Soon after Dale Earnhardt's black No. 3 car violently skidded into the outside wall on the final lap of the Daytona 500, the wheels in Andy Stallings' head began spinning. Soon after Dale Earnhardt's black No. 3 car violently skidded into the outside wall on the final lap of the Daytona 500, the wheels in Andy Stallings' head began spinning. Then it dawned on him. On Friday, Stallings unveiled his tribute.
Stallings makes a living as a house painter.
He was painting the inside of a house when Earnhardt's death was announced on a nearby television. The freshly painted tribute only seemed appropriate. So this was just out of respect. Two other drivers, Ridgeland, S.C.'s Andy Miles and Ellabell's Kenny Drew, also brought a piece of Earnhardt onto the half-mile track Friday. I almost cried.