It is hard to believe how fast time flies. I was 15 when this happened. My grandfather was a Sr fan, I wasn’t, but we both thought nothing of the accident. I went to tell my grandfather before going to church that evening but he already found out. My youth pastor was also there at that 500.
As silly as the seems, Dale Earnhardt dying on the last lap of the Daytona 500 was the most significant event of my life. I was in a group on the internet that chatted about NASCAR and that is where I met the woman of my dreams who has been my wife for 22 years. We have an amazing 19 year old daughter together. This amazing woman reached out to me to check on me because I was a huge Dale Earnhardt fan. That was the beginning of our amazing life together that would not have happened without this tragic event.
I was 16 when Dale passed. I'll never forget my dad telling my mom that Dale's passing was really affecting me. He let me stay out of school for two weeks. I watched coverage of the crash and anything remembering Dale from the time i woke up till the time i went to sleep. I was devastated, still am.
I was 15 that February and I was in complete shock and then immediately thought about Michael Waltrip, having watched a lot of old races from the 80’s on VHS and seeing how good he was and especially loved the 30 Pennzoil Pontiac, to have his first win come under those circumstances broke my heart. As a teenager I seriously didn’t know how Michael or Dale Jr. made it through all that. Then I lost the Man that had raised me since I was 4 and who was essentially my father and a huge Dale Sr. fan, two years later and found out the hard way.
Any Nascar fan remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing when they got the news of Earnhardt's death. I for instance, was at a gas station in Baker, California coming home from a camping trip in the sand dunes when the worker at the station told me because I was wearing an Earnhardt shirt. That was the longest 3+ hour drive home and I don't think I said more than 10 words to my wife the whole time. Long live Sr.
Yep I watched the race and didn’t think much about it and a few hours later I was at my girlfriend at the time house and her mom ran in the house and said she just heard on the radio that dale died . Tuned in the tv to espn and instantly couldn’t believe what I was seeing
Ur right I do! I was 12 years old I watched the race with my mom and a friend dale was my favorite saw the wreck no doubt in my mind he was gonna be OK we turned it off went to my grandparents house when we got home the phone was ringing it was the friend I watched the race with hours earlier he told me the news I turned on the TV and saw the Mike Helton press conference I was devastated
Yes I was sitting in the front room watching this new Sunday night post race nascar show on the Speed Channel. I was 13. That was when it was announced. Moment of the crash I was in the family room watching the race with mom and dad and one of dad's car show friend
I was 29 then. Over at my dad’s house. Afterwards, had a 45 minute drive home. Of course tuned into Sportcenter when I got home…and. Just a terrible feeling
I'll also never forget, I was 11 years old and my dad told me what happened when I was about to go to bed. We said a prayer for Dale and his family. Dale was an American hero.
I worked at I55 Raceway for Ken Schrader back when this happened. I was told second hand that Kenny said to his friends when he got to Dale's car he saw there was "blood everywhere" and that put him in panic mode. You can tell when they interviewed Kenny shortly after the accident he knew there was a slim chance Dale would survive.
Kenny knew he was dead. I feel bad for Kenny because I bet one day hasn't gone by without him remembering what he saw when he took Dale's window net down. Miss the racers like Kenny.
@bradsanders407 The Earnhardts had a lot to deal with. Then Kerry Earnhardt was involved in the ARCA REMAX series event at Charlotte in October of 2001 that claimed the life of Blaise Alexander 1976-2001.
Great interview, Marty you are too hard on yourself I still remember your reporting on this that night and you spoke from the heart!! You were unfiltered and it was a really memorable moment that I really appreciate your work!!
When the telecast went to a commercial just after the finish you could see, in a long shot, they were peeling the roof off the car which meant he was unconscious. A few minutes later, on another channel, they showed the replay of Ken Schrader looking in Dale's car then waving his arms yelling "hurry! hurry! hurry!" at the ambulance. I knew it was really bad right then.
I knew when the ambulance was not rushing. I wasn’t even a big NASCAR fan then but my brother-in-law was and I remember watching that ambulance go out the street and I’m like either he’s not hurt at all or he’s already passed away. Something in my gut I just knew.
I was 12 years old when Dale Sr passed. My father was a massive fan, I grew up watching the races in my dad's shop on Sunday's with him and his buddies my entire childhood. The day Dale passed I remember my Dad coming home after the announcement and walking in the house and sitting down on the couch and crying on and off throughout the night. I am now 35 years old and I still remember this day like it was yesterday. Atleast once a year or sometimes one day every other year I go down a Earnhardt Sr. rabbit hole and start watching old videos, tributes, and interviews and spend half the day teary eyed. Today was that day for this year. This world never made to many men like Earnhardt Sr. and I am not really sure if the world is still capable of producing men like him anymore at all. RIP DALE SR.
@ I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but there is an episode of the Dale Junior download with Kenny as the guest and Junior publicly thinks him for the way he has handled it. Junior had to read his comments so he wouldn’t get choked up.
There was a camera on the turn 4 wall, that footage showed just how violent the crash was. That footage disappeared a few days after it was announced Dale had passed.
If you look at photos of the inside of that 3 Car post wreck and how the engine was forced into the cockpit and that steering wheel broken, you realize how that moment of impact was so deadly.
Like Kobe in 2020, Earnhardts untimely death led to one of the worst years ever. Went to the race at ACS a few weeks after Daytona and it would have been Dale's 50th birthday. Great race day but everyone in the crowd was definitely going through some stuff.
I had a feeling that day in Dale's morning interview before startup when he said "you're gonna see something you've never seen on Fox" were the last words he spoke publicly. Wasn't the first or last time that's happened in my life. I'm no longer much of a race fans these days since Jr. hung up the keys. Have always HATED the Chase points system and it ruined NASCAR. That's the reason for the ghost crowd in the stands. A part of racing went with Dale and we'll never get that back or see another driver like him again. Godspeed #3!
I'll never forget that day and then the next day I had to help my dad change a water pump out of an old Chrysler new yorker. I remember being just in dismay that Dale could die, and then the next day the world goes on and we had to do something so trivial like removing a water pump. I ended up ruining my clothes that day, covered in rusty radiator fluid. RIP Dale
I was sitting in the Oldfield seating area that afternoon we went from cheering to watching the accident unfold, there was a very loud boom when Dale hit the wall. We knew immediately it was bad. Dale was strict about not cutting his car. When they brought the jaws of life out and cut the car we knew it was not going to be a good evening. Then the tarp was placed over the car. The announcement was not official but internally knew he was in serious trouble. A day I will never forget and it was our 10 year old sons first Nascar race we listened to Dale on the scanner the entire race , watched him flip off Kurt Busch going down the front strecht. I will never forget that day or the events of that day!
I was in Oldfield too and when they brought out the tarp I looked at the girl beside me who I didn't know and I said you know what that means.When we walked out of that grandstand you could have heard a pin drop.
