Dale Earnhardt's Legacy Continues To Be Erased In His Home State

I don't want to scare anyone. Don't mean to cause panic. Don't want to start a five-alarm fire on an otherwise slow, sunny, care-free Saturday afternoon in March. 

But something happened just this week that deserves your attention, especially if you're a NASCAR fan or simply a fan of great American heroes. 

The legacy of Dale Earnhardt took another hit, and it happened right in his home state and right under our noses. 

Confused? Don't worry, I'll walk you all through it. 

Up until about three days ago, the Carowinds Thunder Striker roller coaster was known as The Intimidator. 

It opened back in 2010 and was named after Earnhardt with Carowinds licensing the name through Dale Earnhardt Inc (DEI). 

Everyone loved it, obviously, and the ride was a huge hit. Has been ever since. The ‘coaster is located about 40 minutes south of Dale’s hometown of Kannapolis. He's pretty popular in that area, if you haven't heard. 

Any time you have a giant statue in the middle of town, you know you've made it. Earnhardt has one put up back in 2002. It's incredible. 

Anyway, back to this Carowinds situation …

The agreement with DEI ran out back in December, and that was that. Poof. Gone. The Intimidator is now gone forever and rebranded as Thunder Striker, which is silly. 

According to the Facebook page, the ride will still be racing-themed and known as "Carolinas' fastest, meanest hot rod." 

Except that's hogwash, because it's no longer associated with Dale Earnhardt. 

And it's a shame. 

NASCAR fans spent this past week dragging Earnhardt's widow, Teresa Earnhardt, through the mud. It's nothing new, because she's been public enemy No. 1 for fans of the sports for two decades now. 

For those who don't know, Teresa inherited DEI after