It’s hard to believe that it’s been 24 years since NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt died on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. With seven championships and 76 wins at the circuit’s top level, Dale had scores of fans who still buy his merchandise today. During the 1986 and 1987 seasons, Earnhardt won two of his championships driving the Chevy Monte Carlo SS “Aerocoupe”. We don’t know if Dale was ever behind the wheel of this tribute car, but it was used in two movies. Located in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, this functional race car is available here on craigslist for $19,900.
Chevrolet developed the Monte Carlo Aerocoupe to help the automaker become more competitive in NASCAR. The Aerocoupe had a different front snout and rear spoiler and a huge sloping back glass for better aerodynamics, and it worked especially well for Earnhardt and his team owner, Richard Childress. By NASCAR requirements, Chevy had to build a few thousand of them for street use. The Monte Carlo was replaced on and off the track in 1989 by the Lumina.
We’re told this 1988 racecar retired from NASCAR events in 2000, but we don’t know what its on-track pedigree was. After that it was a “tribute/movie” having appeared in 2004’s 3 – The Dale Earnhardt Story, a somewhat unofficial look at Dale’s life (a TV movie that I saw and thought was okay), and 2019’s Zombieland 2 (which I don’t know anything about). This interesting tip is brought to us by Keith Bisson!
The seller acquired this car from Fast Track Racing, an ARCA team. We’re told the car will come with some letters of authenticity from Fast Track. It’s said to be a strong-running car that comes with an extra set of tires, wheels, and a spare battery. All of this begs the question “What would you do with the car if you bought it?” It could be the ultimate memorabilia for fans who collect everything Earnhardt. We’re told the title is missing, but since it wouldn’t be street-legal, would it have even had a title?
24 years, tell me about not. I was there, well, not at the race itself, but in Florida. We didn’t want to believe it, and the person I felt most sorry for was Michael Waltrip. Earnhardt was his idol, and he went from the glory of winning to finding out his mentor died. That’s pretty heavy. The crash itself didn’t seem that severe, there have been much worse crashes, but he refused to wear the HANS device, a mistake that killed him. I think there were better drivers, Earnhardt did some sloppy moves, but a more aggressive driver I don’t think there was. I’m not quite sure what you would do with this thing?
Hollowed-out victory for sure Howard. Better bring your ear plugs for the first drive w this one. 🏁
Earnhardt was certainly aggressive, but he wasn’t “sloppy”. He managed to put his car in places that others wouldn’t dream of, and for the most part it worked out. Best described as Guts.
His persona as the Intimidator was what put fans in the seats and on the screen, in fact he was just as happy hearing the boo’s as much as the cheers.
As a fan I was able to meet him in ’98 and had a nice conversation with him.
RIP Dale, you’re certainly still missed…
The HANS device wasn’t invented yet, but there was a harness type system which was optional. He didn’t wear it because he said it restricted his movements and ability to see the way he wanted. That was a very said day in racing history.
Was watching the race. Kind of shot the thrill a minute thing. Glad it hasn’t happened lately in the Cup races.
If this car has a verifiable racing history that will open the door to run a many historic race events, not just open track days.
Steve R
I have to admit that this car is pretty cool. Don’t know what the hell one would do with it, but pretty cool nonetheless.
I saw that race on tv. I thought that crash led to the Hans?
This looks to be a lot of racecar for under $20k.
I’d race it if it could turn left and right.
As is, it would be accepted by most vintage race groups.
Re: the Hans device; that those devices came to be as a direct result of Earnhardt’s crash has always been my understanding.
They had been invented, and few people wore them, but they were not mandatory until after Dale’s crash and death.
Very cool find. As for this car’s provenance, there should be two identifiable tags on or within. One would be a NASCAR issued inspection and certification sticker, specific to this car. The other should be an identification of the chassis builder. If this was raced in 1987-88, it may not have been built by the race team, or in house. During this time, there were still builders such as Hutcherson-Pagan, Holman-Moody, and Banjo Matthews. Using the information on these tags within the car, and some detective work, one can identify who owned it first, and most importantly, if The Man himself competed in it.
It really shouldn’t be that hard to tell if it was ever driven by Dale himself. All the NASCAR teams number/name each one of the cars. They have to, because they have several in the shop for different types of tracks and each driver has his own personal favorite car too. There should be a plate on the chassis that would at the very least be able to be confirmed by the race team.
The car came from Trackhouse Racing so tracking its history shouldn’t be a problem.