My mom had just moved us into our new home, down the driveway from my grandpops. I had to record it on my grandpops VCR cause we didn't have satellite yet. I went to get thr tape around 8pm and before I got watch the tape that night, I turned the tv on as I was rewinding it.. and dales face showed up on the tv first thing. My gut quickly dropped to the floor. I had emotions that I didn't know even existed
Wasn’t a nascar fan and only would watch here and there. Picked 3 as my favorite but again, nothing I was overly excited about. Didn’t know the rules or anything. That day still affects me today. I still get emotions over that day. I didn’t see the moment it happened but I remember watching the news about it and man… I was 12 or 13 and it messed me up for a while and still gets me to this day. Since that day I haven’t watched any nascar really at all except when it’s on because someone else is watching. Dale reached far beyond the dedicated fans.
I haven’t been a nascar fan since the loss of Davey Allison. My dad absolutely loved Dale Sr. He called me and left me a voicemail and told me about it and said call me back when you get a chance. I never spoke to my father again. My dad passed on the very same day 3 hours and 23 minutes after Dale.
It’s honestly kind of chilling hearing all of these new stories and perspectives from the day it almost seems like they knew from the get-go that Dale was not OK but it took a while for everyone else to find out
The reason it didn't 'look bad' was because of the way Schrader's car was continuing to push Earnhardts car around. It was Ken's inertia moving him, not Dale's. Dale, for that split second went from 160 to 0 MPH. Even if the harness had not failed, the result would have been the same, I believe. The harness breaking was because of two things. One, the way it was mounted, two, the force of impact. I am retired Navy aviation mechanic. During one of my deployments we had an F 14 Tomcat that went into a low altitude flat spin. The crew ejected. The pilot died from a broken neck because he wasn't properly positioned at the time of ejection. The G forces were roughly the same as Dale's impact, but, in the exactly opposite direction. Instead of deceleration it was acceleration. The human body is not built for those kinds of energy transmissions. The spectacular crashes where the driver walks away ( most times) is because all that inertia is gradually bled off in the wild gyrations. The HANS could have saved Dale, but there is no guarantee.
Worst day in my life when Dale Earnhardt passed away I never met him but he was and still my friend and he made it be ok to never give up on things and work really hard
Our sport has never recovered! Such a beautiful, hard fought race......to end like that......just never will be the same and that's ok......it's just how it is
I was 24 at the time. I had went out to a bar called Sams Lakeside In Baldwinsville NY and had several drinks. I was living at my Aunts house . I was looking for an apartment. I was hungover and watching the race. When Dale hit the wall, I looked at my Aunt and said he is gone. Im not an expert on anything but that crash just didn't look right to me. We all remember the ambulance traveling at a slow pace towards the Halifax Medical center. Then Mike Helton made the announcement. Today we have Lost Dale Earnhardt. I remember like it was yesterday because I was and still am a huge Dale Earnhardt fan.
Dale Earnhardt was my hero, my favorite driver. When he died a part of me died with him. I lost all interest in Nascar after that, but I decided to watch to see how Jr. would do. Since Jr. retired I rarely watch a race now. Funny how the death of one man can affect you that way, but it did. Back then I heard someone make a statement that I'm sure a lot of people will agree with. And that was, (and I'm paraphrasing), "at no time in history has there been an event that made millions of grown me cry, until now". RIP Big E #3.
I was on my way home from my dads house we watched the race together like always. I was 11. My mom and dad called me out of school. He was truly my hero as a kid. That black 3 means the world too me
I agree he wasn't driving the way we knew him too but idk why he did what he did I mean on of those 2 were going to win and nobody w as close enough to challenge them so why not just ride it out that's what I think about when I watch that race
Dale knew they had the race won coming off turn 2 he was content running 3 wide to hold the pack off. Seems like rusty got a good draft and dale was trying to clear marlin going into 4 I really wish he hadn't tried to save it just spun on the apron
I remember that day very well, I was cooking supper watching the race when the wreak happened, we had dial up internet and I kept reloading the nascar page to try and find out how he was 😢
I was in the Supper stretch. The last grand stand as they past by. I still remember Richard asking dale if your ok just talk to me He repeat it many times.
this was my first NASCAR race i ever went to, we had seats on the backstretch out of turn 2, Dale's wreck was in turn 4, we were probably the farthest away from the wreck. We saw the wreck and the replays on the jumbo screens, we saw Waltrip take his victory lap etc, and then we left. we had no idea what had happened to Dale at all other than he wrecked at this point, it took us about 40 min to get back to the hotel with all the traffic, but we stopped off at a Walmart first to get some food, and out front there was a replica #3 Dale Earnhardt car as a Walmart promotional prop, with flowers and pictures and stuffed animals around it, seemed real odd to us, still haven't heard about Dale's condition, it wasn't till we got back to the hotel did we see all over the news that Dale was dead, we were in total shock, just couldn't believe it...RIP brother.
I think Dale’s death at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500 is arguably the worst/saddest moment in sports HISTORY. If anyone can think of something worse please tell me.
There was a pic on the internet a few years ago that showed inside Earnhardts car and it was not pretty the Steering wheel shaft was bent down and there was alot of blood.
Was born in 99 and my first memories were well after Dale passed. I just wish I was able to see him. Maybe I’ll be able to see Jr race late models some day, probably never but one can always hope.
I remember right before Dale got into his car he kissed his wife turned and looked right at the camera and said (you are going to see something you have never seen on TV)
I first saw this guy pop up this year on some college football stuff. Seems like he tries too hard or something, i dont know. Could be a genuine guy, need to watch him more I guess.
If by "this guy" you mean Marty Smith, then you absolutely need to watch him more. Marty's one of the best there is and NASCAR lost a great reporter when he moved to college football. You should find his one-on-one interview with Dale Jr from a few years back. It's excellent. I've met Marty several times in the media center. He's a great guy and a was a truly excellent NASCAR reporter.
I was watching that race. I could not believe it, when they announced that Sr was gone. If I remember I actually forgot to breath for a second. I had a knott in my stomach for a week after that. R I.P Dale, u may be gone but u definitely are not Forgotten. Dale is the real King of NASCAR. 🙏🇺🇸🗽🇺🇸🙏
Dale Sr was also adamantly opposed to full-face helmets. Almost any safety initiative NASCAR proposed he argued against. Unfortunately his attitude cost him his life.
It’s interesting hearing him mention if dale was actually blocking because no one ever mentions that but I believe sr was totally content with finishing 3rd that day…something he never did he’d wreck junior to win if he had to
That was the plan he laid out before the race. He predicted it would be Michael, Dale Jr. and himself if everything went right. He was totally blocking to keep that plan in place
We can all probably count less than 5 times in our life, where something happened and you remember exactly where you were and who you were with. For me, it was the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, the World Trade Center collapse and the death of Dale Earnhardt. By far, three of the worst memories in my life....
