Walking around the outside of the Richmond International Raceway this past weekend I happened upon this week’s Hardcore Race Fan. Among the tens of thousands of people strolling around the souvenir trailers and campsites, Mike Lowrie stuck out like no one else.

Dressed like Dale Earnhardt – complete with a Goodwrench hat, black sunglasses, RCR shirt, white pants and mustache – Lowrie drew the attention of fellow Hardcore Race Fans, as well as this reporter. As I began to talk with him, it became apparent Lowrie has a true passion for the sport and a love for the man he looks so much like.

“I’ve done it forever. I was born this way, so I can’t help it,” Lowrie pointed out “I thought it’d be cool to dress up like him because I look like him so much.”

So when did he decide to start dressing like Earnhardt? The story goes back to the 1980s at a campground where Lowrie met a young girl who gave him the idea.

“About 1980 when I used to go camping, I met a little girl and she said, ‘You look just like that young, new race car driver.’ She took me around the corner and showed me a hat of Dale Earnhardt and it was the Wrangler blue. I bought it and from that day on I’ve been looking like him.”

A race fan before meeting this young girl, Lowrie has a striking resemblance to the Intimidator. The Hampton, Virginia-native dresses like Earnhardt at each NASCAR event he goes to, which typically include Richmond, Martinsville and Lowe’s Motor Speedway.

His fiancée Tammy said with a smile, “I’ve got my own Dale Earnhardt.”

She explained everywhere they go people stop Mike and ask him for pictures and an autograph. While he can not sign Earnhardt’s name because of copyright issues, Lowrie signs his own name with a Sharpie pen he carries in his pocket.

As far as his celebrity status, a Chevrolet dealer in Hampton asked Mike to come by the dealership when the movie “3” came out to take pictures next to one of Earnhardt’s car.

Living a life of his own, each time Lowrie heads to the track for a NASCAR race he does so paying tribute to the late-Dale Earnhardt. Looking like Earnhardt is something that comes natural to Lowrie and he clearly enjoys playing the part. As we stood there talking, a number of fans looked twice, stopped to take pictures and looked on from afar.

While Dale Earnhardt may be gone from our lives forever, his memory and impact continue to live on through the memories of Hardcore Race Fans like Mike Lowrie.

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