Automotive
2001
Dale
Earnhardt killed in crash
On this day in 2001, Dale
Earnhardt Sr., considered one of the greatest drivers in National Association for
Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR) history, dies at the age of 49 in a last-lap
crash at the 43rd Daytona 500 in Daytona Beach, Florida. Earnhardt was driving
his famous black No. 3 Chevrolet and vying for third place when he collided
with another car, then crashed into a wall. After being cut from his car,
Earnhardt, whose tough, aggressive driving style earned him the nickname “The
Intimidator,” was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead of head
injuries.
Earnhardt had been
involved in another crash at the Daytona 500 in 1997, when his car flipped
upside down on the backstretch. He managed to escape serious injury and went on
to win Daytona in 1998, his first and only victory in that race after 20 years
of trying. The 200-lap, 500-mile Daytona 500, which was first run in 1959 at
the newly opened Daytona International Speedway, is one of NASCAR’s premiere
events as well as its season opener.
Earnhardt, whose father
was a race car driver, was born on April 29, 1951, in Kannapolis, North
Carolina, and dropped out of high school to pursue his own racing career. He
went on to become one of NASCAR’s most successful and respected competitors,
winning 76 Winston Cup (now known as the Sprint Cup) races in his career and
taking home a record seven Cup championships, a feat achieved by just one other
driver in his sport, Richard Petty. In addition to his legendary
accomplishments as a driver, Earnhardt was also a successful businessman and
NASCAR team owner. The 2001 Daytona race which cost Earnhardt his life was won
by Michael Waltrip, who drove for Dale Earnhardt Inc. (DEI). Earnhardt’s son,
Dale Jr., also a DEI driver (until 2008, when he began driving for the Hendrick
Motorsports team), took second place in the race.
Dale Earnhardt Sr.’s
death in 2001 made him the fourth NASCAR driver to die within a nine-month
period and eventually prompted NASCAR officials to implement a series of more
stringent safety regulations, including the use of head-and-neck restraints.
COURTESY: HISTORY.com
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