I assume, but not sure, but this link will lead you to what I think is a genuine site that may be maintained by Dale Earnhardt’s holdings…again I can’t be sure but there is a message board there if anyone would like to leave a word for the family. I don’t know if they will ever see it but it certainly may be worth the effort.
< sigh >
This is horrible.
I can’t believe this has happened. Of all the drivers, I would have never expected this to happen to Dale.
It was so great listening to Darrell Waltrip in the announcer’s booth cheer his little brother on to the checkered flag.
But at such a cost.
So long, Intimidator.
Damn.
I was never an Earnhardt fan. But he was probably the greatest American stock car racer of all time, of that there can be little debate.
What a devastating loss for the sport. A guy on TV was making the (I think correct) analogy, that #3’s death is to American motorsports what the death of Michael Jordan or Mark McGwire would be to those sports.
The following has me totally creeped out:
I was watching the end of the race at a buddy’s house. I was making fun of the fact that commentator Darrell Waltrip was whoo-hooing and gushing over his little brother Michael’s victory - understandable but not exactly professional, you know?
Noting the accident that had occurred just before the checkered flag, I said sarcastically to my friend in a mock-announcer’s voice: “By the way, Dale Earnhardt just died in that wreck. We now return you to the Waltrip celebration.”
I had no idea the accident was even particularly serious at the time we tuned out from the race. And the idea of Dale Earnhardt dying? NASCAR fans can tell you just how ludicrous that is.
Was.
You can imagine how I feel now, to find this out a few hours later.
RIP, Intimidator.
Of all the…
Got home in time to catch the last 25 laps of the 500. Saw #3 smack the wall, thought “that didn’t look too good; crusty old Dale’s gonna be pretty sore in the morning”.
Now just heard he’s gone.
Damnation.
He was the guy I loved to hate, same as many other fans, but I always had a sneaking admiration for his quiet determination and work ethic.
I’m shattered. Racin’ ain’t never gonna be the same…
This was supposed to be a really happy day for my family. My youngest son turned 6. We had a party, cake, kids over, the whole 9 yards.
Then this. My husband and I are sitting here in double shock, feeling (maybe stupidly so) horrible, horrible loss. I am not a Nascar fan myself, but my husband and kids are, and our house has #3 memorabilia, hats, cars, t-shirts all over the place. My husband got to see Dale do the now infamous doughnut spins at Daytona in 1998. Just recalling that right now has brought fresh tears to our eyes.
I will miss him, not the way others may. I will miss hearing my husband cheer for him, my kids laugh about some of the stories their daddy told about him, and will miss hearing how Dale did in the race. It’s so much like losing a member of our family, that it’s just killing us.
I know he is no one we ever knew personally, but my family watched him at every chance, and my husband kept up with anything having to do with Dale Earnhardt, Sr.
My heart is breaking into pieces for his family, especially his son, Dale, Jr. Can anyone imagine the horror of being there as your father dies? I am sure many people HAVE had that horror happen to them, and personally, I can’t think of a more dreadful happening to a person.
I really need to get off here, myself. My husband is in tears, and I can barely type these words myself as my own tears are blurring my vision.
He was a wonderful racer, possibly the best ever. He was a bad-ass, but God he was just so much FUN. I am going to miss all the fun he brought to my house. Sundays are really going to suck from now on.
Rock on, Number 3.
just recently (the last few years) started following NASCAR and was amazed that the only injury from the 17-car accident was a collarbone injury. I was gladdened briefly when the #5 car came back out and ran a few more laps, but then settled back into dismay when he headed to the garage.
I didn’t really know the story of Michael Waltrip until they showed the blurb on him having 0 for 462 Winston Cup starts. The last 13 laps were incredible. It was Waltrip, Earnhardts, Jr. and Sr. leading the pack. The three of them rocketing around the track, holding off all comers for those last 30 miles of the 500 miles race. My buddy and I were on our feet, excited at the possibility of Michael having not only his first Winston Cup win, but to have it at Daytona, the “Superbowl of NASCAR” and the first race of the season.
To the finish, the cameras were on Waltrip and Jr. As they sped toward the line, Darrel Waltrip (Michaels older brother, who was doing commentary in the booth and getting very emotional) was leading the chant “Go man, GO!” and then someone mentioned “Oh, there is some action on turn two” (I think it was turn two, but that is what I recall).
All eyes on the finish line as teammates rolled on. 1. 2. They finished like that. Until moments before, it would have been the 1, 2, 3 of Waltrip, Jr. and Sr. Sadly, this was not the case. Tragically, Dale Sr. had gone sideways and slammed into the wall head-on.
The replays made the crash seem, for all intents and purposes, routine, especially after the earlier pile-up where more than one car had gone airborne and one actually landed on the roof of another (after another one blasted by beneath it!). Here you saw them slam into the wall, Earnhardts hood peeling up and flapping like a sheet against the windshield. Replays from inside his car showed the same thing: a little sideways action, the wall and then the hood. Shots from further away showed Earnhardt Sr.s car coming to rest on the infield and then…nothing. Jr. finished and went sprinting to the infield hospital.
A brief video clip showed the paramedics working on Earnhardt Sr. as they wheeled him from the ambulance into the hospital (which is only about a mile from the track, btw), they were doing chest compressions.
Preliminary word is that he died instantly from injuries to the base of his neck. He wasn’t one to wear the collar (the name of this device escapes me), the thinking is that this might have helped, but you can never know.
