3

First came ESPN, then ESPN2, and now, ESPN “3”. Even if you've been stranded in an airport terminal like Tom Hanks for the last three months, you've absorbed some form of promotion for this biopic of the late NASCAR icon Dale Earnhardt. The number of repeat airings this month nearly matches Earnhardt's Winston Cup victory total of 76. But that's not a bad thing, for beyond all the marketing smoke sits a performance by Barry Pepper that's worth celebrating. The quiet intensity Pepper displayed as Roger Maris in “61*” burns again in his portrayal of stock-car racing's “Intimidator.” For the non-NASCARphiles out there, the film's title is the car number Earnhardt made famous. But it also applies to the racing holy trinity that develops in Earnhardt's family as Dale's reckless-but-popular racing style (“second place is just the first loser”) is inherited from father Ralph and passed on to son Dale Jr.