DE3
Today, February 18th is a day with a lot of significance for me. Five years ago today my hero, Dale Earnhardt died. I know a lot of people do not get racing or why so many like it, but Dale Earnhardt was man that transcended the sport. There isn’t a person reading this that hasn’t heard his name or seen his car. He was so much more than a racecar driver. I will never forget the day Dale died. Where I was & what I felt are something that will always stay with me. I was actually talking about the crash with someone while watching the news later that day. No one knew how bad it was. The last thing they mentioned as they went off air was, “Late news out of Daytona, NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt has died.” I can’t put into words what went through my head. I walked out of the house & sat in my truck. A few people called me to ask if I had heard. The whole experience was absolutely surreal.
To be honest, in the weeks after the crash, I really thought I was done watching racing. I still do watch it, but it really isn’t the same. Without Earnhardt, the sport lacks that love or hate driver that you look to.
I of course was one of the fans who loved him. My fondest childhood memories are of my dad, brother, & myself sitting in the living room watching races rooting for our favorite driver, Dale Earnhardt. As I got older I began to appreciate just how great of a man he was. He started with essentially nothing, busting his hump to make end’s meet & provide for his family. Much like his racing style, nothing was going to get in his way of success.
On the track he was the hungriest, most determined driver. He beat, banged, & flat out ran everyone to the checkered flag. No one could stop him. Off the track he was extremely generous, however wanted no attention for his good deeds. He was the type of person you could look up to & say, “I want to be like that.”
There were a ton of weird coincidence after he passed. The next weeks race had to be be finished on Moday due to rain. His son crashed the 1st lap, his other driver Steve Park won the damn thing. the next 3 races after his death the 3rd lap was run under caution (Fans honored Dale by holding up 3 fingers the entire lap.). Dale Jr. won the race after 9/11 that same year. 3 years after his father’s death, Jr. won the Daytona 500.
3 weeks after he died, the car he used to drive won the race in the best finish I have ever seen. I can’t remember being so overcome with emotion. I am actually tearing up thinking about it. At that moment you knew we were going to be able to move past it. There had never been a more popular win. The crowd was going crazy & the announcers were bawling their eyes out. It was truly special.
Later that season Dale Jr., his son, won the summer race at Daytona where his father had passed. He blew by 10 cars in 2 laps to take the lead & win going away. This has become far & away one of the greatest moments in the history of the sport.
There are so many things & racing memories I could share about the man, but I will stop here. If you are interested in learning more about Dale Earnhardt, here is a link to a great website NASCAR put up in his honor.
Rest in peace Dale.
Currently Playing…
Garth Brooks
By Garth Brooks
“The Dance” (Dale Earnhardt Tribute)
