Dale Earnhard has died

[Jimdandy]

 

Originally posted by cabby:
Truly a very sad day for NASCAR and racing fans everywhere    

Don't blame Marlin, door handle-to-door handle racing at 185 mph is dangerous.  Period.  It's not certain that Marlin could avoid Earnhardt's car at this point anyway.

Earnhardt was a "hard-charger", a fierce competitor, and died doing what he loved doing most.  And he did it well.

After it's all said and done, what else can you ask for from life???

Cabby

[This message has been edited by cabby (edited 02-18-2001).]

You got it cabby. Dale knew the risks. No driver out there would purposely do this to another. It's a hazard of the job. I just hope that when I go I can be doing something that I enjoy. <S> Mr. Earnhard. Don't weep for him. He was doing exactly what he had wanted to do his whole life. So few people can say that. It is a gift in my opinion. We will all go but under what circumstances. I lots my father to cancer. It wasn't nearly as quick, easy, or gallant. My grandmother went with Alzheimer's. It wasn't pretty and it took a very kind and intelligent woman. Be very happy for him it could have been so much worse. As was said so many lose there lives all over the world in horrible circumstances. Starvation, war, natural disasters, disease. They are honored at best with a news cast showing the dead bodies.

[This message has been edited by Jimdandy (edited 02-18-2001).]

[Wanker]

RAM, just because we don't post a thread about every tragedy that happens in the world, that doesn't mean that it doesn't affect us.

[Kieren]

Gotta stop responding to you, Ram. Think what you want, say what you want. I just never met a person with such a penchant for saying exactly the wrong thing at exactly the wrong time. A few people express grief over the loss of a prominent celebrity sports figure, and you have to turn it into a morality lesson. What's worse, you end it by attempting to make us feel guilty for apparently not noticing 3 earthquakes that have happened in the last year, and the subsequent loss of life. If those events cause you grief, by all means post on the topic. Allow others to discuss what they want- is that so much to ask?

[This message has been edited by Kieren (edited 02-18-2001).]

[skernsk]

It was a hell of a race with 50 lead changes and tons of close calls and heart stopping three wide racing.  Had Earnhardt not died it would have been one of the best in recent memory.  The last 10 laps were incredible and Earnhardt and Marlin got together a few times.

Dale moved down to try to protect the bottom and Marlin had nowhere else to go.  Any NASCAR fan knows that there aint a driver on the track who would have eased up on the throttle on the last lap, and if the roles were reversed I'm sure Earnhardt would NOT have eased up either.  I also think that with the new "Aero" package cars were getting a good draft and it may have been a factor.  Ever since restrictor plates were introduced the thing too do was to pull in front of the guy trying to pass you and let him push you.

It will be a very different race without the "Intimidator"

PS--- RAM......shaddup!  

[AKDejaVu]

RAM, I remember that post.  You posted it in the general forum just after HT posted about the loss of his brother and family.

It merrited the response it got.

We see the news, we hear the numbers.  All the people killed in India and South America are not lost on us.

But realize, we were just discussing Dale Earnhardt on this forum as recently as two days ago.  The topic was merrited. Your input was not.

AKDejaVu

[Creamo]

This marks the first time I actually gotten mad reading someones post ever, and am holding my tongue. Please get back on topic.

Unbelievable...

[flakbait]

Normally I'm a huge NASCAR fan, but I couldn't catch the race today. Alas groceries are more important than TV, especially when you're out of food. Someone mind telling me what happened? I know Dale loved to hug the white line like a rail, especially on the last few laps.


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[Gh0stFT]

"Earnhardt's death was the biggest blow to auto racing since three-time Formula One champion Ayrton Senna was killed in the San Marino Grand Prix in Imola, Italy, in 1994"

a Shock for the whole Racing world  

Gh0stFT

[CJ]

I'll probably get flamed for this too, but I just remember all the times Dale Earnheart Sr. knocked other drivers out of races on the last lap or two, and almost costed them their lives.  It is fortunate that all of those crashes didn't result in those drivers deaths, and it is also unfortunate that Dale Earnheart Sr. died on this race, but I'm not going to cry.  He was the kind of driver that would do anything to win, and sometimes that meant hitting below the belt.  He didn't deserve to die, but as I remember it, he exhibited some bad judgement in the past, and i think it finally caught up to him.  

and yeah, there is a lot more death to worry about than some driver that was having a blast doing what he loved to do.  A lot of people that never put themselves in harms way that are being hammered by all kinds of forces that are beyond their control.  