I grew up and still live just outside of Daytona Beach and almost by default was always a fan of NASCAR. We were having our house built and I was working in the yard listening to the race on the radio. I was so thrilled for Michael Waltrip but after a several minutes with no update on Dale’s condition I had a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach. Even as a dyed in the wool FoMoCo fan I was always an Earnhardt fan 1st and foremost. Ever since then I have been a ‘meh’ NASCAR fan at best.
One of my friends had seats in the 4th turn for the previous 20+ years and was there that day. We were talking about the wreck and I mentioned how it didn’t look that severe but he said that when he hit the wall it sounded like a bomb going off. He had seen & heard dozens of crashes in that corner over the years and said nothing came close to the sound Dale’s car made when it hit the wall. Think about it; he went from 200mph to practically 0 almost instantly.
Losing him was horrible.
For the record, if you have never been to a NASCAR race you really ought to check it out at least once. If you can swing it, stand by the fence as “the train” comes by at full speed and I promise you will be grinning like an idiot. They won’t let you stop and stand there but if you have bend over to tie your shoe, you’ll be good to go. Just have to time it right.
One of my favorite Earnhardt stories was told by Jeff Gordon. He was talking about how he was 3 wide going down the back stretch at Daytona and he’s 10 & 2 o’clock, white-knuckled on the steering wheel. He glances to his right and there’s Mark Martin, same deal, 10&2, white knuckling it then he looks to his left and there’s Dale, one arm on the wheel, the other resting on the rollbar like he’s riding around town in his pickup truck. Cool as a cucumber. The man was at home on the super speedways.
Prior to his death very few drivers wore the HANS devices. When NASCAR lost their Golden Boy, it became mandatory. Smokey Yunick had been hollering about the stupidity of the concrete walls for decades. His idea was to ring the track with the used racecar tires. “Concrete walls kills ’em deader quicker”.
Rules are usually written in someone’s blood.
I’ve done tech at the local dragstrip for years, most serious racers are pretty thorough, complaining mostly about certification dates for things like transmission cases and shields, non-wear items that don’t deteriorate over time. The main problem is with people that just want to go fast and aren’t really interested in going rounds or winning races. By far, number one reason I would have to fail cars is the drivers seat wasn’t bolted down on all four corners. Ninety percent of the time they’d give you grief, saying the seat belts would hold everything in place if they crashed or nobody ever said anything about it before, at which point I’d write the seat wasn’t bolted down next to where we sign off on a car and hand them back the tech card and say they could bring it to the guy that took it the last time. The typical response was that it was a different track.
Steve R
See if the Earnhardt family wants it, otherwise only good for parking in a GM Showroom, or a great boat anchor, but not at that price.
That’s not true. My brother in law raced SCCA for years and when he felt like he wasn’t quite as competitive as he felt like he should be, he gave that up and joined a vintage NASCAR series. He has done that for the last 20 years and loves it. It’s pretty popular so I wouldn’t be surprised if that isn’t where this car ends up.
The ad doesn’t say it was raced by Dale Earnhardt Sr., only that it was used in a movie about him, painted like a car he drove. It would be surprising if the family or Richard Childress didn’t already have many if his most significant cars squirreled away.
Steve R
Steve R; good point, but the nice thing about this car is the fact that Trackhouse ran it in the ARCA series, so it’s a legit race car, perfect for the vintage NASCAR thing.
To say Dale Earnhardt had a “sloppy” driving style is insane. I urge you sir to watch the last 4 laps of the 2000 Talladega race in Oct. Earnhardt was in 17th place. He won. Even the announcers Benny Parsons and Dr. Jerry Punch were almost speechless how he plowed through all those cars. NASCAR is a joke today with Earnhardt and the other drivers of the era.
Thanks to all, my facts may be a bit fuzzy, but gets us talking. I did hear of 10 “experts” were paid a million dollars to analyze the crash, ($100,000 a piece) and in a year their results? Inconclusive.
The description says it all: it’s a tribute car. Yes, it could be an actual NASCAR Cup car, but painted in the Goodwrench #3 livery only – no claim that this is an actual Earnhardt car.
The money in these ex-racers is all in the engine, not really the chassis. If this is a true NASCAR Cup built engine, the price would be much higher.
I don’t believe that the seller ever claimed that it was a true Earnhardt car and since the car was most recently campaigned in the ARCA series I see no reason to not believe its claimed pedigree. Also, you have to remember that this is a used race car with a used engine, not a fresh engine.