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A gripping two disc drama about the life of racer Dale Earnhardt, “3” puts you in the driver’s seat from the very first frame. Earnhardt grew up in the shadow of his father Ralph Earnhardt . Dale’s (Barry Pepper from “Saving Private Ryan”) own ambivelance about his son Dale Jr. in his father’s footsteps sparks much of the conflict in the latter part of this drama. While racing fans know how the story turned out (with multiple wins for Dale and Dale Jr. finding his own road to success as a race car driver), it’s still a gripping and powerful drama with race scenes that rival the real footage included on the second disc. Action director Russell Mulcahy continues to demonstrate an innate ability to also capture the personal, intimate moments that helps drive these individuals to compete in one of the most dangerous but thrilling sports around.

The conflict between Dale and his father emerges when Dale expresses his desire to become a race car driver. His father Ralph (J.K. Simmons of “Oz” and “Spiderman” in a marvelous performance) gives up his job of working at the mill spending his time on the track racing and winning. When young Dale decides to take the truck out for a spin his begins his long love affair with driving. Ralph rides his son relentlessly because he feels he doesn’t try hard enough. Dale, like his dad, charts his own course. ---

This puppy has enough horses under the hood to break the sound barrier;“3 Nation: The Life and Legacy of Dale Earnhardt”, “The Making of 3”, “ESPN Ultimate Outdoors with Wayne Pearson”, “ESPN’s 2 Minute Drill” all provide intimate details about the making of the film, the life of Dale Earnhardt and his dramatic wins over the years. There’s also a terrific documentary on Earnhardt’s life. Finally we get a number of interviews done over the years after a variety of Dale’s wins. A couple of the interviews also feature Dale discussing his relationship with his father, some of the difficulties he had breaking into racing and the reservations he initially had about his son following in his footsteps. ---