Did you cry...?

Question

when Dale Sr. died?

Answer 1

Actually, no, I didn't. I wasn't a NASCAR fan yet. However, I do recall the day it happened. I was working 3rd shift at the time, and when I went to work that night there were an aweful lot of red and swollen eyes on the faces of my colleagues. When I found out that they'd all been crying because of Dale Earnhardt's death, I was put in awe. I figured that the man must have been one heck of a guy to have that kind of effect on his fans.

When I got into a heated debate with one of my co-workers about NASCAR (I was taking the side that NASCAR wasn't really a sport, and was boring), he challenged me to watch just one race from the green flag to the checkered fan. He bet me $20 that I would be a fan by the end of the race. That was the Bristol race in the spring of 2001. I can't remember who won that day. I can't remember alot of what I saw that day. But, I do remember that I ended up paying my buddy $20.

Answer 2

Wow...........a lot of answers.......good question.

My two cents.

There was a red flag late in that race.

I have watched a lot of racing from the Davey Allison and Richard Petty days and I have seen a lot of wrecks and pile-ups and when I compare Dale's wreck with some of those violent wipe-outs it just didn't seem that severe.

I thought about Dale's accident and I believe during the red flag he undid his seat belt so he would be more comfortable for the final laps of the race.

If this is true, and no one may ever know, it would explain how extremely violent wrecks see the driver popping out of the car (or what's left of it) and waving to the crowd, but the accident Dale was in ended up being fatal.

My heart goes out to his family and Dale Jr. who was still learning from the master of racing. Dale Sr. was not intimidated with Nascar racing and had talents beyond the competition.

I didn't cry when he died...........but for some reason it seem like I should have.

Well we miss Dale Sr. and cheer for Dale Jr. Thanks for the question.

Answer 3

Yes, I cried for Dale. And Adam, Kenny, Alan, Davey, Clifford and many others all the way back to Glenn Roberts.

All were tragic, but for me Dale was the most difficult.

Dale died being a racer and that was fitting but above all he died being a Father, protecting his brood from that which would pounce, given the opportunity. You and I both know it could have been Junior in the wall instead of Senior.


Hey shotgun, Terry and Dale sure did have some great finishes, didn't they? I sure miss Terry on the track. I always did like him. He wasn't shy about puttin' a fender on Earnhardt either, if called for, and it usually always was!

I miss those days. I'd hoped we would have seen a better finish at Marty, but Gordon wussed.

Answer 4

Yes.. He was a great personality in NASCAR, and as far as I'm concerned, NASCAR died the day Dale Sr. died. I grew up in North Carolina about 15 minutes from where Dale lived, he was my hero when I was a kid. I was also moved to tears by the deaths of Ayrton Senna, Roland Ratzenberger, Alan Kulwicki, Davey Allison and Greg Moore among others. It's a terrible loss to any real motorsport fan when we lose someone, regardless of what series they race in. They risk their lives every weekend for our entertainment. No matter what kind of racing you prefer, it's important that we never forget that.

Answer 5

No. As a matter of fact, when he crashed, I was joking with my friend, who was watching the race with me, that a few of my buddies (who were 3 and 8 fans), were gonna be pissed off that Dale crashed.

Got on the computer to chat with them, found out that Dale had died, and pretty much had to do a double take. I had seen many crashes like Dale's before, with the driver walking out ok. I will say though that it shook me.

Answer 6

no, i did not cry. i was only 9 years old when he died. i didn't really know what happened on that day. i was just a stupid little kid. lol. but when i watched the movie, 3, I cried when they showed the crash at the end. My dad did cry when he died, because he was my dad's favorite driver. RIP DALE SR!

Answer 7

At first I was mad at Dale Sr cause he took out one of my favorites, ol Ken Schrader.But that all changed when word got out what had happen.I do remeber thou I was watching the race in my shop while working on my own race car and when the reports first started coming in about the belts I looked mine over a few times that night.

Answer 8

everyone knows how the rusty and dale sr. rivalry went through the years. i always said i hated dale earnhardt just because he was a rival of my favorite driver but the day he died, at first i said no way until i turned to espn. i cried, and cried. i guess you never know how much you care about someone until theyre gone.

Answer 9

Yes, I cried like a little baby. I have always been an Earnhardt fan. Thats the whole reason I started watching NASCAR is because of him!! When he hit that wall, I knew something was wrong. From that day foward, everytime I hear his name or see something about him, I get teary eyed. Now, Im a huge Dale Jr fan and always will be!!~3~ Forever a fan!!

Answer 10

I think shock, pain, and yes a tear was shed that day. Still have the race on tape. Still spooky. DW happy for his brothers win, yet the concern as the medic team worked. The fact it was the last lap and seemingly "not that bad a wreck," made it a shocker. Worse than than loss of my heroes Davey & Kulwiki in plane events.