Basking in the glory of his first NASCAR Cup victory, rookie Dale Earnhardt finds himself in the conversation of the top talents in the garage area. Not only has he put the heat on the rest of the rookie class with his triumph, but he’s put stock car racing’s veterans on notice: the kid from Kannapolis is the real deal. But following up his win would be no easy task, as the next event on the Cup schedule would take him to the track deemed Too Tough To Tame, and the Lady in Black had many hard lessons to teach an overconfident freshman. 

After Darlington and his first trip to the Paperclip, Dale and the rest of the NASCAR contingent take on a grueling month of May, which includes the fastest race weekend to date at Talladega, a brutal 500-lapper at Dover and the longest contest in stock car racing, the World 600. Join us on this episode of Becoming Earnhardt as we unpack races 8 through 13 of the greatest NASCAR season ever, 1979. Our main character has found the spotlight, but it will be tested by not only some of the toughest events on the calendar but a toe-to-toe battle with none other than the King of NASCAR himself.