This is part one of a four-part series on the life, death and safety legacy of Dale Earnhardt, 20 years after his death at the 2001 Daytona 500.
THE INTIMIDATOR STANDS watch over his hometown of Kannapolis, North Carolina, day and night, his arms permanently interlocked across his chest, his folded Gargoyles shades sticking out of his shirt pocket, as visible as the Wrangler "W" on the back of his jeans and the seams in his favorite cowboy boots.
It is a frosty February afternoon, and the statue of Dale Earnhardt is staring into the face of a hard winter wind like it was a rival on the racetrack.