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DALE EARNHARDT BLVD.
When I-85 Exit 60 opened back in 1992, eight thousand of Dale's friends and fans turned out for the dedication of Dale Earnhardt Blvd. Today's Dale Earnhardt Blvd. begins at I-85 Exit 60 and is a major thoroughfare through Kannapolis.

CABARRUS COUNTY VISITORS CENTER
On the right, just past the exit next to the BP station, is a Visitors Center and Trail Head for the Dale Trail operated by the Cabarrus County Convention & Visitors Bureau. This is a great "pit stop," loaded with free maps and brochures about local attractions and lodging. They serve fresh coffee and there are public restrooms. Hours are Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 5pm. They are open on weekends during major races at Lowe's Motor Speedway. 3003 Dale Earnhardt Blvd., Kannapolis. 800-848-3740. www.visitcabarrus.com

EARNHARDT ROAD
Just down Dale Earnhardt Blvd. on the left is an older "Earnhardt Road" where earlier members of the Earnhardt clan had a hog slaughterhouse in years-gone-by. Earnhardt Road was once a short piece of country road with two 90 degree turns where teenage Dale often drove his bright yellow '56 Chevrolet - usually sideways, it's been reported. A portion of the older Earnhardt Road exists today, and you can see the road marker on your left as you head into Kannapolis.

RALPH EARNHARDT'S GRAVE
Dale's dad, Ralph Earnhardt, is another Kannapolis legend. Locals called him "Mr. Dirt Track" because he was a champion on the NASCAR Modified, Sportsman and Grand National circuits, amassing 350 victories over a 23-year career. Ralph died of heart failure in 1973 while working on his race car. He is buried in the Center Grove Lutheran Cemetery on the northeast corner of Dale Earnhardt Blvd. and Little Texas Road. Losing his dad made Dale more determined than ever to be successful as a driver. For a good view of Ralph's grave, as you head into Kannapolis from I-85, turn right on Little Texas Road. The headstone faces the road near the back corner of the cemetery. Pull over and park on the grass just outside the fence for photos.

HIGHWAY 29 / FORMER SITE OF EDDLEMAN'S GARAGE & FLYING MILE (No existing landmark)
Further along, Dale Earnhardt Blvd. intersects Highway 29. A few blocks south of the intersection was Eddleman's engine shop where Ralph Earnhardt perfected his engine wizardry working on flat-head Fords for moonshiners like Junior Johnson back in the 1940's. Top-of-the-line for a bootlegger was a 1940 Ford loaded with a Cadillac V8 engine and three carburetors. Eddleman's crew tested these fire-breathing, 'shine-running beasts on a measured mile they marked off down Highway 29. They'd get a head start on the "flying mile" and hit the line running. The Caddy-powered Fords were good for about 34 seconds, which was 108-110 miles per hour. Once, Ralph tested one that did it in 30 seconds - that's about 120 miles per hour.

CAR TOWN / EARNHARDT FAMILY'S NEIGHBORHOOD
Just beyond the Highway 29 intersection, Dale Earnhardt Blvd. runs past a section of Kannapolis known as Car Town. Here Ralph Earnhardt and his wife Martha raised their family among streets named V-8, Chrysler, Dodge, Plymouth, Ford, Chevrolet and Cadillac. Ralph converted the building behind the family house into a garage where he built and worked on his race cars. Martha still lives in the Car Town family home, and Ralph's garage still stands out back.

Dale, the third of five children and Ralph and Martha's first son, tore around Car Town's streets on his bicycle, and Martha says even on his bicycle he always wanted to win. But it was in Ralph's garage where Dale discovered his true passion for racing. He'd help out cleaning the shop or the cars. "When I was a kid," Dale once said, "I would do anything I could to help, to be around racing." On school nights when he couldn't tag along to watch his dad race, Dale would race to the garage the next morning. He said he could tell just by looking at the car how well his dad had done the night before. "If there were a lot of tire marks on the doors, he'd probably won 'cause guys had beat and banged on him trying to get around."

MAIN STREET / MIDWAY (No existing landmark)
The section of Kannapolis where the Dale Trail intersects Main Street was known as Midway. When Dale was a teenager there was a slot car emporium on Main Street - D&D Model Raceway. Dale earned his very first trophy racing slot cars at D&D. The kids in Midway were so serious about slot car racing that most of them had several cars and, thanks to D&D, they had their own dynometer to measure the toy cars' horsepower. D&D's is closed now, but that first trophy meant a lot to Dale, and he held onto it into adulthood.

