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Monday, February 19
Bull market for Earnhardt objects
Associated Press
|  | | No. 3 hats like these were hard to come by in stores across the nation in the wake of Dale Earnhardt's death. |
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The Dale Earnhardt rush is on.
Anything and everything with his name on it became the country's
hottest sports merchandise a day after his death.
T-shirts, jackets, hats, posters and die-cast replicas of his
famed black No. 3 Chevrolet were among the Intimidator's items
cleared off store shelves.
Getting hold of the memorabilia became a challenge at best. In
many cases it was impossible.
Mike Wininger, a manager of a Kmart near Daytona International
Speedway, said anything adorned with Earnhardt's name left "by the
buggy-fulls" Monday.
"As soon as everyone heard, they were like vultures," he said.
It was the same situation at the Phoenix International Raceway
Shop, where fans bought more Earnhardt mementos in the first hour
than they normally do in a month.
"I had people waiting when I came in this morning," said Steve
Ward, the shop manager.
One woman who was too sick to make it to the store called to say
she had $300 to spend on Earnhardt items.
"She wants one of everything," Ward said.
There was still plenty of merchandise for drivers such as Jeff
Gordon, Bobby Labonte and even Dale Earnhardt Jr.
But nothing with the seven-time Winston Cup champion, who died
Sunday after crashing on the final turn of the final lap while
Michael Waltrip was racing to victory.
"Our phones are ringing off the hook. Everyone is sold out,"
said Fred Wagenhals, president of Action Performance Companies,
licensed to make and distribute Earnhardt merchandise.
He said he would wait until next week before determining whether
his company needed to make more products to meet the demand.
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Sending your remembrances
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The Earnhardt family has asked that instead of flowers, donations can be sent to the Foundation for the Carolinas, a
nonprofit philanthropic organization. The address is:
Foundation for the Carolinas
In Honor of Dale Earnhardt
P.O. Box 34769
Charlotte, N.C. 28234-4769
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Ordering from NASCAR.com wasn't any better. A message from the
online store said: "Out of respect to Dale Earnhardt, his
immediate family, all the employees of Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and
all his fans and friends, NASCAR.com Store is currently not
accepting orders on Dale Earnhardt products."
Earnhardt was one of the first athletes to realize the value of
his name and likeness. He copyrighted his signature and used images
of his car and mustachioed face for anything fans were willing to
buy.
The man in black was a smooth-running industry onto himself,
bringing in tens of millions of dollars each year as the
best-selling driver.
So, it was no surprise when his death caused a run on shops that
sell NASCAR merchandise.
At Texas Motor Speedway in Fort Worth, more than two dozen
NASCAR fans waited for the doors to open at the souvenir shop.
Tom Odum spent more than $100 on a
baseball cap with Earnhardt's signature, a coffee mug with his name
on it and a scale model of the Chevrolet he drove when he won the
1998 Daytona 500.
"I'm just a real big fan of Dale's and I want to continue on
supporting him and his family," the youngster said. "We just lost
a real champion."
At Field of Dreams, a sports collectible store in Dallas,
everything related to Earnhardt was sold out an hour after the
store opened.
"It's been pretty crazy out there," general manager Mark
Phillips said. "His merchandise was the most demanded, bar none,
in racing or any motor sport."
Wayne's Diecast World in Wetumpka, Ala., was overrun with
customers.
"They want anything with Earnhardt -- his car, his shirt,
anything," assistant manager Janey Hand said.
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