How Brad Keselowski and the Late Dale Earnhardt Are Cut from the Same Cloth

Team Penske said:
Another article on Brad. I think it is written fairly as it shows his strengths and weaknesses.
Some fans of drivers are so focused on a tree, they can't see the forest. As a Fan of BK I recognize the great racing he brings to the sport and will acknowledge when he has gone a little over board. No hero worship here and his good points are not a blind fold.

http://www.sportingnews.com/nascar/...ff-gordon-fight-matt-kenseth-2015-team-penske
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Sounds like Brad to me.

Nobody likes me, I'm still treated like a 9th grader. Blah blah
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Sorry ... Brad may have Daddy Dale's aggressiveness ... but these aren't the tracks or the cars or the standing rules that Dale raced. Flying an f-35 the way you'd fly a Spitfire doesn't make you an ace .. it makes you dead. Racing the way Dale did got Dale dead, you might recall.
 
Professur said:
it makes you dead. Racing the way Dale did got Dale dead, you might recall.
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Well that is harsh.

I dont believe that being agressive makes you any more at risk than the other competitors.

I've seen drivers make bolder, more agressive moves that have resulted in non-death. Heck, not even resulting in the slightest injuries.
 
Professur said:
Sorry ... Brad may have Daddy Dale's aggressiveness ... but these aren't the tracks or the cars or the standing rules that Dale raced. Flying an f-35 the way you'd fly a Spitfire doesn't make you an ace .. it makes you dead. Racing the way Dale did got Dale dead, you might recall.
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Actually what killed Dale was simply the lack of a HANS device.
 
Professur said:
Sorry ... Brad may have Daddy Dale's aggressiveness ... but these aren't the tracks or the cars or the standing rules that Dale raced. Flying an f-35 the way you'd fly a Spitfire doesn't make you an ace .. it makes you dead. Racing the way Dale did got Dale dead, you might recall.
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yep, at the time he was one of the very few who didn't wear a full coverage helmet. old school all the way. Nascar had lost three other drivers before Sr.. Adam Petty, Kenny Roper, and Ernie Irvin their injuries all pretty similar in nature
 
BOWTIE GUY said:
I would say it was the second hit after sterling made contact, instead of just spinning out he hit wall when his seatbelts failed.
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Earnhardt Sr. died of a Basilar skull fracture. Which would be caused by the head movement he did when his car hit the wall at 200 mph. The seatbelts may have exacerbated the primary cause, but Earnhart Sr. life could have been saved by a HANS device.
 
SpeedPagan said:
Earnhardt Sr. died of a Basilar skull fracture. Which would be caused by the head movement he did when his car hit the wall at 200 mph. The seatbelts may have exacerbated the primary cause, but Earnhart Sr. life could have been saved by a HANS device.
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yeah for sure

Basilar skull fractures are a common cause of death in many motor racing accidents. Drivers who have died as a result of basilar skull fracture include Formula One driver Roland Ratzenberger, Indianapolis 500 drivers Bill Vukovich, Tony Bettenhausen, Floyd Roberts, and Scott Brayton, NASCAR drivers Dale Earnhardt Sr., Adam Petty, Tony Roper, Kenny Irwin, Jr., Neil Bonnett, John Nemechek, J. D. McDuffie, and Richie Evans, CART drivers Jovy Marcelo, Greg Moore and Gonzalo Rodriguez, and ARCA drivers Blaise Alexander and Slick Johnson.

To prevent this injury, all major motor sports sanctioning bodies now mandate the use of head and neck restraints, such as the HANS device.
 
Team Penske said:
One thing I learned over time is drivers know drivers better than fans know them. Sometimes respect is displayed as fear.
When you see experienced guys like Hamlin and Edwards and Tony put a lot of effort into trying to intimidate newer drivers
it is because they recognize that these guys will be their main competitors very soon.
They are right, Brad already won his championship and Joey is knocking on the door. You may be able to rough them up out of the car, but they are going to kick your ass driving.
So far Hamlin and Edwards are just wannabees.
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Edwards has nearly won the championship twice. Not an Edwards fan......just saying.
 