I hate when people say the wreck didn’t look that bad. Even veteran NASCAR people continue to say this ignorant line. The wreck absolutely looked as bad as any fatal crash. It gives you a perspective on what Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin jr. and Jerry Nadue’s crashes all looked like. Find a replay of Dale’s crash, and I believe there is only one, from a zoomed out perspective. If you watch that replay, you will see the car go from 170-180mph to a complete dead stop, as far as the direction it was traveling before it instantaneously changes direction because of Schrader’s momentum. Remember this, and you can see it in his in-car shot, Dale never lifted because he had the car saved until Schrader hits him, not Kenny’s fault. So this narrative of his car only going 150 at impact is ridiculous. The only speed scrubbed off was from the friction of being sideways. So he was traveling, still, about 170-180.
Dale wanted it done his way and had his belt adjustment on the backside of his seat which got caught and ripped the belt. The adjustment was supposed to be in the front. Dale didnt like it the proper way so in reality his caused his own death!
I'll tell you the moment I seen that ambulance leaving without the lights on I knew that something was seriously wrong. I was born in 1986 and this happened in 2001. I was at home watching the race and I knew buy Ken Schrader's reaction when he got to the window net and once I seen the ambulance without the lights I knew that it's not looking good at all.
Richard should have asked Dale, what are you doing because your not even trying to win the race and you race for our team. You can't let your cars win and block, you have to at least try but nobody told Earnhardt that but they should have and I would have asked him when they were under a caution flag. Dale I thought you wanted to win the 8th championship, all of this is for nothing and you could even lose your chances at doing it. You have to think about that because they are getting tired of you blocking, you can't see how much they want you out of the way and they have already almost wrecked your. You have to try because you know if someone is blocking you and you have the fastest car. You would have done the same and you have already been warned so many times to get out of our way because Marlin had the fastest car that day and he finally had enough. I will never understand why nobody told him to stop blocking, he has a faster car than you and you can't hold him back forever but I could see you hitting Earnhardt if it's 5 laps or even 2 laps to go but to do it only the final turn. Its was to late to get around him and 3 could see they had the race won and I believe hes trying to hang on to 3rd place but he wasn't going to let you do no more and I stopped watching racing that day and I can't even tell you what NASCAR is anymore. I watched it all my life and nobody at home could believe I cried after I saw what was going on. Everyone asked me why are you crying and I told them, I believe Earnhardt was dead. Nobody believed it because it just happened and nobody had told the world that he died in the last lap of the Daytona 500 . When you see an ambulance and its driving that slow, they broke their back and everyone knew Ken would not say you are in trouble because he knew Earnhardt was dead. Look up the inside of the car and it's so much blood, it comes out of your noise, ears and mouth but I don't like talking about the rest. Nobody in my family believed me and I know why they cover a car after a wreck. They have died and it has to be taken and looked at to see if anything inside the car was wrong and did it cause it. When you hear about France and he's going to tell everyone about Earnhardt, I know it wasn't coming to say Earnhardt was ok but everyone asked me how did I know after it happened. Get in your car and drive 75 to 80 miles per hour and hit another car that is just sitting there. NASCAR found out what the force be on Earnhardt when he hit the wall, he felt 45 gees when he hit. Go 80 miles a hour and hit another car that is in Park, see how hard he hit because that is what he felt inside that car. It doesn't matter what the TV shows. It doesn't do it justice because this was real life but I just knew in my heart it was over and my brother was talking about how mad Earnhardt was going to be. When I told him that I believe that killed him, he said NASCAR would have done said something but I heard from a man who called in to a talk show when I was driving. They said, people are starting to call in and they are saying Earnhardt didn't make it. I called my brother because they said NASCAR is going to give a statement about how Earnhardt is and he couldn't believe I said he died right after the wreck happened. I just know they couldn't save him and ken told you all you needed to know when he was talking about Earnhardt. He would just say I am not a Dr but this is NASCAR who you blame for this. They want remove the plates but he knew he was dead and yea he said now, he did know he was already gone because of all the blood on the car. He hit so hard, the axle for the back wheels broke in half and he never hit the wall with the back of the car but I still remember it like yesterday. I always was a number 3 man and I just wanted to stop watching it, I wasn't going to jump over to jr because he was nothing compared to his father and I have never watched it in and I meant what I said, NASCAR killed my driver because of the rules and they want the big one. I can't tell you anything about NASCAR today and I never will be able to
I dont know, I wouldn’t say Dale sr was on a championship year in 2001! He was at the end of his career and hadn’t won many races in the last couple years of his life.
Obviously you didn't watch NASCAR the previous season. Dale finished runner up to Bobby LaBonte. Dale had a solid 2000 season and definitely would have been a factor in the championship
This off subject from Dale but what do y’all think about NASCAR and the electric car they unveiled today? I believe if they go electric it will literally be the nail in the coffin. Yes a lot of great safety changes have been made since Dale passed but I believe they need to take stage racing away let them work on the damn car like the did back in the day. I remember if you crashed go to the garage and the team would try to fix even if 50 laps down just get back out a log some laps. NASCAR is killing the sport.
the lap belt broke because it was improperly installed and they knew it. subsequint investigation reveled the crew installed the belts to earnhardts liking to make him more comfortable in the seat. true story
@@ELVISKL I know that. The fact is the belt broke and that is what killed him. Had it not, he would have walked away as always. It also proves, with a broken lap belt, no other safety device or innovation will save you when you body is partially flying around inside the racecar during a crash.
This will be the last time I will state 1 & 1 person only killed #3 car. Every #3:fan called him the intimidator. An Act making contact of a car Forward of him. This act I to This day am 100% against there's enough with of track to pass ifvyou have the faster or better handling car. Pushing a car forward of you states I don't have the better car $3 Rarely did have a better car. But he had the unprofessional charter to hit to take the Forward car out of its line. Pretty mush what I thought of every #3 Fan I'd encounter it made sence to me then an now. Do more with less is aways praised. But in 2001 last lap last turn of the great American Race Intimadation was not in the cards nor was the answer. Instead #3 ,the intimidator would now become put in a position to be intimidated. A true Rookie at position 1 that never allowed him to practice this unknown craft. A position his Revels became experts at both Forward and behind. Do to the 1st Rookie never done before act #3 would perform He clearly show his own fear of being hit from Behind something he did to others for decades. As #3 block on cars from takung a Forward position #3 did the Act of death a true Rookie act. He went down from a 36% bank turn 4 all the way to 0% passing of the white inner line. 2 options were avaliable to the Rookie driving #3 1 stay in the 0 % infield No your 3 rd place position You just relinquish and you live another day to talk about the big 1 that got a away. An Act a veteran driver would of done a win or not at the Great American Race. 2 Option Death 100% when going 0% from 36% bank at xlose to 200 mph show 100% #3 had never have done a move like why? Cause no professional would ever so do there experience told the car do to all forces of compression and lift & weight Changes made the car unstable Undriverable unsteerable only a car going 160 mph straight into a wall for a life ending event. 2 option the Rookie of #3 Took. His father was correct finish school #3 finally likely hold would understand a 3500 pound machine and it's libations, yet we all that never wast study or understood. Infection if not for the M&M #36 car coming in contact with #3 as iswas head in a straight line to it's death. #3 would hit the wall at an inhuman speed causing death instantly then starting from the rear flipping over to it 7 floor drop to the tracks ground yet #3 would be dead before the impact to the ground. It's this #3 Fan would then would understand the clearly Rookie mistakec#3 made with 0 experience. Instead the visual lead '3 loyalist blamed all but who was 100 responsible. And just like any liberal blame everyone else for there legends life ending crash. Sorry there is no other excuse reason or person that made what happened happen. Option1 ,#15 would of won and #3 being pased by 20 plus cars on turn 4 Would of been of little Consequence. Instead a rookies selfishness caused a life to end and a sport that has Never been the same.
