Live TV coverage for Earnhardt’s memorial service

The memorial service will be held at Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina, on Thursday. The church will be closed to all but immediate family, employees of Dale Earnhardt Inc, Richard Childress Racing, NASCAR and other Winston Cup teams as it is not large enough to handle the many fans who would otherwise attend. It is planned to take place at noon EST (17.00 GMT) on Thursday and will be televised live on the Fox Sports Net channel.

"Because it is impossible to accommodate the tremendous outpouring of support from those who followed Dale, we are unable to open the service to the public," read an Earnhardt family statement. "With that in mind, the family has chosen to broadcast the service live on television, enabling fans across the country to share in this service for Dale."

Earnhardt's son, Dale Jr, will definitely race in this Sunday's Dura-Lube 400 at Rockingham, North Carolina. 'Little E', who drives for the Dale Earnhardt Inc team which was owned by his late father, is second in the Winston Cup points race. In the immediate aftermath of Sunday's tragic events, Earnhardt Jr commented: "I'm sure he'd want us to keep going and that's what we're going to do."

At Dale Earnhardt Inc's headquarters in Mooresville, North Carolina, a huge number of fans have left a mountain of flowers and hand-written notes. Sears Point Raceway in Sonoma, California, has already announced it will open its doors to race fans and screen the coverage of the memorial service for Earnhardt's West Coast supporters.