VisorCentral.com - Not my year in sports...

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Posted by MarkEagle on 02-19-2001 12:44 AM:

First the Mets lose to the Yankees...

Then the Viking get embarassed by the Giants...

Today, my biggest hero, Dale Earnhardt, payed the ultimate price.

For those that haven't heard, he was killed in a last-lap wreck at the Daytona 500. I'm stunned... shocked... and still can't believe it.

Earnhardt is the best... probably the best ever... and he was still on top of his game at 49 in a sport being dominated by younger guns. I felt he had as good a chance as any to be Winston Cup Champion this year, breaking the tie (7) with Richard Petty. That feat would have surely cemented his standing as the best to ever strap in a race car. Now, we will never know...

I had the honor of being knocked on my you-know-what by the Intimidator while seeking his autograph at Pocono in 1992. He stopped to help me up, smiled, apologized, signed my program, and kept right on going. It's a moment I'll never forget and now it means more to me than words can explain.

My thoughts and prayers go out the his family, friends, and fans... The NASCAR community lost it's biggest and best star, but he will live forever in our hearts.

__________________

God bless America, my home sweet home...

Posted by Vinny on 02-19-2001 03:36 AM:

I also heard the sad, sad news about Dale Earnhardt Sr. A legend of NASCAR history...he will be missed.

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-Vincent

Posted by foo fighter on 02-19-2001 03:56 AM:

What really astounded me was...the accident didn't look that bad. I've seen FAR worse NASCAR crashes than this, and I half expected Earnhardt to coming crawling out of the wreckage, waving to his fans.

When I heard that the accident was fatal, I nearly fell over in a dead faint!

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My blog: Pocketfactory

Posted by MarkEagle on 02-19-2001 04:17 AM:

quote:
Originally posted by foo fighter
the accident didn't look that bad

especially compared to the ride Tony Stewart took earlier...

The one thing I've learned in all the years I've been around racing is that the wrecks where there's that sudden stop are always worse than the spectacular roll and tumble kind. The human body just isn't designed to go from 180+ mph to nothing that quickly.

I watched the Victory Lane show on Fox SportsNet tonight. Ken Squire put it in perfect perspective when he said that, in the moment before the wreck, with Earnhardt battling Schrader and Marlin in order to protect Waltrip and Junior, and since it happened so quick with no time to react, he died happy.

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God bless America, my home sweet home...

Posted by dick-richardson on 02-19-2001 04:42 AM:

I was at work and heard it over the radio in one of the residents rooms. He's a legend and will be remembered. Puts rather a pall over the day.

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-Joshua
Abortion: Darwinism at its finest.

Posted by miradu on 02-19-2001 04:47 AM:

I read it on Avantgo. Sad..

My dad says that at that speed, the brain rams into the skull, causing pernament if not fatal damge. That's something nothign can stop

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-miradu

Posted by K. Cannon on 02-19-2001 02:59 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by MarkEagle
Today, my biggest hero, Dale Earnhardt, payed the ultimate price.

My thoughts and prayers go out the his family, friends, and fans... The NASCAR community lost it's biggest and best star, but he will live forever in our hearts.

MarkEagle:
Couldn't agree with you more. My husband is honestly a basket case right now--other than his father, I think he admired Dale Earnhardt more than any other person. Every Sunday, we would rush to get home from church, lunch, out-of-town, whatever so that he could watch Dale race. He had pulled for Dale since has was a boy.

My driver has always been Kenny Schrader (I know, I know...but we had same initials and same b-day). But sometime in Speed Week, I had said that I would pull for Dale this year b/c if he was going to win and 8th, this was the year to do it.

Now I'm not sure if we'll continue watching Winston Cup races--not to be melodramatic, but he was the reason my husband watched Nascar.

What a crappy, crappy thing...

Posted by MarkEagle on 02-19-2001 03:52 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by K. Cannon
Now I'm not sure if we'll continue watching Winston Cup races--not to be melodramatic, but he was the reason my husband watched Nascar.

What a crappy, crappy thing...

I had the same thoughts... what's the point now? However, having seen Dale Jr. say that his father would want everyone to continue, I believe his legacy will drive everyone to keep his spirit alive.

I think time (and a lot of it) will heal our hearts. NASCAR will recover and move on... albeit without their biggest name.

I've been giving this a lot of thought this morning: a fitting tribute to Dale would be for Jr. to qualify his dad's car at the next race. Then, at the start of the race, simple park the car in Victory Lane.

I'm sure NASCAR, RCR, DEI, and everybody else will come up with something once they all get over the shock. Look for every competitor at the next race to be carrying the familiar number 3 on their cars!

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God bless America, my home sweet home...

Posted by K. Cannon on 02-19-2001 04:07 PM:

Do you think that Junior should take over the Number 3 or do you think they should retire the number?

I don't think they'll be able to come up with a tribute that matches the loss.

Posted by MarkEagle on 02-19-2001 04:32 PM:

quote:
Originally posted by K. Cannon
Do you think that Junior should take over the Number 3 or do you think they should retire the number?

No, Junior shouldn't take over the 3. Nobody is capable of filling the void Dale leaves behind. Retiring his number would be a possibility and one that I would fully endorse.

__________________

God bless America, my home sweet home...

Posted by WyattG11 on 02-20-2001 01:05 AM:

I go to a Dale Earnhardt forum; it's cluttered with posts about his death. I go to a virtual aviation forum, and people are talking about it there. I come here, to a board that would usually be classified as having every computer geek with a clue about the Visor, and sure enough, there's a post going. It's unreal to see this many people talking about a death of a stock car driver, but at the same time, it also shows the obvious; that he has effected many people's lives.

As a NASCAR fan myself, and as a constant daydreamer, I have never thought of Dale Earnhardt Sr. ever getting killed as the result of a crash in a race. Myself and my parents have been Dale Earnhardt fans for a very long time, and when my mother found out the news, she cried about as hard as she did when her father died back in '93. I probably wouldn't be exaggerating if I said the entire world lost a great champion, and above all, a great person. My prayers are with Teresa, Dale Jr., Kerry, Kelly, Taylor, and the entire Earnhardt family, as well as the entire NASCAR community.

As for Dale Jr. taking up the 3, I disagree with that also. Junior needs to stay in the 8. However, I do support retiring his car number.

Wyatt

Posted by nysebull on 02-20-2001 01:16 AM:

Absolutely, Retire the number 3!

I didn't always root for Dale but I was glad to see him finally get the 500 win a couple of years ago. I just loved his attitude around the garage area. NO ONE can fill that Black Monte Carlo, NO ONE!!!!!!

I don't even want to watch the race at the Rock this weekend. TV will be doing all sorts of tributes and it will only sadden me more. Prayers and good wishes to all his family and close friends.

Poor Michael Waltrip, his greatest day and his worst nightmare.

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