A few weeks ago, We’ve Lost Dale Earnhardt: 25 Years Later premiered after the Duels at Daytona International Speedway.
FOX had teased the documentary for several weeks, particularly during the Cook Out Clash at Bowman Gray Stadium – where, when the trailer aired, I received three separate texts from three different friends within a minute or two of each other, all in the vein of “how many Dale Earnhardt documentaries do we need?!”
In fairness to them, I thought the exact same thing and laughed out loud when those texts came rolling in. They’re right. But I will say, as repetitive as the seven million Earnhardt docs are, this one was a little different.
On the heels of the Earnhardt docuseries on Prime last year, which I talked with creator Joshua Altman for over the summer, this pales in comparison. But that’s a four-episode miniseries that spans about four hours of material.
This does take the slightly different approach of looking at Dale’s death from the perspective of those around him, those involved in the sport and those in his periphery. I liked that angle.
Only Yesterday: ‘We’ve Lost Dale Earnhardt: 25 Years Later’ Is Another Trip Down an Emotional Road
We start out, of course, with Mike Helton’s perspective. Not sure Helton has ever given an expansive interview about the 2001 Daytona 500, where, as a representative of the sport, he had to announce to the world that NASCAR’s biggest icon had been killed in a crash.
Not just that, but Earnhardt was also Helton’s friend. So he had to make an announcement that was unbearably difficult on both a professional and a personal level.
We also get the journalistic side with Patti Wheeler, who was heavily involved with NASCAR and Speed, and Ryan McGee, who was just starting his career in the years leading up to Earnhardt’s death. It’s really fascinating hearing about the impact of his death in that world, particularly the tragedy making the front pages of papers it otherwise wouldn’t have.
Frankie Muniz gets an entire segment, since he was apparently one of the last people to interact with Earnhardt – outside of the No. 3 crew – before Earnhardt got in that black Goodwrench car for the final time.
I’m not sure we needed Muniz for an entire block of time, but it’s darkly hilarious watching a 15-year-old Malcolm in the Middle tell the entire MTV world “just have fun, because you never know when it’s gonna end. You really don’t.”
I like that we get appearances from Rusty Wallace, who was of course a longtime competitor of Earnhardt’s, and Kyle Busch, who came after Earnhardt but was long compared due to his driving habits.
Kurt Busch also makes an appearance, telling a funny story about Earnhardt messing with him after the elder Busch wrecked Dale Earnhardt Jr. The 2001 500 was Busch’s first, so it must have been pretty jarring for him to have his first marquee Cup Series race be one that ended like that.
Joey Logano and Ryan Blaney also show up to talk about the progression of the sport since 2001, particularly in safety. Blaney, specifically, had a hard, head-on crash at Daytona back in 2023 that was eerily similar – if not more violent – than Earnhardt’s.
Overall, I liked the documentary quite a bit. Big fan of taking a different look at the impact and legacy Dale had and left behind in the sport.
At some point, I’ll take a full look at the Earnhardt docuseries, which is the quintessential – and should’ve been the last – thing ever made on Earnhardt.
But I guess we’ll keep getting Earnhardt docs every “milestone year” since the 2001 Daytona 500. Maybe, in five years, they’ll do one focused on the safety improvements for the 30th anniversary, and in another 25 years, we’ll have one made specially for what would’ve been Dale’s 100th birthday.
Giving out free ideas here!
You can watch the full doc here:
