*** Official thread *** Dale Earnhardt dead.....

[NFS4]

Little Dale is on TV now thanking everyone for the well-wishes

 

[MissingLinc]

Another 'well-said' to CliffC. Even though I was not a fan of Dale, I respect the man and I am also motivated to drive around with a Dale Earnhardt front bumper sign in remembrance.

Here's to a legend and his family.

 

[j@cko]

....

 

[shadowfaX]

I was surprised when I read the news... and saddened too, even though I'm not into NASCAR (or car racing events, for that matter)...

 

[NOX]

Well, I follow Nascar closely, and was very saddened by the shocking news. I was watching the race this mourning and saw the crash. I didn?t think it was very serous; it was a mild crash, so I thought. I?ve seen worst, and in fact I thought the crash before Dale Earnhardt?s crash was far worst.

I was jumping and screaming my head off watching the master at work, seeing how he was blocking others cars so his team would win the race. That was so unselfish of him how he would rather have his teammates win, which consist of Michael Waltrip, and his son Dale Jr. He was still in position to win he was in 4th at the time of the crash, and being that it was the last lap makes this whole tragic situation even harder.

Well, like I said I watch Nascar a lot, I follow it very closely. I?m always checking up on my stats almost every day at ESPN?s Stock Car Challenge. Though Dale Earnhardt is not on my list as one of my drivers he was still my favorites to watch.

[EDIT]

<< His crash wasn't as spectacular as the Tony Stewart crash, but you have to rememer, throwing a car in the air and spinning it takes a lot of energy out of the crash. >>

I agree, that what gets a lot of people confused (like my girlfriend). It does slow down the car tremendously when it's flipped in the air. If you take a look at Dale Eranhardt's crash over and over again you can see that he practically ran into a wall at 180MPH, which no human on this earth could withstand.

But like I said, I?ve seen worst, and people have worked away. This time it?s just one of those crashes that you can?t explain it, it just happens.

 

[CrumCake]

This tragedy is one of greatest in all sports combined! Whether fans of Nascar or not, many many people all over the USA, not to mention when nascar went to Japan, trying to make Nascar racing the biggest sport in the world, have heard the name or seen him race, Dale Earnhardt. Heck, we have a Dale Earnhardt coco cola machine in our break room, and i live no where close to where Nascar planted it roots and grew into a sport so many love 50+ years later. You may not watch it, but millions do and have seen Dale Earnhardt put Nascar on the map in the 80's and 90's making it one of the most attended event's in any sport. I caught a race from North Wilkesboroon on espn classic the other night from the late 80's. They announced the attendence at 26,000 people. I sat and pondered just how big Nascar has become in the last 10-15 years. Hell, Dale Earnhardt could go anywhere now and get more than 26,000 of his own fans show up. Now races such as the brickyard 400 draw more than 400,000 fans each year.The amount and types of people you would see at a race will show you how far Nascar has since the early days of Dale Earnhardt. Think about it, that many people come to a race to cheer for a team with a driver they have come to love. They follow him faithfully, they buy merchandise, wait in long lines to get an autograph, rooting for him and his team like in any other sport.

From a small town named Kannapolis, NC, a young guy started out by helping tune his father's racecars, to becoming the Legend dawning the nickname &quot;Intimidator&quot; in his own sport, to be being one of the greatest competitor's any sport has seen.
Liked or disliked, Earnhardts death has saddened many millions or people all over the world.

I wanna say if you havent ever taken the time to catch a race on a sunday afternoon in Daytona, i suggest trying atleast once. If the racing dosent give you goosebumps, thats fine, but i bet a few might tune into the next race more than not.

Quote's from friends and fellow competitor's.

 

[ZeroCool420]

This is a terrible tragedy. I was shocked when I heard he died. He died so young, he still had many good years of racing left. Hero's like him are not supposed to die.

I'm a nascar fan, and my favorite driver was Darrel Waltrip (for you guys who remember him, he drove the tide car), and D.E. was sort of a rival to him, so I was never much of fan of him personally, he I still respected him. He was a great man for the sport of NASCAR.

I propose a speedway should be named after him. Something like, &quot;Today we bring the Daytona 500 from Dale Earnhardht Speedway&quot; has a nice ring.

anyways, a moment of silence for him.........

 

[bonk102]

i didn't like nascar, and still dont', but i thought he was a pretty cool guy, he seemed it at least, taht's a big loss for the sport

 

[fragarific]

it wasn't even a half a lap, less than 1/4 is correct.

 

[CrumCake]

Earnhardt was the heart of Nascar...

 

[kiranv]

I'm no big NASCAR fan but this was a good guy, sad to see him go

 

[4824guy]

A terrible lose in sports and in racing.

A great legend is gone, on the final lap, of his final race at his sport's biggest annual race.

This track that saw no one win as much as Dale Earnhardt on it, and sadly takes his life.

Words can not fully describe the feelings that race fans everywhere are now just trying to comprehend and understand.




This tragic lose will hurt all racing fans for years to come.

RIP- Iron Head

 

[NFS4]

<< But what this second-generation racer possessed that Yarborough, Allison, Pearson and Petty didn't was a national following that rivaled any rock star. The Rolling Stones and Bon Jovi didn't sell as many T-shirts (combined) as Ironhead did in the '90s. Every other Chevrolet pickup truck carried a No. 3 decal. And the Ford pickups sported a decal of someone taking a leak on that same No. 3. >>


That just brings a smile to my face

 

[FettsBabe]

I live about 5 minutes from RCR Racing, and I'm gonna stop by tomorrow night to take pictures and to pay tribute to him.