Dale Sr came up into Sterling. The wreck didn't seem bad at all. That was not gonna be Dale Sr year. Jeff Gordon set the record for laps led in a season. Its still the record for a 34 race season plus Jeff Gordon drove a back up var to win The ALL Star Race.
I still cannot believe NASCAR permitted the 3 to drive for one team and own another - it was not fair to Richard , his sponsor or his team - Dale didnt have any self awareness as far as how dangerous this vocation is - He had no will pertaining to DEI - This certainly wasnt fair to Teresa and Taylor much less Kerry , Kelly and jr - The 3 caused this -& it should not have been allowed to happen
Fair? This has happened for years ... this certainly wasn't the first time. It certainly doesn't have anything to do with what happened that day. What are you even talking about? Fair? What are you even talking about? Fair? He was a race car driver ...should he have sat back and watched? What an insult to him, his family and friends.
When you say the 3 shouldn't have done this and that, are you saying Dale or the actual car? Or the actual "3" such as the "8" Junior just applied for the rights to the font used on the "8"?
What are you talking about? You clearly dont know Dale, he was COMPLETELY blinded by love for Teresa, he left her everything. Thinking she would take care of Junior and the other kids. Wreck or no wreck he had self awareness just not smarts when it came to bestowing his assets. He felt as if his kids hadn’t proved themselves yet, time might of changed that but it pure speculation.
No one will admit it in the press but Dale Earnhardt intentionally caused that crash so Earnhardt's own D.E.I. (Dale Earthardt Incorporated) Team cars driven by his son Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip would definitely finish 1st and 2nd without the pack being able to get a run at them coming off Turn 4 because of a last lap pile-up he was causing on purpose! Out of respect, no one points that out but everyone who followed the sport back then who knew The Intimidator's reputation for taking no prisoners, knows that's the truth! Even if they don't dare say it out loud. 😏
Dale Sr came down on Sterling's car nose. I just the 36 car could have been 2-4 feet farther along. That would have put him in the fence but not in as bad angle Dale went in at. Dale would have hit the fence but not near as bad angle.
The videos don't lie !! That's all Earnhardt did in the closing laps is block block block ! With all the blocking that goes on I'm surprised that they haven't had to bury a helluva lot more drivers !! NASCAR needs to start penalizing them like they do in Indycar Racing !!
23 years have passed by and it’s still a moment racing fans never forget.
WOW...that is so amazing it has been 23 years! It is crazy to realize it was that long ago. Still sorely missed.
It is hard to believe how fast time flies. I was 15 when this happened. My grandfather was a Sr fan, I wasn’t, but we both thought nothing of the accident. I went to tell my grandfather before going to church that evening but he already found out. My youth pastor was also there at that 500.
I’ll never forget that day…
And never will
@@kevingallagher6804 To a lot of us, that dark day was like yesterday.
As silly as the seems, Dale Earnhardt dying on the last lap of the Daytona 500 was the most significant event of my life. I was in a group on the internet that chatted about NASCAR and that is where I met the woman of my dreams who has been my wife for 22 years. We have an amazing 19 year old daughter together.
This amazing woman reached out to me to check on me because I was a huge Dale Earnhardt fan. That was the beginning of our amazing life together that would not have happened without this tragic event.
velvet lining to a lot of traumatic events in life.
That is a cool story! I remember the Yahoo chat groups being a lot of fun and meeting a lot of people through them.
@the_lenny_draper I couldn't remember what those chats were called. I use to go back and forth be people lol. Good ole days.
He did it for Dale
@@stevensmall9398 I use to meet people from those groups at the races back in the day. The good days indeed!
I was 16 when Dale passed. I'll never forget my dad telling my mom that Dale's passing was really affecting me. He let me stay out of school for two weeks. I watched coverage of the crash and anything remembering Dale from the time i woke up till the time i went to sleep. I was devastated, still am.
2:57 this quote
I was 15 that February and I was in complete shock and then immediately thought about Michael Waltrip, having watched a lot of old races from the 80’s on VHS and seeing how good he was and especially loved the 30 Pennzoil Pontiac, to have his first win come under those circumstances broke my heart. As a teenager I seriously didn’t know how Michael or Dale Jr. made it through all that. Then I lost the Man that had raised me since I was 4 and who was essentially my father and a huge Dale Sr. fan, two years later and found out the hard way.
Marty is a pretty damn good storyteller
Great Clip from y’all
Of course southwest VA homeboy right there.
Any Nascar fan remembers exactly where they were and what they were doing when they got the news of Earnhardt's death. I for instance, was at a gas station in Baker, California coming home from a camping trip in the sand dunes when the worker at the station told me because I was wearing an Earnhardt shirt. That was the longest 3+ hour drive home and I don't think I said more than 10 words to my wife the whole time. Long live Sr.
Yep I watched the race and didn’t think much about it and a few hours later I was at my girlfriend at the time house and her mom ran in the house and said she just heard on the radio that dale died . Tuned in the tv to espn and instantly couldn’t believe what I was seeing
Weird day I do. I was 21 just off deployment and my car broke down stuck at a pep boys when that race was on
Ur right I do!
I was 12 years old I watched the race with my mom and a friend dale was my favorite saw the wreck no doubt in my mind he was gonna be OK we turned it off went to my grandparents house when we got home the phone was ringing it was the friend I watched the race with hours earlier he told me the news I turned on the TV and saw the Mike Helton press conference I was devastated
Yes I was sitting in the front room watching this new Sunday night post race nascar show on the Speed Channel. I was 13. That was when it was announced. Moment of the crash I was in the family room watching the race with mom and dad and one of dad's car show friend
I was 29 then. Over at my dad’s house. Afterwards, had a 45 minute drive home. Of course tuned into Sportcenter when I got home…and.
