This wasn't supposed to be a piece about a father's influence. It just turned out that way. The goal was to interview two of my heroes, Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn, about a third hero, Dale Earnhardt.

The country music superstars enjoyed the rare blessing of spending extensive time with Earnhardt, one of the more mysterious icons of a generation. Big E was hard to get to and even harder to get to know. But they were friends. True friends. So they saw depth and vulnerability The Man In Black didn't often reveal.

Their stories are rich and rare, a tangible portal toward an untouchable subject, and they made me think about my father's mark on my life's approach and direction. My father is in everything I do. He is in every mistake I make and every triumph I achieve.

I see him every day when I look at my children. And every day that passes, he was a little bit more right.

Dunn inadvertently reminded of that with a story that proved to be a verbal haymaker.

We were discussing the "Honky Tonk Truth" video, which he and Brooks shot at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas and featured a cameo by Earnhardt. They were positioned in front of the casino's main sign, out front on a hoist, high above the ground.

And they were winging it. There was no script. Brooks and Dunn felt badly about asking Earnhardt to participate in the first place, and by now they'd kept him there longer than was originally planned. During a lull in the action, while director Sherman Halsey and his crew worked through some set changes, Dunn turned to Earnhardt and mentioned his father.

Dunn said it struck a nerve.

"He and I were up on this hoist, and I forget what it was, something like, 'What would our dads think of us standing up here in the middle of nowhere doing this crazy stuff?' " Dunn said. "And he spun around and said, 'What the hell?!'

"His reaction gave me a little insight into how driven he was -- and why -- and about what his dad had accomplished, and him as a kid and how big that was to him.

"I felt the same way about my dad. He really wanted to be a country singer. He did his deal at a certain level, but never broke into the big time. That's interesting psychologically, how that goes on to motivate and drive us along the way -- forever. We talked about that -- I talked about my dad and he told me about his. It was a common bond. It made him what he was."

Brooks explained that the idea for the "Honky Tonk Truth" video was born by chance at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Brooks and Dunn were walking across the Brickyard garage toward Earnhardt's No. 3 transporter to see their buddy when they heard longing whispers behind them.

"Ronnie and I had gone to the track to watch him drive the night before we shot it, I think at Indy, and some girls were walking behind us going over to his trailer," Brooks said. "And I could hear one of them from behind us going, 'That's him, isn't it!' And of course, my arrogance assumes they're talking about me, so I puff up. And I look over my shoulder and one of them goes, 'Aw man. That's not Earnhardt!' I'm like, 'Well, s---!' "

When they arrived (defeated) at the transporter, they told Earnhardt the story. Then they hatched a concept for the video. Like Earnhardt, Brooks had a famous mustache. Wearing cowboy hats, they looked quite similar. He also noted that he carried two exact items of everything he wore. Earnhardt would dress exactly like Brooks and strum a guitar, lip sync a little bit. They'd take quick shots of both and the audience wouldn't be able to distinguish between them until later in the video, when the shots got longer.

"He goes, 'I ain't doin' that! I can't sing! I can't act! I'll wind up looking like an idiot!'" Brooks laughed. "And I go, 'I swear, if you don't like this video, you have my word, I'll cut out every part with you in there! Regardless, come out and have some fun and a couple of drinks, and you can see how the video's made. I swear this will be fun, Dale.'

Kix Brooks -- here playing The Dale Earnhardt Tribute Concert in 2003 -- said the show he and Ronnie Dunn put on the day Dale Earnhardt died in 2001 still seems surreal. Kevin Kane/Getty Images

"So he came out there and we went to dinner and had a few drinks, and he loosened up and quit worrying about it. And we got up on top of the Rio, where most of it was shot, and just hung out all night and laughed and had a great time. That video is one of the most fun ones we ever did."

Earnhardt loved it.

"When I sent it to him I was on pins and needles, because I really wanted him to like it," Brooks said. "He called me up immediately and goes, 'This is so frickin' good. I love this!' I was so relieved! As far as the night we were doing it, we were just cocktailing and having a good time. Both of us off the clock."

That was the rare moment when Earnhardt played a part. In real life, what he played is who he was. He was honest-to-God intimidating. Both men agreed wholeheartedly to that.

"He was intense. So intense," Dunn said. "The way he goes about things, and his demeanor. His aura is that way. He just didn't have any tolerance for bulls---, unless he was out with the boys handing it out and dealing it."

Brooks: "There was nothing subtle about anything he did. He certainly had a very sincere and very serious side to him, but when we were out in the open, it was always just wide-open. He lived his life just the way he lived on the racetrack. He was very intimidating. He was dangerous. And there was really no one I enjoyed spending time with more than him."

Dunn told tales of fishing expeditions during which business suits tagged along. Big E didn't like that so much. On one such outing, he caught a monster bass, removed it from the hook and flung it directly at an unwelcome business-type.

"It was like, 'Here, throw that in the ice chest, man,' " Dunn howled.

Then there was the time they were fishing in the Bahamas, Dunn continued, howling still, that Brooks snagged a rare white marlin. Earnhardt was overjoyed, grabbed Brooks by the shoulders and started hollering about how amazing the accomplishment was. ("Do you know what you just did?! That's so rare, man!") Then he shoved Brooks in the ocean.

"So here he is in the middle of the f---ing Bahamas, shark-infested waters, [thinking] I'm gonna die!' " Dunn continued. "And sure enough, Dale turned around and came back and got him. But it scared the hell out of him! That's just [Dale's] natural personality, and the makeup of what he was. He was crazy!"