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via Imago

via Imago

Such was the life of the great Dale Earnhardt that almost every story about the man seems to further emphasize his legendary contributions to NASCAR and racing in general. But beyond that, too, he had quite a personality.

After all, he was called ‘The Intimidator’ for a reason. The NASCAR Hall of Famer was a force to be reckoned with, both behind the wheel of a racecar and outside the racetrack as well.

You see, one simply doesn’t get that nickname.

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Now, as the NASCAR Award ceremony is ahead of us this weekend in Nashville, it seems like the right time to revisit the time when Earnhardt showed up to the NASCAR banquet with a black cast.

Naturally, this got everyone wondering – ‘What had happened to the Intimidator’s hand?’

Turns out, he had gotten into a scuffle with some trespassers because of his deer.

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Dale Earnhardt didn’t want anyone to know what had happened, per his son Dale Jr.

Earnhardt Sr. initially didn’t want anyone to know of what had happened that put his hand in a sling. But everyone eventually learned, much against the seven-timer’s intentions, something his son Dale Earnhardt Jr. described years later.

“He didn’t want everyone to know about his deer,” Junior said. “He had some really big bucks on that property.”

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PHOENIX, AZ — November 6, 1999: Although he finished second to Jeff Gordon in the Outback Steakhouse 200 at Phoenix International Raceway, Dale Earnhardt, Jr. (L) and his dad Dale Earnhardt (R) had plenty of reason to celebrate, as the younger Earnhardt clinched the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series championship even though there was still one race to run the following week at Homestead-Miami Speedway. (Photo by ISC Images & Archives via Getty Images)

The former Richard Childress Racing driver also opened up on the incident in an interview with News Journal as he said, “Pushed into a corner or pushed into a situation, then yes, I could get violent.”

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“I have gotten violent in my time. When I found out who was poaching my deer, a guy I knew that worked on my farm, ran my bulldozer,” Earnhardt continued.

“Well, I took care of that myself.”