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"Like so many people around the world, I became a NASCAR fan because I became a Dale Earnhardt fan. Dale was someone I was proud to have my son look up to. We all have our memories we will cherish, memories of excitement, competitiveness and most of all memories of a great man. On behalf of the people of Alabama, I extend my thoughts and prayers to his family and friends." Memories of Dale His friends at Realtree share their favorite stories about another side of Dale Earnhardt — his love and passion for the outdoors. By Daryl Kirby Never before have so many grown men cried. I'm not the least bit ashamed to admit I was one of 'em. By the time the networks broke the news that Dale Earnhardt didn't make it this time, we already knew. The celebration for Michael Waltrip had just begun in Daytona's Victory Lane, and Mike Rhodes, GON's advertising director, was burning up my phone line... the TV showed a quick shot of Schrader looking into the 3 car and motioning for help... we hadn't heard from Mike's brother J.R., Dale's public-relations rep and right-hand man... then the shot of Dale being wheeled out of the ambulance. We knew then. Over a year later we still can't believe it. Kevin Harvick driving that Goodwrench car to a remarkable win in Atlanta sure helps the healing process. For the friends of Dale Earnhardt, swapping stories about the man is part of the healing. Bill Jordan and his gang at Realtree shared plenty of hunt camps with Dale Earnhardt, and they were gracious enough to share some of their hunting-related memories of Dale with the readers of GON. This is a side of Dale you won't read about in Time or People magazines, but boy was it a big part of his life — Dale Earnhardt the outdoorsman. As Bill Jordan said, "behind his family there was racing, and after racing there was the outdoors."

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