Just a terrible feeling
I grew up 33 miles away from RCR and I was in denial for 10 years. The Dale Jr Podcast was therapy and a road to recovery for understanding it all.
😂😂😂😂
I'll also never forget, I was 11 years old and my dad told me what happened when I was about to go to bed. We said a prayer for Dale and his family. Dale was an American hero.
"athletes know" really hits home with DW's commentary
I literally whispered to myself “I hope dales okay” as he’s taking about victory lane and I read ur comment exactly as I whispered it. That was wild.
I worked at I55 Raceway for Ken Schrader back when this happened. I was told second hand that Kenny said to his friends when he got to Dale's car he saw there was "blood everywhere" and that put him in panic mode. You can tell when they interviewed Kenny shortly after the accident he knew there was a slim chance Dale would survive.
Kenny knew he was dead. I feel bad for Kenny because I bet one day hasn't gone by without him remembering what he saw when he took Dale's window net down. Miss the racers like Kenny.
You can see that from the pictures of the wreckage
@@matthewhoward5514 I watched the "Nascar Now ESPN Dale Earnhardt" episode. Kenny Schrader's emotions were poured out about the accident.
@bradsanders407 The Earnhardts had a lot to deal with. Then Kerry Earnhardt was involved in the ARCA REMAX series event at Charlotte in October of 2001 that claimed the life of Blaise Alexander 1976-2001.
Great interview, Marty you are too hard on yourself I still remember your reporting on this that night and you spoke from the heart!! You were unfiltered and it was a really memorable moment that I really appreciate your work!!
When the telecast went to a commercial just after the finish you could see, in a long shot, they were peeling the roof off the car which meant he was unconscious. A few minutes later, on another channel, they showed the replay of Ken Schrader looking in Dale's car then waving his arms yelling "hurry! hurry! hurry!" at the ambulance. I knew it was really bad right then.
I knew when the ambulance was not rushing. I wasn’t even a big NASCAR fan then but my brother-in-law was and I remember watching that ambulance go out the street and I’m like either he’s not hurt at all or he’s already passed away. Something in my gut I just knew.
I was 12 years old when Dale Sr passed. My father was a massive fan, I grew up watching the races in my dad's shop on Sunday's with him and his buddies my entire childhood. The day Dale passed I remember my Dad coming home after the announcement and walking in the house and sitting down on the couch and crying on and off throughout the night. I am now 35 years old and I still remember this day like it was yesterday.
Atleast once a year or sometimes one day every other year I go down a Earnhardt Sr. rabbit hole and start watching old videos, tributes, and interviews and spend half the day teary eyed. Today was that day for this year. This world never made to many men like Earnhardt Sr. and I am not really sure if the world is still capable of producing men like him anymore at all. RIP DALE SR.
I'm 51 years old. I remember that day like yesterday. I'm sitting here with tears in my eyes listening to Marty.
I’m 36 I was 12 when Dale passed I had been a NASCAR fan for about 5 years at the time I was devastated by his passing I still miss him a lot
Lifelong race fan who had seen a lot in racing. I knew from Schrader’s face he had seen something through that window that had messed him up.
I mean from Kenny's interview with Jeannie Zelasko that he couldn't say it in that moment.
How traumatic
After 23 years Kenny has never spoke a word of that either! I love Kenny for that but hate he had to be the one to carry that burden
@ I don’t know if you’ve seen it, but there is an episode of the Dale Junior download with Kenny as the guest and Junior publicly thinks him for the way he has handled it. Junior had to read his comments so he wouldn’t get choked up.
There was a camera on the turn 4 wall, that footage showed just how violent the crash was. That footage disappeared a few days after it was announced Dale had passed.
There’s a couple mrn RUclips clips that still show that view.. it’s the only view that isn’t in slow motion
If you look at photos of the inside of that 3 Car post wreck and how the engine was forced into the cockpit and that steering wheel broken, you realize how that moment of impact was so deadly.
I've seen that shot, and it is crazy how fast he hit. It looked like the wall was a giant magnet and sucked the car into it.
Like Kobe in 2020, Earnhardts untimely death led to one of the worst years ever. Went to the race at ACS a few weeks after Daytona and it would have been Dale's 50th birthday. Great race day but everyone in the crowd was definitely going through some stuff.
It was the 1st missed 500 for me in 25 years. I was at mother in laws funeral. I'm really happy I wasn't there. Such a sad day.
I had a feeling that day in Dale's morning interview before startup when he said "you're gonna see something you've never seen on Fox" were the last words he spoke publicly. Wasn't the first or last time that's happened in my life. I'm no longer much of a race fans these days since Jr. hung up the keys. Have always HATED the Chase points system and it ruined NASCAR. That's the reason for the ghost crowd in the stands. A part of racing went with Dale and we'll never get that back or see another driver like him again. Godspeed #3!
I'll never forget that day and then the next day I had to help my dad change a water pump out of an old Chrysler new yorker. I remember being just in dismay that Dale could die, and then the next day the world goes on and we had to do something so trivial like removing a water pump. I ended up ruining my clothes that day, covered in rusty radiator fluid. RIP Dale
I was sitting in the Oldfield seating area that afternoon we went from cheering to watching the accident unfold, there was a very loud boom when Dale hit the wall. We knew immediately it was bad. Dale was strict about not cutting his car. When they brought the jaws of life out and cut the car we knew it was not going to be a good evening. Then the tarp was placed over the car. The announcement was not official but internally knew he was in serious trouble. A day I will never forget and it was our 10 year old sons first Nascar race we listened to Dale on the scanner the entire race , watched him flip off Kurt Busch going down the front strecht. I will never forget that day or the events of that day!
I was in Oldfield too and when they brought out the tarp I looked at the girl beside me who I didn't know and I said you know what that means.When we walked out of that grandstand you could have heard a pin drop.
My mom had just moved us into our new home, down the driveway from my grandpops. I had to record it on my grandpops VCR cause we didn't have satellite yet. I went to get thr tape around 8pm and before I got watch the tape that night, I turned the tv on as I was rewinding it.. and dales face showed up on the tv first thing. My gut quickly dropped to the floor. I had emotions that I didn't know even existed
He's right....in the end people were side-eyeing JR to see if he would continue - to get a measure for his strength - and he did. He was the warrior.
Wasn’t a nascar fan and only would watch here and there. Picked 3 as my favorite but again, nothing I was overly excited about. Didn’t know the rules or anything. That day still affects me today. I still get emotions over that day. I didn’t see the moment it happened but I remember watching the news about it and man… I was 12 or 13 and it messed me up for a while and still gets me to this day. Since that day I haven’t watched any nascar really at all except when it’s on because someone else is watching. Dale reached far beyond the dedicated fans.
