DEI to Honor Singer: Dale Earnhardt Inc. will honor the late Lisa “Left Eye” Lopes, of the popular R&B group TLC, this weekend at Richmond by carrying special stripes on all three of the company’s Winston Cup Chevy’s (#’s 1,8,15). Lopes, 30, was killed instantly in a traffic accident in Honduras on April 25. Within days, morgue photos of Lopes were circulated on the internet, striking a nerve within the Earnhardt organization. Teresa Earnhardt, wife of seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup Champion Dale Earnhardt, was drawn into extensive courtroom battles protecting the privacy of her family and memory of her late husband following his death in February of 2001. Several news organizations and a website unsuccessfully tried to obtain autopsy photos of Earnhardt following his fatal accident. “We want to express our deepest sympathy to her family, friends and fans. She has a huge following here at our shop,” said Steve Crisp, Director of Media Relations for the Mooresville, NC-based company. As a trademark, Lopes, an Atlanta, GA native, often performed with a single black stripe under her left eye. The Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevys, driven by #1-Steve Park, #8-Dale Earnhardt Jr. and #15-Michael Waltrip will each carry a similar stripe under the left headlight. In addition, over the wall pit crew members on all three teams will wear black stripes under their left eye in Saturday night’s event.(DEI PR)(5-3-2002) (5-2-2002)
