Filed under: Dale Earnhardt Jr., Daytona Int'l Speedway, NASCAR Crashes, FanHouse Exclusive, NASCAR
EDITOR'S NOTE: Ten years ago on Feb. 18, we lost Dale Earnhardt. NASCAR President Mike Helton used those very words that day - "we lost Dale Earnhardt" - in making the announcement that shocked and saddened people like no other death in American motorsports. It was a national tragedy - Earnhardt's photo appeared on the covers of Time and Newsweek - and it reflected the fact that during his amazing career, the sport had grown from its regional roots into a major national sport, in good measure because of his exploits.
Starting today and continuing for eight days, FanHouse is proud to present a series entitled Ten Years After - The Untold Stories. Most of these stories about that fateful day or about Earnhardt's career have either never been told or are recalled in greater detail than ever before. In this story, FanHouse's Senior Motorsports Writer Holly Cain recalls that fateful day.
Peering through binoculars from a seat in the Daytona International Speedway press box -- seven stories above the famous track's finish line -- I watched driver Ken Schrader climb from his wrecked car and run a few feet over to Dale Earnhardt's crumpled Chevy at the conclusion of the 2001 Daytona 500.
It was the final lap, and their cars had collided and hit the turn 4 wall before coming to rest on the infield grass.
Schrader's urgent gestures to the safety crew and then his body language -- turning away from the wreckage -- was unusual for the normally controlled veteran.
I vividly remember the sickening feeling as I realized that Dale Earnhardt might be seriously injured.
I will never forget watching a then 26-year old Dale Earnhardt Jr. running down pit lane towards his dad's car a good half-mile away. The pure joy he experienced five minutes earlier as the runner-up finisher in the Daytona 500 -- his career best -- was replaced with anxiety and fear.
Once the rescue workers arrived at Earnhardt's famous black No. 3 and assessed the situation, it felt as if everyone was moving too slowly. The ambulance -- headed to the hospital just across the street -- left the scene -- and wasn't rushed. The wrecker was in no hurry.
Then, the telltale sign: track workers unrolled a large tarp. After a decade of covering the sport, I knew the tarp was used to cover and cloak race cars in fatal accidents.
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Source: http://motorsports.fanhouse.com/2011/02/08/ten-years-after-remembering-dale-earnhardts-fatal-crash/
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