CANNON VILLAGE / CANNON MILLS
When Ralph Earnhardt first met Martha, he was working in the weave room of Cannon Mills, the textile superpower that once employed 25,000 people who lived in the mill village. There was something about the mill village lifestyle that engendered a love for the automobile, and it seemed like everyone who worked in the mill had a car in the backyard. But Ralph Earnhardt chucked the lunch box and time sheet to pursue racing. This was unheard of back then. He worked at Eddleman's Garage for a couple of years before he began racing full time. Martha at first resisted the idea, but she finally agreed after Ralph promised to stop if he couldn't make enough to support the family. The mill buildings are being torn down now to make way for North Carolina Research Campus, a new biotechnology center, but the spirit of the mill village and its strong work ethic and commitment to quality lives on among Kannapolis residents.

IDIOT CIRCLE
Back in the 1960's, teenagers would cruise down one side of West Avenue from Vance Street to 1st Street and then back on the other side of the traffic circle created by pull-in parking down the center. Locals called it Idiot Circle, and Martha, Dale's mom, says her son probably logged more miles on Idiot Circle than he did on the race tracks. Maybe this is where he perfected the left turn! One day Dale and his friends were cruising Idiot Circle in Dale's '56 Chevrolet when they saw someone drive by in a car with its front lowered. They thought it looked cool. "We need to go home and fix mine," Dale said. They did. Back in Ralph's garage, they jacked the car up, pulled the front springs, cut part of the coils with a blow torch, put the springs back in lowering the car's front end and were back on Idiot Circle in about 30 minutes.

DALE EARNHARDT PLAZA
On the corner of Main Street and West B Street, Dale's boyhood friends and neighbors celebrate his life career at this park dedicated in his memory.

Bronze Statue. The Plaza's centerpiece is a 9-foot, 900-pound bronze statue of Dale as his hometown knew him - dressed in Wrangler jeans, cowboy boots and a short-sleeve shirt with button-down collar. He sports his famous grin, and his arms are crossed. His shirt is creased, his face shows wrinkles, and his sunglasses are in his shirt pocket. He faces south, so the sun is always on his face. Because he is looking slightly to the right, the best time to get a photograph is in the afternoon when there are no shadows on his face.

Granite Monument. Standing near the statue is a granite monument, another tribute to "The Intimidator," contributed by fans from New York and Vermont. They raised the funds, purchased the monument, had it engraved and brought it to Kannapolis on a flatbed truck. This monument was the first feature at Dale Earnhardt Plaza, and three busloads of these New England fans came down for the dedication.

Plaza-In-Progress. The Plaza itself is still a work in progress, but many of its features draw on Earnhardt numerology. The statue's pedestal has seven granite sections - one for each of Dale's seven Winston Cup Championships. In time, each section will have the Championship date engraved on it. The inside seat wall is designed to incorporate 76 granite sections - one for each of Dale's 76 Winston Cup wins. Each granite section will eventually have the race and the date engraved on it as well. To commemorate Dale's #3 car, all azaleas and daylilies are planted in groups of three. At each entrance walk, 33 plants form the shape of a 33-inch number, #3. The benches around the outside of the sidewalk are grouped in sets of three. The outside walk is laid out in an oval to simulate a race track. Eight lights shine down on the statue to signify Ralph's #8 car and Dale Jr.'s #8 car. The red daylilies, white azaleas and black granite showcase Dale's signature colors - red, white and black.

DALE EARNHARDT TRIBUTE CENTER
In the Cannon Village Visitors Center on the corner of West Avenue and West B Street is a collection of larger-than-life murals by world-renowned motorsports artist Sam Bass depicting Dale's career. Bass, who had a 20-year working relationship and friendship with Dale, says all transactions between them were a gentleman's agreement, guaranteed by a handshake. At the opening of the Dale Earnhardt Tribute Center, Bass said, "I am indebted to Dale for so many tremendous opportunities he gave me and assistance he provided to further my art career. This is truly an honor for me to be included in documenting his legacy." 200 West Avenue, Kannapolis. 704-938-3200. www.cannonvillage.com

JUNCTION CAFE & GRILL... DALE'S FAVORITE SANDWICH
Junction Café & Grill at 119 Main Street in Cannon Village (on the right just beyond Dale Earnhardt Plaza) serves a tasty tomato sandwich made just the way Dale liked it. Tomato sandwiches were always among his favorite, a reminder of his beginnings in racing when money was scarce. It means a lot to the local townspeople in Kannapolis that Dale never forgot where he came from. Martha, Dale's mom, says she made it with sliced tomato, sometimes lettuce, and Miracle Whip on white bread. Open 6am to 2pm/Mon-Fri and 6am-11am/Sat.

