My Hero

By Jan
February 18, 2001

A great hero has fallen. Or more closely, crashed. Into the turn four wall at Daytona International Speedway. Head injuries. That was my biggest fear. Head injuries. We�d seen it before three times last season. Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin, and Tony Roper. And now Dale. My Dale. Dale Earnhardt. My buddy who I�ve cheered on for years and years. Who I was hoping would win his record eighth title this year. He was at best in years after the 2000 season. So he left while he was still on top. I can�t imagine what Dale Jr. must be feeling right now. His mentor, his father, his competitor and friend. To lose the man that you love so much, and whose footsteps you are following. How hard is it to follow when the footsteps are cut short. We all know it could happen though. And it did. The auto racing world has seen death many times before, but to lose arguably the greatest stock car driver to ever race. . .wow. There�s hardly words for that. And he still had more to accomplish. That eight title would have been his. I never gave up on him, never ever, even when he had a few slower years in �97 and �98. The GM Goodwrench team kept building up over those years after �96 when he crashed hard at Talladega. He walked away from that one though. I remember that one. We were discussing it today. He gave the crowd the thumbs up before he got into the ambulance to go to the infield care centre. He had injuries, and it took him awhile to get back into form. But he made it. The 2000 season was proof of that.

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Now there will be no more questions of, �when is he going to retire?� from the critics. No more of that sideways smile that makes you chuckle in spite of yourself, just because you know he�s got something up his sleeve. But we can�t dwell on what we don�t have because that won�t get you anywhere. What we do have is memories. All of the great memories. Even the stuff I never saw for myself but have learned and experienced through stories people have told, and things I�ve read. I�ll always remember when he won the Daytona 500 for the first time in 20 years back in �98. He spun around on the infield grass, doing donuts, just having a good time. I�ll remember when he spun out Terry Labonte on the last lap at Bristol back in August of �99. I was thinking �Go Dale!� and I had my arms up over my head, sitting of the end of the couch in suspense. What a great race. �Just wanted to rattle his cage a little bit,� said Earnhardt. And last year at Pocono when Jeremy Mayfield got him loose on the last lap in turn three when Earnhardt was leading, relegating Earnhardt to a fourth place finish, giving Jeremy the win. �Just wanted to rattle his cage a little,� was what Mayfield said in victory lane, throwing the comment right back at Dale. Our memories of Dale Earnhardt will live on, and NASCAR will always remember one of their greatest heros.

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My heart and prayers go out to the Earnhardt family. Teresa, Kerry, Kelly, Taylor, and Dale Jr. And to Richard Childress and his race team. A relationship of over 15 years was ended today. Dale�s been driving that #3 Goodwrench Chevy for a long time. And to all the Dale Earnhardt and NASCAR fans, we all feel the pain right now. We love you Dale. The last race that Dale ran, the 2001 Daytona 500 was a great race. We saw Dale do what he was best at. It all came down to the last lap, just like it always does, only this was the last last lap for Dale. A first time winner won today. Michael Waltrip, who went for 462 races without a win. Now he�s 1 for 463. Michael drove for Dale Earnhardt, and this was his first race in a Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevy. Everyone said, if Michael�s gonna win, he�s going to do it with Earnhardt. And he did today. But as he was crossing the finish line in the highlight of his career, Dale was crashing. A passing of the torch you could conclude. A hero fell from the spotlight as another took his place. And I know Dale would say, as he has many times before, �That�s racin.�

Dale Earnhardt 1951-2001

7-Time Winston Cup Champion