Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire The Day, Remembering Dale Earnhardt

I won’t claim to have been a fan of Dale. I was always hoping for DNF for Earnhardt and a DOA FOR Gordon.😀
But whoever you were rooting for, you kept one eye on that black number 3, because he made things happen!
I said on the other Darlington thread, I had pretty much given up racing.
But being a Mopar fan I watched Daytona for the long awaited return of Dodge!
Sterling Marlin clearly had the winning car! Whenever he got to the front he was gone!
In the closing laps, Mike Waltrip, Dale Jr, and Dale Sr were running 1,2,3, with Sterling all over Dale’s back bumper.
Every race I ever saw Dale was headed for the front. Not today though. He knew if Marlin’s Mopar got around him, they would be 2,3,4.
He had to block Sterling and let Mike and Dale Jr fight it out between them.
Something had to give…
Reon
Remembering Dale Earnhardt

It was a sad day indeed

Love him or hate him, Dale could drive a race car.

Despite living in the same town as Dale, he wasn’t my favorite driver either. Just about everyone in town pulled for him though. I liked the Fords, especially Davie Allison and Mark Martin. That said, Dale was the best driver of the era. No doubt about it. I will never forget him coming from two laps down to win the Coca Cola 600. His crew was as dominant as he was. My wife and her side of the family were devastated when Dale died. My wife went to school with Dale’s daughter, Kelly. I don’t think Dale would enjoy the sport today, like he did in his era. Most traditional fans surely don’t.

FIL watched evry race faithfully for old#3 hasn’t watched one since that day

Those were real race car drivers in those days.. . . . hasn't been the same since.

I was at BikeWeek Daytona that year- huge memorial of Dale lined a high fence.

As far as Nascar goes- I never understood racing huge sedans when the factories made 'sportier cars'. Like racing Draft horses instead of Thoroughbred's.

I just wanna thank Speedy and the boys back at the garage.

Was watching live that day. Really enjoyed the old Winston Cup days.

I was working in a Prison that day. An inmate asked me if I had heard that Earnhardt had died, I figured he was screwing with me. When I confirmed what he said was true, I felt sick to my stomach, and never watched another NASCAR race. I had been recording the race in VCR and never watched it.

Being a Mopar guy who also liked Sterling Marlin, I was none too happy with Dale!
When he biffed the wall, I was just sorry to see that he took Kenny Schrader with him. Didn’t look like that hard of a lick! I was surprised when they put him in the ambulance.I figured maybe he got his bell rung, but it couldn’t be too serious.
I’ve seen many drivers take much harder hits than that and get out bitching about another driver!
I couldn’t believe it when they said “we lost Dale Earnhardt”!.
Tom Fleegle, a really good friend, and a big Earnhardt fan, had a gas station in Pleasantville.
I worked 3rd shift, and stopped for coffee Next morning.
“It’s a damn shame he died blocking. He was always going to the front.”
Tom agreed with me.
Dale was a holy terror on the track, but he was a class act.
Darrel Waltrip said “He’d race you as hard for a pop sickle as he would for a million dollars!”
His death was a huge blow to nascar, and with their banning of gun advertising, Rebel flags and embrace of “woke” politics, I’m just sorta disgusted with it now.
Reon

That is a fact. Too corporate now.

The wife and I were there. Had dinner the evening before with Gordon and some corporate types and breakfast that morning with Sam Bass. Was still at the track when they announced he was gone. Sad indeed.

+1 to that!

I saw him race at Bristol in the Spring race 1999 if I remember correctly. Rusty won but Dale didn't make it easy!

One of the last gasps of a once great sport.


Wasn't one of his biggest fans,
That SOBcould drive. Half a dozen doughnuts, grab second and come out of the spin going the right way! Not out of the race for a second, just slowed down a tick.


Roll the bitch, drag it to the pits.
"Boys she don't look TOO bad. Wonder if she'll start?"
And back on the track she goes.


He set a lot of records.

One they don't record, he will hold forever.

MOST RACES WON WITH THE UGLIEST CAR AT THE CHECKERED FLAG!


I agree with You and Tom.
Always figured he died because he was doing the one thing he had no idea how to do in a race car. Sandbagging at the finish!

He didn't know the meaning of give up or quit, and had the talent to go along with that attitude which made for some amazing events over the yrs.

Just a few of many.

Him and Bodine at Riverside.




At Richmond after some heavy rain earlier in the week.




Talladega. Came from the back of the pack and passed 18 cars in a jumbled up traffic jam with just a few laps to go.

He could read the traffic at a restrictor plate race like no one else.
It was magic.

Usually didn't qualify well, I always suspected on purpose.
There were often big wrecks among those in front, trying to grab the points for
leading a race. Earnhardt DGAS about that. He wanted to win. Those leading points came along with a win.


After the leaders screwed up their cars, he came forward.
Part of that rotation in those races.


The guy leading with 20 to go rarely lead when it mattered.
Somehow, he knew where to be so he was leading at the end.

Always suspected some of the magic, was the magic.

3 to go at Daytona, or Talladega, #3 is in front or passes me.
Gotta decide, quick. "Who to follow, who to hitch this race to?"

Dale needed some push, how often was that not going to happen?😁

I worked for a critical engine parts supplier for a long time & had an annual pass for NASCAR from the mid-'80's - late-'90's so I've been to a lot of tracks & met a lot of drivers, crew & owners from the period.

Dale Sr. was an alright guy in the garage & I never had a problem with being able to talk to him or his crew though they were always a little bit smart azz & cocky.

By far the easiest & most approachable / talkable was Richard Petty.

Earnhardt was by far the best driver ever & was as good on short tracks as on the big tracks; in the era that Petty dominated, it was far more due to dominant equipment than dominant skill, before NASCAR decided to control the technology & turn WC into IROC, so the last half, at least, of Earnhardt's career was marked by a much more competitive field than Petty's was.

MM

I’ll never forget where I was when I heard the news. It was my first weekend on shift at my job. I’d watched the race and seen the accident but didn’t think much of it. I went to work and my dad kept paging me with 911. I called and couldn’t believe what he told me.
I’d been a fan since I could start watching 15 years prior.
It’s hard to believe it’s been 23 years.