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SST55
Guest
Dale Earnhardt Sr. R.I.P.
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speedwayphoto
Guest
sad day indeed...... if anyone's interested, I sttill have an article I wrote on my site the day after........it's a tribute to Dale
http://www.speedwayphoto.net/catchcan/E-tribute.htm
http://www.speedwayphoto.net/catchcan/E-tribute.htm
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SST55
Guest
Very, very nice. Thanks for posting the link
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Mopardh9
Guest
Wow...thats about all i have to say, very well written.
"The Day Racing Died" --- I still miss that man and that black demon of a car. I can still see him, running flat-out, belly-to-the-ground.
Thanks, speedway.
Thanks, speedway.
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
That's one last lap battle that sure changed racing forever.It will never be the same.
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bsquared31
Guest
Well said. It will never be the same for all his fans. I for one still catch myself looking for that black #3 at times
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
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WildThing
Guest
Don't be sad fans, I'm out there for you to root for. 
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
not in a million years
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SST55
Guest
If I was driving and walked by and saw the look on his face, I'd say aw chit and blow the motor on the warm up lap,,,,,
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Mopardh9
Guest
If I was driving and walked by and saw the look on his face, I'd say aw chit and blow the motor on the warm up lap,,,,,
Yeh he was "The Man", no one will ever be like him, they can try , but it won't happen.
kelloggs5TLfan
Team Owner
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
Mike, what year was the inside picture taken? That's a BIG difference form the COT, and even the "old" car.
buckaroo
Here kitty, kitty, kitty
Yeah, that'll be a day I won't forget. Was at the track that day and even after his wreck, most people at the track was more concerned about Tony Stewart than Dale. It wasn't until some time later after the race that people at the track began to wonder what happened to Dale. Never was a fan of his but did smile and was glad to see him finally win the 500, but when it finally sunk in that he was gone forever, I knew that the world of racing had lost someone very special and he would be missed, even by us ABEers.
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Digger
Guest
1995?
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speedwayphoto
Guest
If i was to guess, I would have to say, 97........ It had to be after 1996, because of the Earnhardt Bar..... the inside is red.... most of his cars around 98 and 99 were grey interiors.....
also notice there is no "Plus" on suite.... that was added towrds end of 97 season...... and the We Care sponosor... think that went away in 98 or 99
the thing ya gotta remember is Earnhardt went to alot of trouble to make the inside of his cars the way HE wanted them..... notice the leaned back seat, and how low it is..... He would often cut the seats and reweld them to get that lean in them, and would bend the botom of the chassis to lower the seat. Dale liked to sit as low and far back as possible..... said he could "feel" the car better that way.
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
not sure what year it is I got the pic from a Earnhardt theme for my comp.It was 1 of the wallpapers in it.
de7xwcc
Anarchist
buckaroo
Here kitty, kitty, kitty
Some have said this was a part of the reason that he died. But as far as I'm concerned, the driver is in control of his environment and while safety should be a factor, until it is made mandatory, those guys are going to do what they believe gives them an edge. In retrospect, I thought that DE sat quite a bit lower than most of the other guys and I always thought that gave him an advantage. I have often wondered if he had been in a more upright position would he have lived. No one knows, but he probably would have had he been wearing a HANS device. But I can actually hear him now about being required to wear one of those things. Sorry, but I can't type that here.
The more I think of him, the more I miss him. I guess Kyle the Wild will just have to take his place, but in some ways, I kinda like that kid. It's hard for me to find another driver that I just don't like. There'll never be another Dalle Earnhardt.
be9ak7ts16
Johali Lives
I've watched the wreck a million times and to this day I still don't believe he didn't walk away................... Although I wasn't a fan of his I still miss him.
I think that's a universal truth...We've seen reutiman (cup, Texas), Gordon (cup, pocono), Sheltra & Hollenback (arca, Daytona), John Force (nhra, Ennis), Kenny Brack (IRL, Texas), Bruce Allen & Kenny Koretsky (nhra, Ennis), Brent Raymer (trucks, stuck throttle after hitting wall on backstraight), and an entire host of others, walk away from an accident much worse, or at least return to racing after recovery (okay, maybe not the arca boys so much, but they will
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mike honcho
Knuckleheads
That will never happen.Kyle wouldn't make a wart on Sr's arse let alone take his place
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DanicaFan
Guest
I agree to this. I dont want to see anyone killed like that. But I never liked Dale. He was a dirty driver and played double standards to other drivers. It was ok for him to wreck or play dirty to another driver but you better not do it to him. I dont like those type of double standard people.