Dale Jarrett and his owner stated that he won't drive again until the mandatory head safety equipment is made into a rule. They have stated that Nascar is dragging their feet. Maybe something good will come of this tragedy.

 

[Toysrme]

Hitting the wall head on is never one you just get up and walk away from. Name two instances if you would want to try and I'll give u props. His loss affects many. We're all saddened by the loss. Altho the deceleration dosn't look as bad, remember that's from 180-185 on that track. I agree that he was dead on impact. Watch the tires. No change in their angle from the crash on. They speed also didn't change. Poor every1 involved =(
Keep in mind that not only did he hit the wall, but Schrader was pushing him along the track. My personal opinion is that the reeason it didn't look so bad was that Schrader's inertia kept Dale's car moving down the track. Had Dale not had extra inertia from Schrader I would almost Garentee his car would have stopped on the wall within 10 feet.

No. I do belive Dale's accident was much worse that people portray it if you look at what was going on carefully. Same thing killed Adam and Kenny last year. Also Niel. I hope NASCAR can find away if possible to help in a full-force head on collision.

Good bye Dale we'll all miss you!

#3

 

[nEoTeChMaN]

You should all come to Charlotte, NC where I live to pay respect to Dale Earnhardt.

 

[mgravy]

Unbelieveable!! :Q

 

[MrPALCO]

Godspeed...Dale

#3

 

[Modeps]

poor dale sr. never liked nascar, but i could respect the intimidator.

 

[Hamburgerpimp]

It seems the best always end up like this. Ayrton Senna, the Greatest Formula one driver ever, passed away seven short years ago, also.

http://www.a-senna.com/senna.html


PS, I just found this site on a search, so don't flame me on it's contents!!

 

[iam4u2nv]

I have watched Nascar for 15 years and through it all I have watched Dale drive and he was and will be my favorite driver of all time. He is a legand and live on in the hearts of fans forever. His death and has made me very sad and I will have a hard time watching any racing for quite some time. I know some say this is racing but that never makes a loss like these and others before him any easier to deal with. No race will ever be the same to me without that black number 3 running in it, tearing up the track and having his eye on that 8th championship.
Drive on Dale.....
you will be missed my hero!

 

[Chad]

I'll always remember Dale's interviews on all the sports shows, where they showed the man behind the Intimidator. Wow, this is really shocking to me! This was a geniunely good guy off the track, so unselfish, so giving. What I always noticed was how he looked and talked to his son, he always seemed to really love his son so much. I watched the replay of the race today on fox, and they were showing him before the race with Waltrip and Dale, just two really happy people talking and laughing. Then when they showed him hug his son and his wife, the look in his eyes was of someone who was really happy and enjoying the moment. Then after the race, seeing his son run to his fathers car... it's just so sad. Then seeing Waltrips immediate interview after the race where he is mostly thanking Dale Jr. and thanking Dale for believing in him and giving him a chance.

That's who Dale was. The way he stood up for Waltrip and gave him that job, and then on the last 6 laps watching Dale fighting everyone off in the same way he used to fight to win so his son and friend could have what Dale said was the best feeling in racing one could have. So unselfish. Such an awesome person. If he was your friend, you had a TRUE friend.

But don't be confused, Dale was a warrior. He was a toughguy who didn't take any crap from nobody, and if you crossed him, you could be sure, you were gonna know what you did wrong right soon like. A fighter, a scrapper, a winner.

To watch Dale fight for those two young men he loved so much just mere minutes before his death just is an example of what he was, and what was in him and in his heart.

I know Dale was a believer, and that makes me really happy. Knowing he's with the Lord now really helps the pain.

I really loved this guy.

 

[emjem]

rip

 

[CrumCake]

Toysrme, i'll give you one instance. Ernie Irvan.I can still remember where i was and when i heard the news that he was seriously hurt in a practice accident at Michigan in 94. They can reach speed of 180+ mph there, without restrictor plates. Ernie lost control in turn two, if i remeber right, and hit the wall with great enough force that it came within inches of killing him from such an impact with the wall at a high rate of speed. I picked Ernie as my driver early in the first couple years of him racing. He dawned the nickname Swirvin Irvan because he drove kinda reckless and pissed people off, so much that Nascar had to sit him down and straighten out his driving habbits. My heart was broken when i heard the news. Allthough that accident and another hard hit a couple of years ago, after which the doc's said one more and he could die, ultimately ended his career. Though i still am i fan of the sport, it has been hard to sit through some races with Ernie not there. I now root for Tony Stewart. He is from Indiana for 1, and 2 i have watched him drive almost anything he has driven. I've heard some diehard Earnhardt fans say that he remind s them of a young Dale Sr. when he started out. Rubbing and bumping his way through the big boy's and veteran's of the sport. Can he really be the next Earnhardt, i doubt it. There will only be 1 &quot;Imtimidator&quot;. Maybe he can take the sport to the next level, following in the foot steps of Richard Petty and Dale Earnhardt. Maybe Dale Jr. will take the torch from his father and carry on. Only time will tell. I can relate to some of what pain his fans feel right now. If your a diehard fan, you follow that driver, you buy his shirts, hats, flags, you cheer with him and you are sad with him when things don't go his way on raceday. You talk smack when they win and you defend them to the end when they suck! You get so involved in them and the sport, that they seem like a family member or a close friend out there. They have the most passionate fans in the USA and only 2nd to maybe F1 in the world of motor sports.