No Mustache Means No Earnhardt

INDIANAPOLIS - There are some things about certain athletes that just make them stand out among others in their respective professions.

Who couldn't spot that basketball player with the bald dome and wagging tongue and not know it was Michael Jordan? Most people have seen the way Sammy Sosa and Ken Griffey Jr. play the game of baseball with a splash of vibrant youth, not to mention their hard to miss ear-to-ear smiles. In the world of stock car racing, seven-time Winston Cup Champion Richard Petty will always be known for his tall cowboy hat, big belt buckle, cowboy boots and an unforgettable smile partially covered up by his moustache.

Dale Earnhardt, also a seven-time Winston Cup Champion, was also well known for his mustache and greeting smile.

I have an 8-by-10 picture of Earnhardt, the man more commonly known to the fans as the "Intimidator." In the picture he has a grin from ear to ear and a smile that could speak a thousand words.

Thursday at the Brickyard 400 qualifications at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, he didn't have the smile or the mustache. Instead he sat in the back of his garage and kept to himself.

The forementioned picture was probably taken five or six years ago, a time when Earnhardt was winning races and challenging for his record eighth Winston Cup championship. Yesterday he qualified to start 18th for the sixth Brickyard 400 Saturday.

I've heard what they said about Earnhardt shaving his mustache because it got in the way when he went scuba diving. Now it's my turn to say something: Dale Earnhardt as we once knew him is gone. He's lost his edge. All the reasons that we call him the "Intimidator" are gone, most importantly his driving style.

There was a time once when Earnhardt was fearless and on the edge at all times. He was feared and respected by fans and competitors alike. Now he's like a rookie trying to qualify for his first race. He's out there searching for an identity and he doesn't know how to handle it.

Yesterday I set up camp outside Earnhardt's garage with the rest of the media in hopes of getting a chance to talk to him. At about 4 p.m., long after he qualified, long after he turned down numerous photo and interview opportunities, he finally let a stream of autograph seekers file through the garage. He didn't say one greeting word to the fans, only that if they didn't get in a single-file line they could get out.

I also have a picture of Petty. He too is shown smiling the way we once knew him and still do know him, with the boots, moustache, hat, belt buckle and smile that could either pierce you or invite you right over.

Yesterday Petty was in the garage area talking to John Andretti, driver of the No. 43 STP car that Petty made so famous. Petty stuck out like a sore thumb. I couldn't have been in the garage area more than five minutes and photographers and reporters were drawn like magnets to the man known as the "King of stock car racing." The smile was there at 11 a.m., and it was still there when I saw him three hours later.

So I have these two pictures. One of the greatest racecar driver of all time, of a man I'll be honored to tell my grandchildren I met. The other of someone nobody saw yesterday. I saw someone wearing Dale Earnhardt's racing suit and driving his car yesterday. I saw someone that sort of looked like Dale Earnhardt. I saw a man that signed Dale Earnhardt to a handful of pictures. I only hope someday I can tell my grandchildren about the day I met the real Dale Earnhardt.