I haven’t been a nascar fan since the loss of Davey Allison. My dad absolutely loved Dale Sr. He called me and left me a voicemail and told me about it and said call me back when you get a chance. I never spoke to my father again. My dad passed on the very same day 3 hours and 23 minutes after Dale.
It’s honestly kind of chilling hearing all of these new stories and perspectives from the day it almost seems like they knew from the get-go that Dale was not OK but it took a while for everyone else to find out
The reason it didn't 'look bad' was because of the way Schrader's car was continuing to push Earnhardts car around. It was Ken's inertia moving him, not Dale's. Dale, for that split second went from 160 to 0 MPH. Even if the harness had not failed, the result would have been the same, I believe. The harness breaking was because of two things. One, the way it was mounted, two, the force of impact.
I am retired Navy aviation mechanic. During one of my deployments we had an F 14 Tomcat that went into a low altitude flat spin. The crew ejected. The pilot died from a broken neck because he wasn't properly positioned at the time of ejection. The G forces were roughly the same as Dale's impact, but, in the exactly opposite direction. Instead of deceleration it was acceleration. The human body is not built for those kinds of energy transmissions. The spectacular crashes where the driver walks away ( most times) is because all that inertia is gradually bled off in the wild gyrations. The HANS could have saved Dale, but there is no guarantee.
Hans device and software walls , but I do believe Hans would have gave him a better chance due to his head hitting the steering wheel
Worst day in my life when Dale Earnhardt passed away I never met him but he was and still my friend and he made it be ok to never give up on things and work really hard
Our sport has never recovered! Such a beautiful, hard fought race......to end like that......just never will be the same and that's ok......it's just how it is
Your ass hurts.
It recovered but little francy boy killed it off.
I was 24 at the time. I had went out to a bar called Sams Lakeside In Baldwinsville NY and had several drinks. I was living at my Aunts house . I was looking for an apartment. I was hungover and watching the race. When Dale hit the wall, I looked at my Aunt and said he is gone. Im not an expert on anything but that crash just didn't look right to me. We all remember the ambulance traveling at a slow pace towards the Halifax Medical center. Then Mike Helton made the announcement. Today we have Lost Dale Earnhardt. I remember like it was yesterday because I was and still am a huge Dale Earnhardt fan.
OMG I’ve never heard Marty tell his story… this was healing
I agree with Marty! If Junior had of decided to walk away I don't think NASCAR would have made it! Y'all might think I'm crazy but I believe that
Over two decades and that Helton announcement still is numbing, possibly always will be
I was at this race & so was my dad. We were absolutely stunned when news broke that Dale died
Thanks for sharing.
Dale Earnhardt was my hero, my favorite driver. When he died a part of me died with him. I lost all interest in Nascar after that, but I decided to watch to see how Jr. would do. Since Jr. retired I rarely watch a race now. Funny how the death of one man can affect you that way, but it did. Back then I heard someone make a statement that I'm sure a lot of people will agree with. And that was, (and I'm paraphrasing), "at no time in history has there been an event that made millions of grown me cry, until now". RIP Big E #3.
I was on my way home from my dads house we watched the race together like always. I was 11. My mom and dad called me out of school.
He was truly my hero as a kid. That black 3 means the world too me
I was 9 years old watching on my living room tv. Racing was never the same after that day
Dale was not driving like Dale. He was slower and blocking. Had he just ran normal he'd still be alive .
He was trying to stay in 3rd.. Period..
I agree he wasn't driving the way we knew him too but idk why he did what he did I mean on of those 2 were going to win and nobody w as close enough to challenge them so why not just ride it out that's what I think about when I watch that race
Dale knew they had the race won coming off turn 2 he was content running 3 wide to hold the pack off. Seems like rusty got a good draft and dale was trying to clear marlin going into 4 I really wish he hadn't tried to save it just spun on the apron
Yes it's unforgettable moment in my life.
Dale was blocking for Earnhardt Jr. and Waltrip. If he went for the win, Earnhardt Sr. would still be alive.
I remember that day very well, I was cooking supper watching the race when the wreak happened, we had dial up internet and I kept reloading the nascar page to try and find out how he was 😢
I was in the Supper stretch. The last grand stand as they past by. I still remember Richard asking dale if your ok just talk to me He repeat it many times.
this was my first NASCAR race i ever went to, we had seats on the backstretch out of turn 2, Dale's wreck was in turn 4, we were probably the farthest away from the wreck. We saw the wreck and the replays on the jumbo screens, we saw Waltrip take his victory lap etc, and then we left. we had no idea what had happened to Dale at all other than he wrecked at this point, it took us about 40 min to get back to the hotel with all the traffic, but we stopped off at a Walmart first to get some food, and out front there was a replica #3 Dale Earnhardt car as a Walmart promotional prop, with flowers and pictures and stuffed animals around it, seemed real odd to us, still haven't heard about Dale's condition, it wasn't till we got back to the hotel did we see all over the news that Dale was dead, we were in total shock, just couldn't believe it...RIP brother.
I think Dale’s death at the end of the 2001 Daytona 500 is arguably the worst/saddest moment in sports HISTORY. If anyone can think of something worse please tell me.
Russell Phillips
Kobe Bryant in 2020.
@@KidLatin27that's Definitely 2nd to Dale
@@mikefeltner4216 true.
@@boumajohn and ken block and Davey Alison and Adam Petty and cale.
To this day it still seems impossible that it could happen much less the fact that it actually did happen.
It happened 3 times in the previous year.
There was a pic on the internet a few years ago that showed inside Earnhardts car and it was not pretty the Steering wheel shaft was bent down and there was alot of blood.
Was born in 99 and my first memories were well after Dale passed. I just wish I was able to see him. Maybe I’ll be able to see Jr race late models some day, probably never but one can always hope.
I remember right before Dale got into his car he kissed his wife turned and looked right at the camera and said (you are going to see something you have never seen on TV)
That was an interview he did earlier in the day. But still damn ironic and wierd
who's the guy on the right?
I first saw this guy pop up this year on some college football stuff. Seems like he tries too hard or something, i dont know. Could be a genuine guy, need to watch him more I guess.
If by "this guy" you mean Marty Smith, then you absolutely need to watch him more. Marty's one of the best there is and NASCAR lost a great reporter when he moved to college football. You should find his one-on-one interview with Dale Jr from a few years back. It's excellent. I've met Marty several times in the media center. He's a great guy and a was a truly excellent NASCAR reporter.
I was watching that race. I could not believe it, when they announced that Sr was gone. If I remember I actually forgot to breath for a second. I had a knott in my stomach for a week after that. R I.P Dale, u may be gone but u definitely are not Forgotten. Dale is the real King of NASCAR. 🙏🇺🇸🗽🇺🇸🙏
23 years later, goosebumps, I had a love hate relationship with Sr. but I openly sobbed when he died
And Marty looked at Kurt Busch and said Kurt I’m not the guy you wanna mess with lol.
