Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Chevrolet, NASCAR Crashes, Sprint Cup, Richard Childress Racing, NASCAR
In 10 days it will be the 10th anniversary of Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s death.
The Intimidator was struck down on the final lap at the 2001 Daytona 500 when his car slammed into the wall at turn four. After nearly three decades of racing, the impact didn't look that serious compared to some of his past wrecks. But, as Earnhardt well knew, angles matter, inches matter, milliseconds matter. And Earnhardt's wreck hit the wall at the precise angle at the precise inch and at the precise millisecond that was most disastrous. One-hundred and sixty miles an hour, life to death in an instant. The impact of Earnhardt's crash fractured the base of his skull and left all of NASCAR in mourning.
Now, 10 years after his death, it's easier to consider Earnhardt's own legacy in racing. And that legacy is undisputed, Dale Earnhardt is the greatest race car driver in the history of the sport. We can run down a roster of accomplishments -- his seven championships, tied for the most all-time -- his 76 racing wins in 677 races, and his legacy that continues to this day through his son, Dale Earnhardt, Jr., who owes much of his popularity to a latent love affair of racing fans to his daddy. But what stands out the most is this fact, Earnhardt brought racing to the masses.
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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2011/02/08/dale-earnhardt-is-the-greatest-nascar-driver-of-all-time/
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