wilson89
Team Owner
I think that's a universal truth...We've seen reutiman (cup, Texas), Gordon (cup, pocono), Sheltra & Hollenback (arca, Daytona), John Force (nhra, Ennis), Kenny Brack (IRL, Texas), Bruce Allen & Kenny Koretsky (nhra, Ennis), Brent Raymer (trucks, stuck throttle after hitting wall on backstraight), and an entire host of others, walk away from an accident much worse, or at least return to racing after recovery (okay, maybe not the arca boys so much, but they will
Dont forget Jerry Nadeu his career may of ended from his crash but if he hadnt of been wearing the mandatory Hans device he probably wouldnt of survived.
true. And he didn't even seem like he hit very hard..i think Jeff's pocono hit was harder?
wilson89
Team Owner
I agree 100% with this statement.
Eventhough i didnt care for his agressiveness on the track but he will always be missed. When i first started watching Nascar is was towards the end of his career so i dont have alot of Dale storys other than how i found out he died. I remember watching the race that day and i remember the Tony Stewart crash that happend earlier that day i thought no driver could walk away after it but i was thankfully proved wrong. I also remember cheering for Michael Waltrip to get his first win as the race was coming to an end when i noticed Dale was trying hard to keep the cars back from getting a good run. I remember i told my dad who was watching that he was gonna cause a crash in a minuted because the outside line kept getting a good run. When the accident happend i really didnt think much of it specialy since stewart walked away in what looked to be a much worse crash earlier. I remember i left and hung out with some friends for a bit. When i returned home first thing when i came in my dad said you aint gonna belive this Dale Earnhardt was killed i thought he was kiding until i turned on sportcenter and seen Mike Helton crying doing the press conferance that he had died.
wilson89
Team Owner
I belive the Nadeau crash was what made them have to put safer barriers at every track after.
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WNY24Fan
Guest
I wasn't even "into" NASCAR back then, but I always saw some of the races on TV and I certainly knew that Dale Sr. was a huge favorite of many. My daughter was going to races for a few years with her then boyfriend's family and they were Dale fans. I watched all the replays, read all about it, and I remember telling my daughter and her saying how upset she knew her bf and his family were going to be. I don't think anyone will forget that day.
No matter what I think of any driver, even if I don't really know them, I'm always worried sick until I see them climb out of their car and see they are OK.
RIP Dale.
No matter what I think of any driver, even if I don't really know them, I'm always worried sick until I see them climb out of their car and see they are OK.
RIP Dale.
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WNY24Fan
Guest
Even in rewatching the accident over and over, it still seems like he should have walked away from that crash. It really didn't look like much and I think that added to the shock when the news came on that he had passed.
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Mopardh9
Guest
I thought the same thing , only thing that concerned me was the head on impact. There were a lot of speculations about the seat belts failing, the open face helmet, other things, but when it was all said and done I think it was just a freak hit. I miss him.....I used to love to root against him, my guy Bill Elliot and Dale had some battles over the years. Charlotte comes to mind as a great one. I respected him, and a cried when he won Daytona and I cried when he lost his life there too.
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SST55
Guest
What year were roof flaps mandated? I don't see the "box" in this pic.
good point. Don't they have like a 2" deep box for the activator cables and what not to sit in?
What year were roof flaps mandated? I don't see the "box" in this pic.
mike honcho
Knuckleheads
It's newer than 94 cause this pic is from dover in 94 and looking at the windshield pillars the other pic is a newer car
and notice the great difference in how the roll cage is done. Dash is a lot different too.
so 1996 or 1997 maybe i guess?
so 1996 or 1997 maybe i guess?
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SST55
Guest
I think this is going to be nearly impossible to pin down the year with the info we have from just the 2 pics. Remember Childress has a brazillion cars, are we comparing a Daytona/Tega car to a Martinsville or Lowes car?
I know we changed interior layout for driver comfort, also changed dash boards when we went with different gauges or switch location.
I know in Honcho's first pic we'd get grief over the location of the battery A-B cut-off switch, it appears too far away to be reached from outside the drivers window.
Good discussion though.
I know we changed interior layout for driver comfort, also changed dash boards when we went with different gauges or switch location.
I know in Honcho's first pic we'd get grief over the location of the battery A-B cut-off switch, it appears too far away to be reached from outside the drivers window.
Good discussion though.