No one is like Big E!!! Who does brad intimated? Obviously no one everyone wants to fight him! A lot of people got mad at big E but they also respected him! Not too many people tried to fight him! Brad reminds me of a young Kurt Busch talented but ****y and arrogant! All we need is Jimmy Spencer to put him in his place LOL. (Trevurkle Townsend on Facebook comedy a host of green, white, and redneck! Add me)
 
SpeedPagan said:
Earnhardt Sr. died of a Basilar skull fracture. Which would be caused by the head movement he did when his car hit the wall at 200 mph. The seatbelts may have exacerbated the primary cause, but Earnhart Sr. life could have been saved by a HANS device.
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I agree a HANS would have helped, maybe have saved him. But the belts breaking was a big factor. The steering wheel was impacted and damaged. I have seen photos and I have one in the attic somewhere.
 
Greg said:
I agree a HANS would have helped, maybe have saved him. But the belts breaking was a big factor. The steering wheel was impacted and damaged. I have seen photos and I have one in the attic somewhere.
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One of the things that was talked about a little was the fact that some of the Old Timers liked to cheat death on the last lap and release their belts. I remember them blaming it on a faulty belt, but it has always made be wonder if the rumor was true.
 
haywired said:
One of the things that was talked about a little was the fact that some of the Old Timers liked to cheat death on the last lap and release their belts. I remember them blaming it on a faulty belt, but it has always made be wonder if the rumor was true.
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Sounds like BS to me. They cheat death each and every time they strap themselves in.
 
Greg said:
I agree a HANS would have helped, maybe have saved him. But the belts breaking was a big factor. The steering wheel was impacted and damaged. I have seen photos and I have one in the attic somewhere.
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Both the Crash Investigation Report as well as the Autopsy Report are available online. I read both a long time ago and saw the same pics you saw. I have a copy of both reports.

As far as the HANS device goes, I think it only functions properly when it is held in place by the restraint system. DE's failed. I don't think the HANS would have done a thing for him in that instance.
 
If anyone can't find the report and would like to see it, PM me your email address and I'll send you the report. All aspects of the crash and investigation are described in great detail.

I was/am a huge Dale Earnhardt fan. I wanted to know everything that I could possibly know about what happened that day.
 
It would not surprise me to learn that Nascar's had some influence and input and may have been instrumental in the findings of the reports. Not saying they were but.......

Disclaimer; no black helicopters were shot down while writing this...
 
Bobw said:
It would not surprise me to learn that Nascar's had some influence and input and may have been instrumental in the findings of the reports. Not saying they were but.......

Disclaimer; no black helicopters were shot down while writing this...
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There are independent reports included in what I have too. Again, you are all welcome to them. PM me your email if interested and I'll send it to you ASAP.
 
Bobw said:
It would not surprise me to learn that Nascar's had some influence and input and may have been instrumental in the findings of the reports. Not saying they were but.......

Disclaimer; no black helicopters were shot down while writing this...
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Anything is possible.I know Dale died in a race car and and the exact nature of how he died is unimportant to me. Many things could have happened but at the end of the day he he is still gone.
 
StandOnIt said:
Then on April 29, Orange County firefighter Tommy Propst, a track rescue worker, said in a Sentinel story that when he unlatched Earnhardt's seat belt, it had tension on it and was not broken. NASCAR officials then changed their story and said they discovered the failed belt not on the night of the crash, but the next morning.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-earnhardt-seatbelt-nocut-story.html
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I dont know for sure what failed but if the belts has worked as intended, the steering wheel wouldnt have been so severely warped.
Imo the belts either broke or they were improperly mounted.
I think it was the later.

Just my opinion nothing I could prove.
 
haywired said:
One of the things that was talked about a little was the fact that some of the Old Timers liked to cheat death on the last lap and release their belts. I remember them blaming it on a faulty belt, but it has always made be wonder if the rumor was true.
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I dont think so.
 
IIRC Simpson had pointed out that Dales lap belt was mounted incorrectly but Dale said he liked the belt mounted so it crossed him lower, it felt better to him.
Again Simpson and Nascar got into a huge pissing contest over his equipment.
 
Team Penske said:
Don't confuse respect with fear.
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IMO, DEsr and Gordon both had a lot of respect for each other . . . . not fear. Not only were they friends at the track, but were business partners 'til the day DEsr died.

As for Brad and some of his ignorant driving, i.e. 'dega vs Carl and 'dega 6 laps down, or Charlotte and Texas 2014, DEsr would have told him, IF you drive like that around me, I'll put your happy ass in the wall! :cool:
 
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