Fans can’t get enough of Earnhardt Sr. stuff

Steve Marcus

Wanda Pace shows a Dale Earnhardt Sr. T-shirt to Aaron White, 8, of Riverbank, Calif., Friday at Las Vegas Motor Speedway. The late star’s merchandise outsells that of all but three or four active drivers.

By Rob Miech (contact)

Sunday, March 2, 2008 | 2 a.m.

Brian Wolf donned a black cap, with the familiar white No. 3 tilted to the left on the front and “The Intimidator” on the back, and turned to his buddy, who nodded.

Sold, said Wolf. No, he didn’t need a bag. He pulled off a tag Friday morning and kept it on his noggin.

The legend of Dale Earnhardt Sr. continued at Las Vegas Motor Speedway as the coffers of the late NASCAR driver’s corporation increased by 19 bucks.

On the track, qualifying was taking place. Overhead, jets regularly zipped by after taking off from Nellis Air Force Base.

Cash registers from the drivers’ merchandise haulers rang loudest, however, and the trademark black tractor-trailer of Dale Sr. did steady business.

“I mean, Elvis is still around,” said fan Jeff Walker, laughing.

The inscription on a miniature black car hood, selling for $15, served as a mantra — “Continue The Legend.”

A couple stopped by to do some early Mother’s Day shopping and an elderly woman, completely decked out in No. 3 gear, glanced around for more of her idol’s stuff.

Eric Zimmerman, wearing a black football jersey bearing that slanted No. 3, picked out a Dale Earnhardt Road sign to complete $160 worth of purchases. He and his wife, Lori, named their 4-year-old daughter Kylie Dale.

“People would get in his way, but they’d move out of his way fast,” said Eric Zimmerman. “He intimidated people. Kind of what I like to do.”

Walker, who works on a pipeline in Salt Lake City, once saw Dale Sr. invite a kid into his Talladega pit and give him a jacket and a shirt.

“Awesome,” Walker said. “He’d go out of his way to please his fans.”

Earnhardt died on the last lap of the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18, 2001, but his fans refuse to let go of the man who won 76 NASCAR races and seven season championships.

Larry Spikes, a Las Vegas resident who worked inside the hauler over the weekend, predicted that a $15 do-rag — in camouflage white, black and gray, with that No. 3 on the front — would be popular in Las Vegas.

“He’s still cleaning up,” Spikes said of Dale Sr. “It’s like he’s still on the track. People love him.”

Marvin Pace has managed the huge trailer, driving it to races across the country, for two years. He said Dale Sr. merchandise is regularly among the top four or five in sales among all drivers and that Las Vegas receipts should top seven figures. (His son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., is the top-selling driver, accounting for 25 to 30 percent of NASCAR’s reported $2 billion a year in retail sales.)

What Dale Sr., the legend of yesterday, never did was drive the Car of Tomorrow, which was introduced at a few races last year. It is being driven in every race this season.

A company is producing a limited quantity of die-cast models of that car in Earnhardt’s color scheme and number.

Wally Bearden soured on the obvious cash grab, but he’s in the minority. The response was so overwhelming two weeks ago at the Daytona 500 that Pace fended fans off the hauler.

“I think you’ll see this trailer forever,” said Wolf, proud of his new cap. “As long as

NASCAR lives, you’ll see Dale’s stuff being sold.”