CURB MOTORSPORTS
As you leave Cannon Village, turn right (north) on Dale Earnhardt Blvd/ Highway 3. On the corner of Chestnut Street and Dale Earnhardt Blvd. you can catch a rare glimpse of NASCAR history. In the window of Curb Motorsports is the car Dale drove in 1980 in his first Winston Cup Championship. It's a Curb Motorsports Car #2, a blue and yellow Chevrolet. Parked next to it is another Curb Motorsports car, Richard Petty's #43 Car, the Pontiac Grand Prix that Petty drove in 1984 when he achieved his 199th Winston Cup win. Normally open 9am-4pm. The museum houses race cars, photos and racing memorabilia. 218 Chestnut Ave. 704-938-6121

NC-3
From Chestnut Street, you jog to the right on Dale Earnhardt Blvd. for one block and then turn left on NC-3 (Mooresville Road) that takes you to Dale Earnhardt Inc. NC-3 - previously designated NC-136 - was officially renumbered on October 22, 2002, by legislation signed by Gov. Mike Easley in honor of the Intimidator and his #3 car. Part of the Highway 3 includes a stretch of Dale Earnhardt Boulevard in Kannapolis. Appropriately, NC-3 runs between Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s palatial shops near Mooresville and the family home in Car Town where Dale grew up. Once, Dale and Jimmy Spencer raced from Ralph's garage in back of the family home in Kannapolis to Dale's new facility near Mooresville. It was late at night, and they were both driving pickups. Dale won. Dale knew this route well, and one can only imagine the other Dale Earnhardt stories this stretch of road could tell.

DALE EARNHARDT INC.
In 1999, Earnhardt's multimillion dollar business got fancy new digs when Dale Earnhardt Inc. opened on what is now NC-3 near the Earnhardts' estate. It's a huge glass and granite complex on the right about 15 minutes north of Cannon Village. When you see it, you'll know why fans call it "the garage mahal." DEI is home to Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s stable of drivers, and fans tour the showroom with its ever-changing Dale Earnhardt exhibits and browse for memorabilia in the gift shop. Open M-F 9am to 5pm; Sat 10am to 4pm. 1675 Coddle Creek Highway, Mooresville. 877-334-9663. www.daleearnhardtinc.com

KANNAPOLIS INTIMIDATORS STADIUM (Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium)
The legacy of "The Intimidator" lives on at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium. In November of 2000, Larry Hedrick and O. Bruton Smith welcomed Dale Earnhardt to the ownership group of Carolina Baseball, Inc. The Kannapolis Intimidators began play in April 2001 honoring Dale and his hometown of Kannapolis. Sadly, Dale was killed before he could see his team play. They play 70 games from April-Sept here at Fieldcrest Cannon Stadium. Gift shop is open M-F 8:30am-5pm. 704-932-FANS. www.intimidatorsbaseball.com

RICHARD CHILDRESS RACING
Home shop for Dale's team and #3 car, RCR is located about 40 miles north in Welcome. Fans can see into the shop from a fan walk. Open M-F 9am-5pm; Sat 9am-3pm. Take I-85 North to US-52 Exit 92. Turn right on Old US52 (Main Street). Go 2+ miles (Look for brown sign to Museum). Turn right on Industrial Drive. 236 Industrial Drive, Welcome. 800-476-3389. www.rcrracing.com.

LOWE'S MOTOR SPEEDWAY
Built in 1960, the legendary 1.5-mile superspeedway is the super speedway Dale called home. It is home to NASCAR NEXTEL Cup, Busch and Craftsman Truck Series racing. NASCAR events highlight the schedule in May and October, but the 167,000-seat facility also hosts numerous other activities, including three of the nation's largest car shows; a 10-week series of Legends Car, Bandolero and Thunder Roadster racing; and stock car driving schools. Daily tours are available (except during events) and a gift shop is loaded with souvenirs and racing memorabilia. Martha tells the story about how the Earnhardt family would park in the infield at Lowe's Motor Speedway (then Charlotte Speedway), and she and kids would stand on top of the truck to watch Ralph race. 5555 Concord Parkway S., Concord. 800-455-FANS. www.lowesmotorspeedway.com

SAM BASS GALLERY
This gallery of motorsports art by Sam Bass showcases more than 300 pieces of art, including originals, limited edition prints and fine posters. Open M, Th, Fri 10am-5pm; Sat 10am-4pm. Prints, posters and select Sam Bass merchandise may be purchased. Turn left on Morehead Road just south of Lowe's Motor Speedway. It is on the right at 6104 Performance Dr. SW, Concord. 704-455-6915. www.sambass.com