The only detail i can remember is him telling everyone the Hans device would hang you if you crashed.
Dale Sr was also adamantly opposed to full-face helmets. Almost any safety initiative NASCAR proposed he argued against. Unfortunately his attitude cost him his life.
Marty Smith is The GOAT
The sport changed dramatically since that day.
It’s interesting hearing him mention if dale was actually blocking because no one ever mentions that but I believe sr was totally content with finishing 3rd that day…something he never did he’d wreck junior to win if he had to
That was the plan he laid out before the race. He predicted it would be Michael, Dale Jr. and himself if everything went right. He was totally blocking to keep that plan in place
Everyone is trying to save NASCARs ass i seen what happened Marlin hit him in the left rear turning him inty the wall come on
I was running boats in the infield lake, Lake Lloyd for my employer at the time. We ran people around all day long. Wont forget that day.
We can all probably count less than 5 times in our life, where something happened and you remember exactly where you were and who you were with. For me, it was the Space Shuttle Challenger explosion, the World Trade Center collapse and the death of Dale Earnhardt. By far, three of the worst memories in my life....
You bet I was watching that race at home!!!!!I was in disbelief
Dale Jr is now the same is dad was when he had his accident
He's outlived Dale and Ralph ....Ralph was 45 when he died . Big E was 49 ...Jr just tuned 50
NASCAR Died along with Dale Sr.
I hate when people say the wreck didn’t look that bad. Even veteran NASCAR people continue to say this ignorant line. The wreck absolutely looked as bad as any fatal crash. It gives you a perspective on what Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin jr. and Jerry Nadue’s crashes all looked like. Find a replay of Dale’s crash, and I believe there is only one, from a zoomed out perspective. If you watch that replay, you will see the car go from 170-180mph to a complete dead stop, as far as the direction it was traveling before it instantaneously changes direction because of Schrader’s momentum. Remember this, and you can see it in his in-car shot, Dale never lifted because he had the car saved until Schrader hits him, not Kenny’s fault. So this narrative of his car only going 150 at impact is ridiculous. The only speed scrubbed off was from the friction of being sideways. So he was traveling, still, about 170-180.
@539strt, was that bad of a wreck ,most likely because the lap belt broke and no Hans device.
I remember watching that race. When he hit the wall it didn't even look that bad.
Then everything changed.
Love Marty!
Dale wanted it done his way and had his belt adjustment on the backside of his seat which got caught and ripped the belt. The adjustment was supposed to be in the front. Dale didnt like it the proper way so in reality his caused his own death!
i do not think junior decided to or wanted to race, but he knew his father wanted them to be at the track 4 days later!
February 18, 2001 is the day Sr met Terry Bradshaw, too.
I'll tell you the moment I seen that ambulance leaving without the lights on I knew that something was seriously wrong. I was born in 1986 and this happened in 2001. I was at home watching the race and I knew buy Ken Schrader's reaction when he got to the window net and once I seen the ambulance without the lights I knew that it's not looking good at all.
The wreck in 96 at Talladega was much worse but the angle of impact was different. The Talladega wreck would have killed him had it hit different.
Enjoy Marty reporting on anything! And yes had Dale lived, he would have gotten #8
Love Marty Smith!
As a full grown man they all cried
All my collection is All pre passing
😢sad day for everyone
Earnhardt died doing what he loved. RIP champ!
Richard should have asked Dale, what are you doing because your not even trying to win the race and you race for our team. You can't let your cars win and block, you have to at least try but nobody told Earnhardt that but they should have and I would have asked him when they were under a caution flag. Dale I thought you wanted to win the 8th championship, all of this is for nothing and you could even lose your chances at doing it. You have to think about that because they are getting tired of you blocking, you can't see how much they want you out of the way and they have already almost wrecked your. You have to try because you know if someone is blocking you and you have the fastest car. You would have done the same and you have already been warned so many times to get out of our way because Marlin had the fastest car that day and he finally had enough. I will never understand why nobody told him to stop blocking, he has a faster car than you and you can't hold him back forever but I could see you hitting Earnhardt if it's 5 laps or even 2 laps to go but to do it only the final turn. Its was to late to get around him and 3 could see they had the race won and I believe hes trying to hang on to 3rd place but he wasn't going to let you do no more and I stopped watching racing that day and I can't even tell you what NASCAR is anymore. I watched it all my life and nobody at home could believe I cried after I saw what was going on. Everyone asked me why are you crying and I told them, I believe Earnhardt was dead. Nobody believed it because it just happened and nobody had told the world that he died in the last lap of the Daytona 500 . When you see an ambulance and its driving that slow, they broke their back and everyone knew Ken would not say you are in trouble because he knew Earnhardt was dead. Look up the inside of the car and it's so much blood, it comes out of your noise, ears and mouth but I don't like talking about the rest. Nobody in my family believed me and I know why they cover a car after a wreck. They have died and it has to be taken and looked at to see if anything inside the car was wrong and did it cause it. When you hear about France and he's going to tell everyone about Earnhardt, I know it wasn't coming to say Earnhardt was ok but everyone asked me how did I know after it happened. Get in your car and drive 75 to 80 miles per hour and hit another car that is just sitting there. NASCAR found out what the force be on Earnhardt when he hit the wall, he felt 45 gees when he hit. Go 80 miles a hour and hit another car that is in Park, see how hard he hit because that is what he felt inside that car. It doesn't matter what the TV shows. It doesn't do it justice because this was real life but I just knew in my heart it was over and my brother was talking about how mad Earnhardt was going to be. When I told him that I believe that killed him, he said NASCAR would have done said something but I heard from a man who called in to a talk show when I was driving. They said, people are starting to call in and they are saying Earnhardt didn't make it. I called my brother because they said NASCAR is going to give a statement about how Earnhardt is and he couldn't believe I said he died right after the wreck happened. I just know they couldn't save him and ken told you all you needed to know when he was talking about Earnhardt. He would just say I am not a Dr but this is NASCAR who you blame for this. They want remove the plates but he knew he was dead and yea he said now, he did know he was already gone because of all the blood on the car. He hit so hard, the axle for the back wheels broke in half and he never hit the wall with the back of the car but I still remember it like yesterday. I always was a number 3 man and I just wanted to stop watching it, I wasn't going to jump over to jr because he was nothing compared to his father and I have never watched it in and I meant what I said, NASCAR killed my driver because of the rules and they want the big one. I can't tell you anything about NASCAR today and I never will be able to
I dont know, I wouldn’t say Dale sr was on a championship year in 2001! He was at the end of his career and hadn’t won many races in the last couple years of his life.