Just a few thoughts...

[Peeradow]

God writes right, over wrong lines...

(I dont know how to spell it in english but i tryed...)

If its happened, its better this way. (to who believe in God).

But still sux.
I can understand what do u guys feel, coz i felt really really sad when Ayrton Senna died by head traumas too...

 


Pirado

[StSanta]

Sad to hear of this.

Such are the risks of the sport, and that was probably part of what appealed to him. Some guys just need danger in order to fully live.

While I am sure he did not have a death wish, and it is a poor consolation, he died doing what he loved.

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[Wanker]

As long as you brought it up, CJ, I'm sure most will agree with you. Earnhardt certainly played dirty at times, as did other drivers. That's how he got the reputation as "The Intimidator".

I'm a John Andretti fan who always loved to hate Earnhardt. I would love to see Earnhardt get spun around and taken out of a race, but I never liked to see anyone get injured. I'm sad this happened, as sad as when Greg Moore died at Fonatana in 1999, and when Jeff Krosnoff died in Toronto in 1996. I saw all of those deaths live on TV.

Earnhardt died what he liked doing most, and every driver knows the risks involved in the sport.

Verm, I don't see why you're upset with Sterling Marlin. We've seen that kind of contact between Earnhardt and Marlin before. In fact, that kind of contact is commonplace in Nascar racing. This time, however, the worst happened. You can't blame Marlin anymore than you could blame anyone else for what happened.

[Lephturn]

Big <S> to one of my heros.  

I don't blame Sterling Marlin.  As his spotter called "inside inside inside" Dale continued to pull down, hoping Sterling would back off.  I know Dale wouldn't have backed off, had their places been reversed.  Besides, there is nothing anyone could ever do to Sterling Marlin that would be worse than what he'll do to himself trying to live with this.  It's a racing accident, but I'm sure he'll feel terrible for a long time.

The shock is not that a racing driver died... racing is dangerous.  I raced a local short-track circuit for several years, and believe me the risk of injury or death is something that goes with the job.  Every racing driver knows it's part of the deal.  The shock is that it was Dale Earnhart that died.  This man has been the king of rough-and-tumble racing.  He's been in some horrible crashes, and has recovered.  I don't know how to explain it, but it's a much bigger shock that it was Dale.  Maybe it's that he was a living legend... like Superman, we all believed nothing could hurt him.

My condolences go out to Teresa Earnhart and her Dale's four children.  He will be missed.

I do agree with whoever said "At least he died doing what he loved."  That is the only bright spot I can see.  He could have been hit by a bus, or struck down by cancer.  Sure, a long illness would have been easier for US to deal with, but for Dale Earnhart racing was the thing he lived for, and if he had to die now, at least he died driving a race car.

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[hblair]

I've been following winston cup all my life, and have never wanted to see somebody get spun out on the track. In my opinion, a true racing fan doesn't want to see that sort of thing happen. I'd rather see some good, close, door to door green flag racing with my guy getting the checkered flag in the end.

Earnhardt wasn't as loose a cannon as some of you think. True, in the earlier part of his driving career he made some people mad. But I think he has gained more respect in the last several years, as being more of a hard charger than anything else.

Steve Grissom was in our shop a couple years back, when asked about Earnhardt, he looked with a half grin and said "You better respect him" (I beleive those were his exact words) I think most drivers did.

An example of the drivers respect for each other...
You guys remember at Talladega a few years back, Earnhardt and Wallace were fighting for position on the last lap, Wallace spun, had a terrible wreck, Earnhardt won the race I think, then drove back to see about Wallace. They were buddies, on and off the track.

All this WWF hate for this driver or that driver, isn't really part of whats going on, just something injected by the fans.

[skernsk]

I thought that crash happend at Daytona where Earnhardt ran out to check on Wallace.  

Earnhardt was not my favorite driver either but in the past few years I can't say I have a favorite anymore.  You almost feel like you get to know these guys especially if you follow the sport and as each driver takes the lead I can't say I ever Boo'd a single guy...

If Dale walked away from the crash he would have simply called it "one of those deals........."

[This message has been edited by skernsk (edited 02-19-2001).]