Associated Press

File 2001 Dale Earnhardt sits on the window ledge of his Chevrolet before running in a qualifying race in 2001 at the Daytona International Speedway in Daytona Beach, Fla. The seven-time Cup champion died in a last-lap crash in the Daytona 500 a few days later.

Eight years after his death, Dale Earnhardt's bond with fans is through T-shirts, caps, diecast cars and memories.

Earnhardt, though, is branching out. A man whose face has adorned candy bars now will have his nickname and persona attached to roller coasters in North Carolina and Virginia. They will be among the fastest and tallest on the East Coast.

Plans are also in the works to make Dale Earnhardt Inc.'s race shop kind of a Graceland for NASCAR fans. There might even be a fantasy camp where Earnhardt devotees can hear stories about the man and experience parts of his life, including fishing in his pond.

"Dale isn't gone; he still lives on,'' says Jeff Steiner, executive vice president at Dale Earnhardt Inc.

Earnhardt does for many fans who have kept him among the most popular drivers in merchandise sales in NASCAR.

They bought Earnhardt items after his death and then bought Legacy-branded items about a year later.

n A Dale Earnhardt Tribute concert followed in 2003 at Daytona that featured such acts as Alabama, Brooks & and Dunn and Hootie and the Blowfish.

n Although ESPN did its own Earnhardt movie, the authorized biography was released in February 2007 with the late Paul Newman narrating. The movie, shown across the country in theatres, included behind-the-scenes footage of him.

Last year saw Dale Earnhardt pop up in many forms.

n The Hershey Company debuted four collector edition candy bars featuring iconic images of Earnhardt. To commemorate the 10th anniversary of his lone Daytona 500 win -- and the 50th anniversary of the Daytona 500 -- a Car of Tomorrow diecast was issued with the paint scheme of Earnhardt's black No. 3 car.

n Later in the year there were more diecast cars fans could buy that featured Earnhardt and other famous celebrities who had passed. Earnhardt joined Johnny Cash, John Wayne and Elvis Pressley in different paint schemes.

n Now comes the announcements of the roller coasters. Kings Dominion in Doswell, Va., recently announced that the Intimidator 305 roller coaster will open in April. The $25 million coaster will feature a 305-foot climb and reach speeds of up to 92 mph. Carowinds, located near Charlotte, announced Wednesday it will build the Intimidator roller coaster, which will feature seven drops (one for each of his series titles), have a peak of 232 feet and reach speeds of near 80 mph.

These projects are part of a transition for Dale Earnhardt Inc. from souvenirs to fan experience.

Steiner says a new theme for Earnhardt's legacy will be "The Legend Lives Here.''

He said plans to convert some of the available room at DEI into a fan experience, such as seeing Earnhardt's original shop there. Steiner notes that Earnhardt's personal car collection numbers more than 50 vehicles and few have been publicly displayed. And there's the idea of the fantasy camp where fans could tour the shops, listen to stories about Earnhardt from family members and maybe even get into a race car.

"The next step,'' Steiner said, "is getting fans to be able to get to know Dale beyond what they already know about Dale in a personal way.''