On The Web: City Of Kannapolis Official Website The Dale Trail

--(Cont'd From Front Page)-- Kannapolis North Carolina, birthplace of legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt Senior, is permanently removing 100 banners around the city that call attention to the ‘Dale Trail’.

California billionaire David Murdock, owner of Castle & Cook developers of the North Carolina Research Center, which is being developed in Kannapolis wants to put the "best face on the city" and asked that the City take down the banners for a visit this coming weekend with a ‘very important guest’ according to a report in the Salisbury Post.

The VIP traveling with Murdock is reportedly media giant Oprah Winfrey who is working on a joint entertainment venture with Murdock.

In an exchange of emails with Murdock and city leaders, Murdock wanted the banners removed and Castle & Cooke doesn't want anything related to Dale Earnhardt to go back up.

Murdock had a nine-foot high bronze statue of Earnhardt erected in Cannon Village a shopping center that he owns near the city center. The statue is one of the stops on the ‘Dale Trail’, which is maintained by Cabarrus County Convention & Visitor's Bureau. Other stops include the grave of Ralph Earnhardt, Dale Earnhardt’s father. Earnhardt’s mother Martha still resides in Kannapolis.

In a July 17 e-mail published in the Post, Phyllis Beaver, director of marketing for the N.C. Research Campus, questioned the benefit of the Dale Trail.

"The Dale Trail in Kannapolis consists of Ralph's (Earnhardt, Dale's father) tombstone at Centergrove and the statute here. Other than those two things, we are directing people through here to move on to other destinations, namely to DEI from the (Cannon) Village. Since Dale Jr. is no longer (with DEI), do we need to be sending them out there, or do they have Hendricks (Motorsports) on the Trail now?"

According to the Cabarrus County Convention & Visitor's Bureau’s website the Trial has 14 stops in Kannapolis.

In a July 18 memo also published in the Post, Kannapolis City Manager Mike Legg advised councilmen and other officials of the decision to take down the banners, saying the Cabarrus Convention and Visitors Bureau was ok with the decision but wanted to put up other flags or markers in the future.

The Convention and Visitors Bureau paid $14,000 for the banners and brackets.

"There may be a conflict as to what happens later," Legg wrote. "There are many (including everybody at Castle and Cooke) that do not want to see anything 'Dale related' go back up. Somewhere, there is the right mix between racing, tourism and life science, but that needs to be worked through."

Legg cited an idea offered by Lynn Scott Safrit, president of Castle & Cooke N.C., that the "city adopt the 'Home to Science' tagline on all we do."

City Councilman Richard Anderson told the Post that the idea of taking down the banners because Murdock has a guest coming is disrespectful to the Earnhardt family.

"From Day 1, it's been about exploiting Dale's fame,” Anderson said. “Kannapolis has never done anything except try to exploit the Earnhardt name. Murdock wanted the tribute, thinking it would bring a lot of business to Cannon Village. It never worked. People come and take pictures at the statue and go on to DEI."

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