale Earnhardt Story is, according to ESPN Original Entertainment executive producer Will Steger: “an unauthorized docudrama…inspired by the true life of Dale Earnhardt.” It’s a movie that on the surface, is an emotional look at the life of one of the greatest NASCAR drivers of all time.

The movie depicts Dale’s life from early childhood, idolizing his father as both a driver and a man. Dale watches his father Ralph race, and grows to love the sport of racing. When Ralph dies, Dale changes. His career takes off, and the movie follows Dale on and off the track until his death at the 2001 Daytona 500.

The movie would be somewhat unremarkable, if not for the fact that there were a lot of inaccuracies, as well as omissions.

The omissions include:

*Dale’s 2 year stint with Bud Moore during the 1982 and 1983 seasons. Granted these season were quite unremarkable, but the fact these were never mentioned seems odd.

*Earnhardt’s Late Model starts for All Star Racing in what is now the Xfinity Series were also omitted.

*None of Dale’s crew chiefs are accurately depicted.

*Most perplexingly of all, there is no mention made of Dale’s rivalry, or business partnership with Jeff Gordon. The Earnhardt/Gordon rivalry was the dominant rivalry in NASCAR in the 1990’s, yet it’s not even glossed over.

There are also too many inaccuracies and continuity errors in the movie.

*In the opening scene at the 2001 Daytona 500, Jeff Gordon’s car is running a 2004 instead of a 2001 scheme. Bobby Labonte is racing a Chevy Monte Carlo, whereas he raced a Pontiac in 2001.

*In that same scene, on Dale’s car, DALE EARNHARDT is written in generic red script. Earnhardt always used a stylized version of his signature in white.

*During a dirt track race set in the 1950’s, Realtree is a sponsor of one of the cars, despite not being founded until the 1980’s.

*A billfold in a scene from the 1970’s clearly shows a modern day $20 bill, but for many TV shows and movies, this is not uncommon.

*After he signs with Rod Osterlund, Dale drives a Chevy Monte Carlo in the 1979 Daytona 500. In the real race, he drove a Buick.

*Earnhardt meeting future wife Theresa is inaccurately portrayed. She was only 16, and Dale knew he was Hal Houston.

*During a dream sequence after winning the 1980 Winston Cup Championship, John Anderson’s flip from the 1981 Duel races is shown.

*After the Earnhardt/Waltrip spin at Richmond, Earnhardt was quoted as saying “I didn’t mean to wreck him, I just wanted to rattle his cage a little.” The first time he actually said this was in 1999 after spinning Terry Labonte to win the Goody’s Headache Powder 500.

*In the scene where Dale Sr. is teaching Dale Jr. and Kerry to race, Kerry is wearing a more modern firesuit with inaccurate patches, and patch placement. The chest patches are wrong, the Simpson logo is a newer logo, and the SFI Certification is on the top of the sleeve, as opposed to the inside of the left sleeve near the wrist.

*In that same scene, there is a 2004 Dale Jr. decal on the back window of a pickup truck.

*At the 1990 Trans South 500 at Darlington, a Tony Stewart flag, as well as what appears to be a Matt Kenseth flag can be seen on a flag pole

*At that same race, Ernie Irvan is racing a #4 Kodak Gold Oldsmobile, with scheme that Kodak did not debut until several years later.

*At the 1998 Daytona 500 there are quite a few issues with how that race was depicted.

*During the final pit stop, the movie has Dale taking four tires. In the real race, Dale only took two tires.

*There is a Winston Cup logo badly covering a Nextel Cup logo.

*In the movie, Dale Jr. celebrates with his dad in Victory Lane. Dale Jr. had left to race in a different race.

*The pit crew is depicted as wearing polo shirts and slacks, where as in reality, fireproof coveralls were mandatory by that point.

*The above-mentioned polo shirts and slacks don’t change at all between 1990 and 1998.

*The back of Dale’s car in that race is plain, whereas the real car had a GOODWRENCH logo on the back.

*The movie ends at the 2001 Daytona 500.

*As Dale is shaking hands before the race begins, there is a large WINSTON CUP SERIES banner, with lettering that was never used in reality.

*For some reason, Earnhardt is wearing a helmet with Corvette decals…which he never wore in NASCAR.

*Rusty Wallace is driving a white unmarked Dodge, even though he drove a blue Ford at the time of the race.

*Jeff Gordon is racing the Rainbow Warrior scheme, even though in 2001, he had switched to his flame scheme.

*One claim that I have heard is that Dale wore a clear visor, instead of the tinted one he is depicted as wearing in the movie.

*In the reflection of the visor, an Impact Racing logo can be seen, despite not being founded until 2004.

*Bobby Labonte is racing his 2004 scheme, not his 2001 scheme.

This film is also noted for not getting the approval of any member of the Earnhardt family, including his widow. Richard Childress, who is depicted in the movie, took the producers to court for copyright infringement. I wasn’t able to find the outcome of this lawsuit.

