For those of you who have never had the chance to visit the shop of Dale Earnhardt Incorporated, outside Mooresville, North Carolina, it is really something to see. We were fans of the Intimidator from the first time we saw him race, during the Winston Cup Circuit. After his death in the Daytona 500, someone asked if we were going to attend any of the Earnhardt Legacy car shows, since the last event was going to be a truck show, which we discovered on the Dale Earnhardt Incorporated website. We decided to check it out. The Legacy Show Series is a series of ten shows dedicated to Chevy vehicles, and it started with Camaros, Chevelles, and then Corvettes, with the last one being dedicated to trucks and limited to the first 100 vehicles registered. The Earnhardt folks didn't do a lot of advertising but relied entirely on word of mouth and, of course, the visitors to the website. About 50 trucks showed up for the first show.
When we arrived on Saturday, September 11, we were really taken by the size of the main building, with two even larger buildings on either side. All of the trucks were lined up around the circular drive in front of the main building. The quality of the trucks was really outstanding, with most of them coming from North Carolina and South Carolina. There were several from Ohio and Florida, and a few from New York that were part of the National 454SS club. There seemed to be everything on hand, including a '48 Pro Street and a side-ramp Corvair.
Besides the show-and-shine, the participants were provided a luncheon in the restaurant on the second floor and given a personalized tour of parts of the shop that most of the public doesn't get to see. The parts of the shop that were open to the public included the trophy room and the gift shop. In the trophy room was most of the awards that Earnhardt had won, some of the many different uniforms he had worn, and some of the past team cars. There was plenty of neat stuff in the gift shop to buy with the Earnhardt name on it.
In the afternoon, everyone gathered under a covered area in front of the huge shop for the trophy presentation. Steve Crisp, who was in charge of the event, took to the podium to hand out the awards. He started things off by giving appreciation trophies to members of the Iredell County Rescue Squad, the Iredell Sheriff's Department, and members of the North Carolina Highway Patrol for all they had done for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. The trophies were really cool because they were made like Oscar awards but in the likeness of Dale Earnhardt. With only 50 trucks on hand, everyone that participated in this first show got a trophy.
This was a great event and what a great place to hold a truck show. Every Earnhardt fan in the country that owns a truck wouldn't want to miss this show next year. If you want to be part of this great event, contact Steve Crisp at (704) 662-8011, or check out the website at www.daleearnhardtincorporated.com. Remember to get your registration in early, since the show is only limited to the first 100 entries. It's an event you won't want to miss, and we hope to see you there.