He was one of, if not the greatest driver(s) ever to race in NASCAR. He was loved for his talent and spirit and he was hated for his method and technique, but he was always respected. The “Intimidator.”
A tragic loss to his family, the entire NASCAR community, racing fans and to the sport.
[sub]For those that don’t know, this is the third death in the last nine months. Yet another sad reminder of the risks of this profession.[/sub]
I pretty much have the same thing to say as Racinchikki. I never liked Earnhardt as a racer either, but I do feel really bad about this, and I feel really bad for Dale Jr and Teresa and the rest of Dales family. especially Taylor Nicole, Dales 11 year old daughter.
Greg Moore was also my favorite Cart driver so I know how all you 3 fans feel. my heart goes out to you guys and the earnhardt family.
oh and just in case you guys want to know, I dont know if anyone posted it yet cause I didnt read all of the posts, but Dale died the same way Adam Petty did, on impact his neck was hyper extended and snaped his spinal cord, he died instantly. Kenny Schrader came over to the car to see if he was ok, and he obviously wasnt, so Kenny got out of the way and let the safety crew in. they cut Dale out of the car, and the minute and a half ambulance ride to the hospital they did CPR and he was prounounced dead at the hospital… there wasnt anything they could do for him.
I heard all this not long ago. The hardest part was, I had a feeling when I watched the reporters talk to Kenny after he came out of the Infield Care Center. He just had this haunted look in his eyes. Part of me is REALLY glad they aren’t doing Inside Winston Cup on Speedvision any more. I don’t think Kenny and Mikey could handle it.
As far as there being nothing they can do… I know it, and I do accept it, but I really don’t like it. I watched the clip on CNN and realized they were CPRing him as they took him out of the ambulance. That was just the topper on the cake for me. You just think that in today’s day and age, the modern miracles they perform, that first, this never should have happened, and second, since it did, they should have been able to save him. Somehow. Some way.
sigh But they couldn’t. And I know I’ll gain something from this tragedy. But at the moment, all I want to do is yell and scream and cry and blame someone or something or somehow for taking another one. There’ve been too many lately. They always seem to clump up like this. I hope this is the end of this streak.
Dale lived less than 5 miles from here…i went to the same school as his son…i see him at parties at least every few weeks…everywhere i look someone is wearing a Dale hat and/or shirt…my uncle has a huge fucking 3 tatooed on his back…everytime i drink a sundrop i stare at his face on the label…now he’s dead? I’m not a NASCAR fan (to tell you the truth i hate it) but…WTF!!!. Weird, this town (Mooresville, NC - “Race City USA”) wont feel the same for awhile.
Guys hittin’ the walls, each other, going flying and, to be honest, the Earnhardt wreck seemed like a run-of-the-mill last lap mishap.
I wonder if something catastrophic went wrong with the car’s safety systems.
Either way, it’s a sad day for racing. And this from a devout anti-NASCAR fan.
Not a NASCAR, or autoracing, fan, but the magnitude of this is undeniable. The irony of the 3 cars Earnhardt owned being 1-2-3 on the final lap of the biggest race of the year, and him coming to meet his death is unmistakable. The potential for this being one of the most memorable, and best storybook endings in years turning to a nightmare.
Watching the crash several times now, I’m amazed that it was fatal, or even serious in a NASCAR. I’ll be very interested to hear what the determined cause is and if it will be written off as a freak occurance, or if there will be some factor which they can address to save some lives in the near future.
The most ironic thing I noticed watching the end of the race was that I don’t think he was trying to win. He was his third place with his son and his friend/employee in front of him and to me he looked like he was just blocking the rest of the field so one of those two could have the victory, nothing at all like his usual knock everyone out of the way and try to win style. His last act was a selfless one, in my eyes. I will miss the man in black.
Good God, not another.
Like Sapphire Bullet, I think of NASCAR as the safe racing. I forget that safety is relative in that business.
I can’t stop myself from wondering why he couldn’t just give the wheel a hard left turn…hitting at an angle probably would have reduced the impact. And why the hell wasn’t he wearing the collar? Eh. I keep hoping to get a news bulletin that this was all a bad mistake. He’s not supposed to be dead.
the collar is called a Hans device, and I guess it is a comfort that the doctor said wearing it wouldn’t have made a difference
A collar? I haven’t followed for many years, so I don’t know about any collars. I do have some recollection of somebody inventing a strap that went between the helmet and the rollcage that prevented hyperextension, but I don’t know if anybody really used it.
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This just sucks.
I turned on my computer just a bit ago, and my mom IM’s me, telling me that she’s really depressed. I asked her why. She said “Dale Earnhardt.” I said “Oh, did he lose?” I didn’t watch the race, and I’ve had cable channels on all day. I had no idea. She said “You could say that. He’s dead.”
My heart just stopped. I was waiting for her to give me the punch line. There wasn’t one.
I’m not really a huge race fan, but I occasionally enjoyed sitting down and watching a good one. And Dale Earnhardt always made me cheer. He was amazing.
This is a huge loss. Huge, huge loss. My heart goes out to the Earnhardt family, and NASCAR fans everywhere.
Well, it seems that Sterling Martin did in fact bump Dale. But bumping is what these guys do, so there should be no blame put on him. But while devouring the NASCAR site for any shred of evidence, I ran across this quote from Martin, which makes me wonder how he’s doing tonight.
“I’m going to make a prediction,” driver Sterling Marlin said. “Sunday is probably going to be the best Daytona 500 there’s been since we’ve been racing.”
-from http://www.nascar.com/2001/NEWS/cnnsi/02/17/newdaytona/index.html