Over 50 years ago a new sport was introduced. This sport was stock car racing. The organization that sponsors stock car racing is known as National Association of Stock Car Racing, NASCAR. The driver that is identifiable with NASCAR is definitely Dale Earnhardt. Over the years there have been many great stock car racers from Cale Yarborough to Richard Petty and Davy Allison, but no other name was better known than Dale Earnhardt. Whether on the track or in the crowds, there is no possible way a person can look without seeing a black number three or some other Earnhardt insignia.
In first or last place, victory circle or behind the wall, the black GM Goodwrench Chevrolet could not be deprived of its respect. Who would have ever guessed that the legendary Dale Earnhardts life would be taken from him on the last lap of the biggest race of 2001? Dale Earnhardt was born on April 29, 1952. He was raised in Kannapolis North Carolina. Dale started racing at age twelve and won his first race at age fifteen. After winning his first race Dale decided that this was what he wanted to do as a career. Dale dropped out of high school in the ninth grade.
Dales parents did everything they could to try to keep him in school but they were unable to. Earnhardt would soon find out just how hard it would be on him and his future career though. Dale Earnhardt came from a family of stock car racers. Dales father being a racer himself knew how hard it was to start racing. That is the main reason he tried to keep Dale from dropping out of high school to race. They even offered Dale a new car to keep him in high school. (1:72) Dale Earnhardts grandfather was also a racer. Dale was not very close to him though.
In an interview Earnhardt said that he regretted not knowing his grandfather very well. Earnhardt also mentioned the fact that his actions as a kid were embarrassing to him now. (1:73) Being one of the most dominant drivers on the track, Dale quickly earned the nickname the Intimidator. Dale won his first Winston Cup championship in 1980. After his first Winston Cup championship Dale went on to earn 6 more championships to tie Richard Petty with 7 victories.
The nickname Intimidator fit Dale very well. He was known for causing wrecks to move himself up in the race. 1:73) After several complaints from other drivers, Dale was warned by NASCAR officials to clean up his act and drive more safe. No matter how many crashes Dale caused he was still friends with almost every other driver. Towards the end of his career Dale seemed to go backwards just as fast as he went forwards. (5:1) Dale Earnhardt always had bad luck at Daytona Super Speedway. Earnhardt dominated the 1990 Daytona 500, leading 299 out of 300 laps but cut a tire on the last lap to take himself out of the race. (1:72) Dale got married at age seventeen. He married his high school sweetheart.
They had a lot of problems in their marriage. With Earnhardt trying to get into racing and his wife trying to further her education they decided to get a divorce. Dale was twenty-four when they got divorced. (1:78) Dale remarried but that did not last long. His second wife could not handle being in the public eye. Dale decided to try getting married for the third time. This time he married a woman he met at a racetrack. Her name was Teresa. Through his three marriages Dale had three kids. Their names are Dale Jr. , Kerry, and Kelly. The most well known of the three is Dale Jr.
Dale Jr. is a Winston Cup racer too. He drives the number eight Budweiser car. Dale Jr. also won the 1998 NASCAR Busch Series championship. (5:1). Dale Sr. owned 3 racecars in Winston Cup. He owned Dale Jr. s car, Michael Waltrips car, and Steve Parks car. There was never one complaint about how Dale ran those cars. (6:1). The last race of Dales life would come on February 18, 2001. Dale looked like he had a really good car through the whole weekend. He qualified fifth and had one of the fastest cars in practice. Dale also race in the International Race of Champions that weekend.
That league is also known as IROC. In this league everyone has the same exact car with the same engine, just a different color on each car. The racers are from different racing leagues like Indy and Busch. Dale made an incredible save when he regained control after being turned around by Eddie Cheever Jr. Then Sunday came and it was time for the Daytona 500. Earnhardt was doing really good during the race and was even leading the race at one time. About half way through the race there was a really big wreck that took out about twenty cars.
In that wreck a driver by the name of Tony Stewart was sent flying through the air and flipped three times in the air before landing. This wreck caused the race to be red flagged for about twenty minuets. With about fifteen laps to go Michael Waltrip, Dale Jr. , and Dale Sr. were first, second, and third. Earnhardt was holding off Sterling Marlin and Rusty Wallace so Dale Jr. and Michael Waltrip could get first and second. Then on the last lap of the race tragedy struck. In turn 4 about one fourth of a mile away from the finish line, Earnhardt lost control of his car.
He slid up the track and right as he was starting to get control back, he was hit from behind by Kenny Schrader, which sent Earnhardt headfirst into the wall at about 200 miles per hour. Earnhardt was killed instantly in the car. (5:1) The legacy of Dale Earnhardt will live on through his family. Dale Jr. decided to finish the season and is doing really well while coping with his fathers death. Kerry and Kelly will also keep the Earnhardt name alive. Dale Earnhardts company Dale Earnhardt Incorporated or D. E. I. will still go on too.
The people who will keep the name alive will be the fans. The day that Earnhardt died the janitors of the track had to bring a flat bed truck in to pick up all of the things people were leaving in memory of Dale. About three days after the wreck Sterling Marlin was interviewed. One thing he asked people to do is stop sending death threats to him. People were threatening to hurt him or people in his family for causing the wreck that claimed Earnhardts life. (5:1). There was also a lot of contriversy about what exactly killed Earnhardt.
About three weeks after the wreck there was an article released that stated that Earnhardts seatbelt was torn. The company that made his seatbelt (Simpson) claimed that there was nothing wrong with the seatbelt. A paramedic claimed that he had to pull on the seatbelt very hard which would mean that it was not broken. NASCAR officials said that all of the information they have gathered and hope to gather will be released to the public in August. (6:1). Nobody can truly say what exactly happened that day and who knows if NASCAR will tell the truth in August but at least we will be closer to an answer than we are now.
Earnhardt is the driver, the reason, and the person that made NASCAR is what it is today. Darrel Waltrip said it best when he said, We have lost the best thing that ever happened to NASCAR(6:1). As a renegade teenager or even a little fearsome racer, Earnhardt was the man who always came through. The legacy will be passed on through Dale Jr. and the Earnhardt name will be respected for the years to come. Sure NASCAR will get over this tragedy in time, but there will always be some trace of Intimidator, Dale Earnhardt.
