Ernhardt dies in Daytona 500

[RedLilPony]

I have to share my memories with everyone... When I was 4 years old I walked into the living room and my first NASCAR experience happened. The "yellow car" as I called it (also known as #3 and the Wrangler car) was doing pretty good. My dad asked me who I thought would win and I said "THE YELLOW ONE!!!!" Anyways, sure enough Dale Sr. won. And from then on every NASCAR race was watched with me and my dad. Even though Dale is a Chevy guy I loved him. He was just the coolest to me... Even when others had their moment in the winner's circle, Dale Sr. was always the one I was rooting on. In fact, I had my money on him to finish in the top 3 or even first yesterday. I have his Christmas ornament from hallmark and every year when it goes on the tree... I know I will be sad. I am only 18 as many of you know, and I have watched him since the day I discovered NASCAR... He was always my hero and now he's gone. I am so sorry that the world had to experience this horrible tradgidy and I know that racing will never be the same for me anymore. There is now a missing piece that no one can ever replace. So with that I say sorry to everyone that is effected by this and good luck to Dale Sr. because I know that he's still racing up there in the clouds.

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Jodi
AKA PonyGirl
Red 68 GT Fastback and Black 99 GT Coupe
"Not your average Mustangs..."
http://hometown.aol.com/redlilpony/Homepage.html

[inferno]

Originally posted by MTU 50:
Inferno-
The reason the impact of Dale's crash is worse than rollover crashes is because in a head-on crash with the wall there is a massive deceleration from 190MPH to zero in a matter of seconds. That is just too much force for the brain to take.

In a rollover crash energy is dissipated more with each hit and the car decelerates much slower than in a head on crash.

God bless Dale!

If you were watching the race, you will note that the car was sliding sideways for a while before it slid up into the wall....I know that a head on collision would be more tramatic, but it didn't appear that he was going that fast when he hit the wall.

[Smokedawg]

He was the best at what he did, and passed away doing what he loved to do.
My condolences to the Earnhardt family, Dale will be dearly missed by his fans and all of NASCAR.


Thanks for the great ride #3.

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347 Stroker Motor: Balanced, 30lb Bosch Injectors, Cobra Computer, Cobra Transmission, GT40 Ported and Polished Upper and Lower, GT40 Milled Ported and Polished Heads, B303 Cam, BBK 1 5/8 Headers, March Underdrive Pulleys, Electric Fan, Accel Performance Coil, Accel 300+ Racing Wires, NGK Plugs, Ram Air, K&N Filter, 77mm Mass Air Unit, FlowMaster Exhaust w/offroad H-Pipe, Hurst Short Throw Shifter, 3:55 Gears, Ram Clutch, Cross Drilled Rotors, High Tolerant Painted Calipers and Drums.

[MTU 50]

Inferno-
Keep in mind that most of the replays you are seeing are probably in slow motion. When I first saw the crash I didn't think it looked that bad either, but when I saw it in real time(not slow motion) it is a lot more violent. Just look at the in car camera view and that tells you how quickly and violently it happened. Also, it wasn't directly head on, but the angle was still a hell of a lot closer to 90 degrees than it was to 0 degrees. Zero degrees being parallel to the wall and 90 being perpendicular. Plus it happened in a turn which is part of what made it closer to 90 degrees than 0. I'm positive if there was a overhead camera shot it would be a lot clearer just how bad it really was.

RedLilPony-
Those are great memories to have. Mine aren't quite as early as yours even though I'm a couple years older than you. I have however watched a few races with my dad and I know how special that can be. The fact that he drove a chevy really didn't matter to me at all. I'm a car guy first and foremost. Yeah, I love Mustangs a lot better than I like Camaro's, but a cool car is a cool car and a kickass driver is a kickass driver and that's what Dale was for me. He was my favorite driver for about 8 or 9 years now and will be for the rest of my life. I'm actually a little surprised there aren't more posts on here about Dale. I realize it's mainly a Ford board, but it's still a little weird.

Oh well, all that matters is that February 18, 2001 will go down as a sad day for a lot of people. Old or young, male or female, Earnhardt fan or not.

God bless you and your family Dale and thanks for some good ol' racin'.

Jeff

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1991 GT, AOD, Moroso Cold Air, 3.73s, March pulleys, 3-chamber(the left one fell off-NO time+No Money=College), FMS c-springs, and KYBs

[GTGrl00]

I could'nt believe it, I was in sooo much shock. Dale was a great racer who will most definitely go down in history. My heart and prayers go out to the Ernhardt Family.

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Yours in SPEED=======
Mandy aka GTGRL00

This being a Ford site, I was a little unsure about how people would react to the death of this legend. I'm glad to see that his racing personality did indeed transcend brand loyalty. Thanks especially to Ian for some great pictures.

I wonder if I will ever be able to have the same innocent, good ol' time watching racing as I did before Sunday. I guess we'll see...

I think the reason so many of us figured he would be okay is that we've seen hime walk away from crashes that looked 10 times worse. For me, the thing that epitomizes Dale Earnhardt is the 1997 Daytona 500. After going airborne, he received a brief checkup and then got back into his duct-taped car and back into the race!

The worst feeling in the world is when you wake up and immediately realize that a bad event from the day before has actually happened - that it wasn't a dream. That is how I felt yesterday.

Thanks for the great memories and God Bless, Dale.

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Greg
91 LX Convertible

[This message has been edited by cleangreenmachine (edited 02-20-2001).]

[dirtyGT]

I just can't belive it.I wasn't a fan of his because of his driving style(but i'd probally drive the same)My sympthoy goes out to dale jr.Carrie,his wife and the rest of his family and friends he was loved by many and it will be a great loss to nascar.I would say he was the best ever.And i will say that Dale jr. has what it takes to fill some of his shoes.I just can't imagine to talk to your dad a few hours before and then the next time you see him he's gone.My dad is very sick he has lung cancer and i hope he's around for a while longer but i don't think i can ever prepare to lose him so i know somewhat how they feel and it's not a good feeling i just hope they get through this god bless them

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86GT-MACcatback-89heads,intake,TB,KENNYBROWNsubs,3.73's,HURST shifter,moser axels,svo rotors,calipers,94ponies going on soon

[mustang145]

Originally posted by Rev:
Dale Ernhardt Sr. died from injuries in that bad wreck in the Daytona 500. What a loss to us all. We all know it can happen, but what a hurtful thing when it does occur. I know we all feel the family.

Rev

god help us i am not an dale fan if he was driving for ford i would of been a fan of dales .
i my mind he was the best driver in nascar. it still hurts to see the timely death of dale.... seeing him weekin week out. changing paint with the best, nascar will not be the same with out dale..........