At the Altar of Speed: The Fast Life and Tragic Death of Dale Earnhardt

by Leigh Montville

He was The Intimidator. A nightmare in the rear-view mirror. A unique winner in the boardroom. A seven-time Winston Cup champion. A driver whose personal success story and dedication inspired the adoration of millions of fans. Then on February 18, 2001, just seconds from the Daytona 500 finish line, the world of stock-car racing suffered a devastating loss as Dale Earnhardt fatally careened into a track wall. The tragic shock waves, and an unprecedented outpouring of respect and love, have not stopped since.At the Altar of Speed takes readers behind the scenes of Earnhardt's celebrated life, tracing his rags-to-riches journey to the top of America's fastest-growing sport. Beginning with Earnhardt's early days growing up in small-town North Carolina, veteran sports writer Leigh Montville examines how a ninth-grade dropout started on the dusty dirt tracks of the South, went through two marriages and a string of no-future jobs before turning twenty-five, then took about a million left turns to glory. Through the pitfalls and triumphs, Earnhardt would ultimately become a celebrated champion, whose lifetime earnings would top forty-one million dollars. The son of a legendary racer, the father of a NASCAR star, he lived a total auto-racing life filled with triumph and sadness, great joy and great pain.Transporting readers to the colorful, noisy world of stock-car racing, where powerful engines allow drivers to reach speeds of 200 m.p.h., At the Altar of Speed vividly captures the man who drove the black No. 3 car, a man whose determination and inner strength left behind a legacy of greatness that has redefined his sport. Illustrated with a section of full-color photographs, At the Altar of Speed is a tribute to both the man and his unbeatable spirit.

Genres: Biography, Sports, Nonfiction, Racing

232 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Leigh Montville is a highly respected sportswriter, columnist and author. He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.Montville is married to Diane Foster and has two children. He lives in Massachusetts and is an ardent supporter of the Boston Red Sox.

Reviews

[Zachary Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is about a man who would've spent the rest of his life racing cars. It explains in chronological order of the events that lead up to his death but most of all the interactions he had with other people the day of his last race and death. Dale Earnhardt was described as the Intimidator. He was known in the stock car world as a humble man who was a try-hard for the sport. In English I learned a term that was perfect to say about his death and that was "He went with his boots on." Which means he died doing something active. Anyway, after the death of Dale Sr, NASCAR lost the spirit of their sport in that era. Today his now retired son Dale Jr. made not just a name for his father but he also made a name for himself in an unique way. The 7 time NASCAR Cup Series champ still lives in the NASCAR Hall of Fame and as a statue outside of the Daytona International Speedway. I think any NASCAR fan should read this because of the detail they put into this book about a man who drove the number 3.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

A must read for anyone who still forgets and lookss for that black 3 on the track every week.

[Mitchell Northam · Rating 5 out of 5]

A really great book on Dale Earnhardt, written in the immediate aftermath of his death, that really gets to the point of why so many people loved him and identified with him. It contains detailed stories, fun and grim anecdotes about the man they called The Intimidator. A must read for any racing fan.

[Garrett Hall · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who grew up in a Earnhardt household this really opened my eyes to what I wasn’t able to witness. Understand why he was so loved by the masses. I recommend this book to anyone who was born after Earnhardts time.

[Lisa House · Rating 4 out of 5]

A unique look at The Intimadator!

[Sheila Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part biography, part tribute. A good read for anyone interested in NASCAR or the life of Dale Earnhardt.

[Cash A · Rating 5 out of 5]

its a really good book.

[M. Matheson · Rating 5 out of 5]

just Racin’ awesome

Very personal and close. Got you to know the man. Felt like you were close to him. Lots of tears.

[B Mart · Rating 5 out of 5]

Guess I waited 20+ years to read this because losing Dale meant that much.

[Chip · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just didn't do it for me. Felt too short and almost rushed.

[Dalton Unruh]

I think that this book the fast life and tragic death of Dale Earnhardt
this book is about dale earnhardt death at the daytona 500 last lap final turn and it tells us about his life and how he turned in to a race car driver like his dad ralph earnhardt and pretty much all of dales family like dale jr and kelly and kerry earnhardt and dale jr sister kelly just got married just like 3 weeks ago well they are racing at the daytona 500 sunday and dale son dale jr got the pole for the race where his dad died at well lets go back to the book in the book it talks about what dale did on his days off he went hunting fishing and he fed the cows and in his spare time he worked on his vehicle or his race car he drove for richard childress racing. Well every body like dale earnhardt Sr. including two other big names Richard petty And darrel earhardt Dale Sr. is tied in championships with richard petty at the big number 7 and thats themost anybody has won so far well that is it for now and thats all i pretty much have read.

[Travis Dake · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book because it was about Dale's entire life. It is very detailed and has everything about him, like the fact that he grew up in a town that had streets named after cars. I didn't like how at the beginning of each chapter it had a small thing about someone who was close to him and then went into the story. The book starts with talking about his parents and the background and then slowly goes all the way through his life to february 2001. Ane their is even stuff after that like a buisness that was only going to keep a "never forgotten no.3" up on his board until Dale's birthday, but kept it up for a much longer time after that. It was good and i would recommend it to people who like reading about people, or someone who likes sports books, or NASCAR.

[Tina Hamilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I liked this author's book on Evel Knievel, this was not as lively and seemed choppy. Strange choice: the author left out the events of the crash that killed Dale Earnhardt. Not recommended for those who want to know more about NASCAR and its drivers. Call me strange, but I really do like the title "At the Altar of Speed."

[Ben Brewer]

So far in the book I read that Dale and his best friend Neal Bonnet both died on the same track on the same lap. One person I would recremend this book to Jon. Dales first son is kerry Earnhardt. There is a poem on page 36 that is very sad. Dales father died at 45 from a heart attack.

[Trevor Oakley · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's the best Dale Sr. bio available out there!

[Cherie Reeves · Rating 2 out of 5]

Struggled with this one. Book about dale sr, but glossed over some of the great stories. Writing did not flow well. Disappointed.

[Todd Geiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a race fan and having worked with Dale it was really interesting to read this rags to riches story. Unfortunately, the book was written due to the tragic death of one the greatest racers ever.

[Polly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good history of NASCAR & what it was like "back in the day". I liked it.

[Matthew Barlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

A necessary read for all NASCAR fans. Provides all the details needed for lovers of #3.

[Diane Weber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book.

Loved reading this book. Very interesting reading what his friends liked about him. Will look for more books about Dale and Jr.