In an effort to put the “best face on the city”, according to David Murdock, the city of Kannapolis has removed the “The Dale Trail” banners that are located on each side of Dale Earnhardt Blvd. The banners were in honor of Kannapolis native, Dale Earnhardt, who passed away in a wreck on the concluding lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. According to Castle & Cooke, owned by Murdock, they do not want anything associated with Dale Earnhardt to reappear.

The reason for the removal of the banners is that Murdock will arrive at Kannapolis with a very important guest on Saturday. Rumors say that the guest will be fellow billionaire, Oprah Winfrey.

After Murdock specially made a 9-foot statue of Earnhardt made of bronze, the “Dale Trail” was created to lead tourists to Dale Earnhardt Inc.

With a research campus being built in the city; Castle & Cooke, the Cabarrus Convention and Visitors Bureau and Kannapolis city officials have discussed whether Kannapolis fits the NASCAR theme due to Murdock trying to make the city known as the “Home to Science.”

Mike Legg, City Manager, recommended city officials to remove the banners. The Cabarrus Convention and Visitors Bureau is compliant with the decision but would like to install other banners in the future.

"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."

The director of marketing for the N.C.  Research Campus, Phyllis Beaver, queried the profit of the “Dale Trail” by saying, "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?"

DeSales Wagster, president of the Cabarrus County Convention and Visitors Bureau, grasps no conflict between science and motorsports stating, "We're extremely proud of motorsports and what it has brought as we transition into one of the largest bio-tech areas," Wagster said. "They are very compatible. There is truly room for both."

Councilman Richard Anderson feels that the removal of the banners shows nothing but disrespect to the entire Earnhardt family.

"From Day 1, it's been about exploiting Dale's fame,” expressed Anderson. “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.