Obviously you didn't watch NASCAR the previous season. Dale finished runner up to Bobby LaBonte. Dale had a solid 2000 season and definitely would have been a factor in the championship
This off subject from Dale but what do y’all think about NASCAR and the electric car they unveiled today? I believe if they go electric it will literally be the nail in the coffin. Yes a lot of great safety changes have been made since Dale passed but I believe they need to take stage racing away let them work on the damn car like the did back in the day. I remember if you crashed go to the garage and the team would try to fix even if 50 laps down just get back out a log some laps. NASCAR is killing the sport.
If only the left lap belt didn't tear.
the lap belt broke because it was improperly installed and they knew it. subsequint investigation reveled the crew installed the belts to earnhardts liking to make him more comfortable in the seat. true story
@@ELVISKL I know that. The fact is the belt broke and that is what killed him. Had it not, he would have walked away as always. It also proves, with a broken lap belt, no other safety device or innovation will save you when you body is partially flying around inside the racecar during a crash.
My daughter was born 2-28-01. Her middle names Dale
Had Jimmie Johnson ever met Dale? I know Harvick did obviously but Jimmie was a nascar fledgling....
This will be the last time I will state 1 & 1 person only killed #3 car. Every #3:fan called him the intimidator. An Act making contact of a car Forward of him. This act I to This day am 100% against there's enough with of track to pass ifvyou have the faster or better handling car.
Pushing a car forward of you states I don't have the better car $3 Rarely did have a better car. But he had the unprofessional charter to hit to take the Forward car out of its line. Pretty mush what I thought of every #3 Fan I'd encounter it made sence to me then an now. Do more with less is aways praised. But in 2001 last lap last turn of the great American Race Intimadation was not in the cards nor was the answer. Instead #3 ,the intimidator would now become put in a position to be intimidated. A true Rookie at position 1 that never allowed him to practice this unknown craft. A position his Revels became experts at both Forward and behind. Do to the 1st Rookie never done before act #3 would perform He clearly show his own fear of being hit from Behind something he did to others for decades.
As #3 block on cars from takung a Forward position #3 did the Act of death a true Rookie act. He went down from a 36% bank turn 4 all the way to 0% passing of the white inner line. 2 options were avaliable to the Rookie driving #3 1 stay in the 0 % infield No your 3 rd place position You just relinquish and you live another day to talk about the big 1 that got a away. An Act a veteran driver would of done a win or not at the Great American Race. 2 Option Death 100% when going 0% from 36% bank at xlose to 200 mph show 100% #3 had never have done a move like why? Cause no professional would ever so do there experience told the car do to all forces of compression and lift & weight Changes made the car unstable Undriverable unsteerable only a car going 160 mph straight into a wall for a life ending event. 2 option the Rookie of #3 Took. His father was correct finish school #3 finally likely hold would understand a 3500 pound machine and it's libations, yet we all that never wast study or understood. Infection if not for the M&M #36 car coming in contact with #3 as iswas head in a straight line to it's death. #3 would hit the wall at an inhuman speed causing death instantly then starting from the rear flipping over to it 7 floor drop to the tracks ground yet #3 would be dead before the impact to the ground. It's this #3 Fan would then would understand the clearly Rookie mistakec#3 made with 0 experience. Instead the visual lead '3 loyalist blamed all but who was 100 responsible. And just like any liberal blame everyone else for there legends life ending crash.
Sorry there is no other excuse reason or person that made what happened happen. Option1 ,#15 would of won and #3 being pased by 20 plus cars on turn 4 Would of been of little Consequence. Instead a rookies selfishness caused a life to end and a sport that has Never been the same.
Dale Sr came up into Sterling. The wreck didn't seem bad at all. That was not gonna be Dale Sr year. Jeff Gordon set the record for laps led in a season. Its still the record for a 34 race season plus Jeff Gordon drove a back up var to win The ALL Star Race.
Dale may have won u don’t know
He was most definitely blocking! Sterling had the run to take the win.
Idiot, Sterling had nothing, he was going to pass Dale and both DEI cars in one turn without any help? GTFO.
I still cannot believe NASCAR permitted the 3 to drive for one team and own another - it was not fair to Richard , his sponsor or his team -
Dale didnt have any self awareness as far as how dangerous this vocation is - He had no will pertaining to DEI - This certainly wasnt fair to Teresa and Taylor much less Kerry , Kelly and jr -
The 3 caused this -& it should not have been allowed to happen
Fair? This has happened for years ... this certainly wasn't the first time. It certainly doesn't have anything to do with what happened that day. What are you even talking about? Fair? What are you even talking about? Fair? He was a race car driver ...should he have sat back and watched? What an insult to him, his family and friends.
When you say the 3 shouldn't have done this and that, are you saying Dale or the actual car? Or the actual "3" such as the "8" Junior just applied for the rights to the font used on the "8"?
@@bradleynelson5915Whoever that is was talking about driving the 3 for RCR while owning DEI. Still cant get my head past how dumb the comment is/was
What are you talking about? You clearly dont know Dale, he was COMPLETELY blinded by love for Teresa, he left her everything. Thinking she would take care of Junior and the other kids. Wreck or no wreck he had self awareness just not smarts when it came to bestowing his assets. He felt as if his kids hadn’t proved themselves yet, time might of changed that but it pure speculation.
Denny Hamlin doing the same thing now.
Marty smith sucks.
Someone finally says it ...complete poser and self important tool.
Marty is such a drama queen
I can't explain it, but I always feel like Marty is full of it. Even when I know that he's telling the truth. It's weird.
No one will admit it in the press but Dale Earnhardt intentionally caused that crash so Earnhardt's own D.E.I. (Dale Earthardt Incorporated) Team cars driven by his son Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip would definitely finish 1st and 2nd without the pack being able to get a run at them coming off Turn 4 because of a last lap pile-up he was causing on purpose! Out of respect, no one points that out but everyone who followed the sport back then who knew The Intimidator's reputation for taking no prisoners, knows that's the truth! Even if they don't dare say it out loud. 😏
Solid bait, I give it a 7.5/10
Are you on drugs Or are you the worlds biggest troll?
🤦🏻♂️
Sterling did the deed, it's that simple
Smh people like you are ridiculous.
Sterling was just racing like everyone else. Jr put that to rest after Sterling started getting death threats.
@@rcr-zt4of Yes he was. Just wrong place, wrong time
Really? Sterling is the one who improperly installed Earnhardt's seatbelt? 🤔
Dale Sr came down on Sterling's car nose. I just the 36 car could have been 2-4 feet farther along. That would have put him in the fence but not in as bad angle Dale went in at. Dale would have hit the fence but not near as bad angle.
The videos don't lie !! That's all Earnhardt did in the closing laps is block block block !
With all the blocking that goes on I'm surprised that they haven't had to bury a helluva lot more drivers !! NASCAR needs to start penalizing them like they do in Indycar Racing !!
Marty Smith is such a freaking poser
Yeah, agreed. What is this guy famous for? Just an interloper..used car salesman.