13 Years Ago Today

[KevMcNJ]

[jkeener24]

I'm not even a NASCAR fan, but I remember what I was doing when I found out. Weird how you remember things like that.

[Liz]

Yes...

[Littleman]

It was a sad day, true, but was it actually his fault - his seat belts not installed properly like he was warned by Bill Simpson?

[TimmyZ1]

I'm not even a NASCAR fan, but I remember what I was doing when I found out. Weird how you remember things like that.

I watched race and had a bad feeling about it but wasn't feeling well so I went and laid down and passed out. Couple of hours later my dad woke me up from a sound sleep to let me know what happened. I just had a vibe at the time seeing the way the rescure crews behaved and how weird the announcing crew was feeling. The biggest thing that struck me was in the days after. At the time I was a big Jim Rome fan and Rome led off discussing the accident on Monday and was still discussing it and was swamped with call ins on Thursday. Rome was stunned but the outpouring of grief and people wanting to talk 3.

Great racer and person and a massive reason for NASCAR's popularity.

With that being said AJ and Mario were better drivers

[Frank Capua]

I was watching the race on TV and wasn't at all alarmed by the accident and was focused on Waltrip winning until I saw the look on Jr.'s face as he was rushing from the pit area. Then it suddenly got serious.

[mstove]

I was watching the race on TV and wasn't at all alarmed by the accident and was focused on Waltrip winning until I saw the look on Jr.'s face as he was rushing from the pit area. Then it suddenly got serious.

Yeah, was pretty obvious it was serious at that point.

[Frank Capua]

Yeah, was pretty obvious it was serious at that point.

Ned had expressed concern before that but I just figured he was being Ned... Later I realized he was probably hearing chatter on the cleanup crew's radio frequency.

[MoparsRule]

I watched race and had a bad feeling about it but wasn't feeling well so I went and laid down and passed out. Couple of hours later my dad woke me up from a sound sleep to let me know what happened. I just had a vibe at the time seeing the way the rescure crews behaved and how weird the announcing crew was feeling. The biggest thing that struck me was in the days after. At the time I was a big Jim Rome fan and Rome led off discussing the accident on Monday and was still discussing it and was swamped with call ins on Thursday. Rome was stunned but the outpouring of grief and people wanting to talk 3.

Great racer and person and a massive reason for NASCAR's popularity.

With that being said AJ and Mario were better drivers

I too listened to Jim Rome at the time, and he was absolutely blown away by DE's (and nascar's) popularity at the time.

Fully agree on AJ & Mario, and in my opinion it's not even close between those two & DE.

[lkchris]

My most lasting memory of #3 was the Sunday when during his Victory Lane interview he acknowledged the death of Ayrton Senna earlier in the day.

To me with that, he acknowledged both his and Senna's places in racing and that they were part of the same thing--what a statement of self confidence.

What he represents is that someone who can barely speak legibly, shows next to zero technical knowledge or social sophistication, etc., can still be on top of this profession. It's a VERY rare occurrence and frankly not a realistic role model.

But then, it's also a lesson that those thinking themselves socially and educationally sophisticated would do well to not always discount those that appear less so. "Good 'ol boys" can be pretty smart and there's no better example than NASCAR's success versus Indycar's decline.

[Frank Capua]

While not being much of a fan of NASCAR I can acknowledge that they lost the best spokesperson they ever had when they lost Earnhardt. I still recall the night before his last race when he took Terry Bradshaw around the track and while being a hoot it was the most entertaining moment I ever experienced watching something NASCAR related...

Of course standing next to Bradshaw Dale probably sound more legible than he had his entire life.

[pb]

Ned had expressed concern before that but I just figured he was being Ned... Later I realized he was probably hearing chatter on the cleanup crew's radio frequency.

I'm remembering the incongruity of DW calling Mikey to the checkers and almost coming apart at the seams and then bouncing back to the wreck with Dale.

[BigWheelHawaii]

The Things I Remember,,,

First the love that Dale showed,,, what a love affair between
Dale and Teresa ... The extremely affectionate kiss, exchanged
between the two... It made me tear up, before the race... It
took Dale awhile to get it right, but he finally got it right...

The love shown between Dale and Dale Jr that day,,, God those
two just adored each other... Who knew,,, it would be the last hug...

Tony's big crash,,, that was big, I was very concerned... Everyone
forgets about that crash, that was big...

You Knew Immediately,,, It Was Bad...,,,

Ken Schrader getting out of his car, walking around the
back of Dale's car, undoing the safety net, and then you
saw the look on his face,,, you just knew... Also, Kenny's
actions, that told me immediately this was going to be bad...
I have only seen that original clip once or twice since that
day, now all the clips have been edited, cutting that segment
out... Kenny has since said in confidence, that he knew
immediately that Dale was dead...

I didn't know he was dead, but I knew it was bad...

[KevMcNJ]

I dont know why, but as soon as he hit I said to my wife

That was a bad hit

Shes not a racing nut but shes been around the tracks from time to time

and told me it was a harmless wreck.

I just knew right away.

I wasnt a Dale fan

But I have a small 3 on the side glass of my daily driver now

[KTMLew]

I dont know why, but as soon as he hit I said to my wife

That was a bad hit

Shes not a racing nut but shes been around the tracks from time to time

and told me it was a harmless wreck.

I just knew right away.

I wasnt a Dale fan

But I have a small 3 on the side glass of my daily driver now

I felt the same. When Ken Schrader started frantically gesturing for the rescue squad I knew it was bad. Fully expected it to go the way it did. IMO, if his belts hadn't broken, he still would have died from a basilar skull fracture (BSF). The report indicated, unlike the other BSF's that killed the other NASCAR drivers, his had no evidence of stretched/torn muscles or ligaments in his neck. That indicates to me the belts stretching and breaking likely saved him from the usual cause of BSF, but by not being secured in the seat his head hit something in the car when he rebounded back into the seat. Either the cage or seat structure. That is what was indicated in the last version of the NASCAR report.

It was just a really bad deal.

1. Cars had insufficient crush structure built in the front clip. Too much triangularization. Great for consistent handling but a serious injury waiting to happen.
2. Lack of oversight from NASCAR on mounting location & "quality" of belts (expiration dates,etc).
3. Multiple impacts that poorly mounted/dated belts couldn't restrain the driver. <but if he HAD been properly restrained BSF from wall impact would likely have killed him anyway>