All in all, while the movie itself is decently made, and is emotional. The historical inaccuracies and omissions keep it from being anything except a C- movie.

Next week, for the final Wheel Reviews, I will review a movie about Ferrari.

By David G. Firestone

Directed by William Beaudine, Arthur Hammons, Tiny Hamberger and written by Philip Juergens, Robin Daniels, and Martin Mooney, Blonde Comet was released in 1941. The movie starts Virginia Vale as Beverly Blake, the daughter of the owner of the owner of a tire company, and Robert Kent as Robert Flynn, a racer who wants to make a more powerful carburetor.

Beverly Blake, nicknamed “Blonde Comet” races all over the world, and has a lot of success. It should be noted that due to World War II, this is set a few years prior. The first sequence is a series of races where Beverly is supposedly racing, but she isn’t actually seen in a car in most of these shots. An interesting detail is that the announcers are speaking the native language, as opposed to English.

The scene shifts to a racing garage, where a race car is being worked on, with the two mechanics, Curley and Robert have a sexist argument, and the character of Tex is introduced. The conversation focuses on Tex’s lack of experience behind the wheel of a race car. Jimmy then takes the car out, has the road blocked off, and tests the car. Beverly sees the road block, takes her car on a dirt road, and sees Jimmy’s car, turns around, kicks down the barricade, and drives through.

Jimmy finishes his run, turns around, and starts a second run, heading for Beverly. The two drivers meet, and a brief argument ensues. It’s interesting that while Blonde Comet is painted on the side of her car, Jimmy has to look at the race car being towed to figure out who she is. She drives through a second barricade, and the scene shifts to Southern Ascot Speedway.

Jimmy’s crew works on the race car, whereas Beverly works on her hair. The desire for some pop leads to a conversation between the two teams. After a nonsense scene involving speaking Swedish, Curley and Beverly have an awkward conversation. Tex buys some equipment from Barney Oldfield, in a cameo. Jimmy tells Barney he has a new carburetor which uses less fuel, without losing speed. Barney Oldfield’s acting isn’t great.

The announcer states that all drivers should meet for a driver meeting. At the meeting, Beverly talks with some of the other drivers, who aren’t thrilled she is there. The track announcer gets the drivers and spectators ready for the race. The race starts, and the announcer decides that rather than actually call the race, he will give biographical information.

As the race wears on, the announcer taps out for a while. Cars get spun out, but the race continues. My major issue with this scene is that it’s never established which characters are racing which numbers, so it’s impossible to figure out what is going on. The lack of announcers for large portions of the scene doesn’t help at all. Tex gets in a wreck, and is badly injured, eventually dying. Beverly goes on to win the race, Jimmy finishes second. Jimmy punches the driver who wrecked Tex, and Beverly suddenly falls in love.

The scene shifts to Jimmy’s garage, where Barney pledges $25 to help ship Tex’s body home. Beverly meets Barney and gives her back story. Barney gives Beverly his $25, and Beverly drives to Jimmy’s garage, gives Jimmy the $25, and the rest of the money needed. Beverly drives to the next race, a 500 miler at a 1 mile track. After a group photo, Jimmy and Beverly flirt before the race starts, but once the green flag drops, the race starts.

Unlike the last race, since Beverly and Jimmy car numbers have become clear, the race is somewhat easier to follow, granted that there is no announcers here. Blonde Comet takes the lead. After some humor with a chalk board, Jimmy ends up in second place, behind Beverly. As the race winds down, Jimmy takes the lead, while Beverly is in third, behind Red Stewart. With four laps to go, there is are some serious wrecks, and eventually, Jim wins, and Beverly comes in second. After the race, it’s revealed that Red Stewart was killed in the wreck. It’s revealed that Beverly is going to Indianapolis.

Beverly, Barney, and Cannonball Blake, Beverly’s father have a meeting where they discuss adding one of Jim’s carburetors in her car, but asks that the installation a secret. At the Indianapolis 500, both Jim and Beverly qualify for the race. There is added tension, because the government is interested in Jim’s carburetor design, though only if one of the cars with the carburetors wins.

The race starts out slow, but at the halfway point, Jim gets in a wreck, due to a bad tire. Beverly pulls out, feigning exhaustion, but demands that Jim take over. Jim goes on to win the race, and at the victory celebration, the toast is to carburetors and tires. Beverly and Jim get engaged, and the movie ends.

After watching this, I’m going to give this movie a B+. The racing is good, the story is good, and the characters are realistic. Unlike The Racing Strain, there is no over the top plot twist, which is good. Also, unlike The Racing Strain, there is no real antagonist, which isn’t so great. I would love for there to be a dedicated villain who is openly opposing Beverly and Jim, but it doesn’t happen. A decent racing movie, but not a great one.