Earnhardt was playing rear gunner to his Dale Earnhardt, Inc. team cars as they raced around the final lap of the race, to block any late runs from the chasing pack. I turned around and walked back out of there and sat for 30 minutes in that hospital before they told us he was gone., Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s HANS device is connected to his helmet. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. In 1993, he led 107 laps then was passed by Dale Jarrett in the last lap. How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style, Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season, Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season Our cars weren't fast enough and I'd fix that. 36 into the infield grass. There was some initial confusion about what had happened with the crash. "Because he's a racer, he has a very realistic attitude and has been able to cope with it.". It is memories such as those and others that Ken Schrader prefers to recall instead of what he saw Feb. 18. Before @DaleJr let Ken Schrader leave the @DirtyMoMedia studio, he shared an emotional message on what he means to the Earnhardt family. #DJD pic.twitter.com/yuUtVhuJcB No one knew that February day would be the last one of Dale Earnhardt Sr.s life. Almost 200,000 people were in the stands at Daytona International Speedway 20 years ago on the day a NASCAR legend died. That's when Earnhardt, asked if he would wear a HANS device, had groused, "I ain't wearing that damn noose.". It's been 13 years since Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Just being honest, over the years what I remember is hearing his head was turned in an unnatural position and he had blood coming form his ears. The injury is caused by: impact to the chin, jaw and face; impact to the head anteriorly, posteriorly or laterally; impact near the top of the head; and inertial head loading, in which the spine and neck muscles are called upon to stop the moving head. Earnhardt Sr. was there with one purpose in mind each race: win. Earnhardt's death launched a NASCAR safety evolution that continues 20 years later. It looked -- and was -- awful. Schrader's next thought was to go to Michael Waltrip, who was celebrating his first win in Victory Lane, unaware of Earnhardt's death. Unlike his fellow competitors, who didnt learn Earnhardt was dead until well after the accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500, Schrader knew how bad it was the moment he poked his head into the battered No. "Tony's crash looked really bad, right? Two-wide, sometimes three-wide racing, became the norm late in the race, as it was the entire day. That sticks with you.. Receive daily updates with the best country music videos, news, and more! Fellow racer Ken Schrader was the first to get to him and realized he was dead, per ESPN. "You could tell in the communication from those arriving on scene," Helton says of his view from race control. Some speculated that the belt had broken, which but Tommy Propst, who took part in the futile effort to save the racing legend, was adamant that the seat belt was intact, via the LA Times. "When I arrived and took a look, he had obvious signs of what we call a basilar skull fracture -- things we don't like to see in a driver, blood coming out of the nose and airway, blood coming out of the ears. Theres also some photos that you mentioned in another comment that are tough to find. We compete and sometimes we fight and we want to beat each other on the racetrack, but this is a small group of people who do what we do. Im still trying to sort them all out.. Dale Earnhardt Sr. was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital a few hours later but Ken Schrader later admitted that he knew Earnhardt had passed the moment Earnhardt later told Schrader how Dorothy had gotten homesick on the trip, and that he'd spent a night comforting her. (3:04). A broken bone in his neck at Atlanta had him essentially driving with one arm in 1999. How NASCAR is gearing up for its "biggest change" in 2022, Why Bubba Wallaces Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR, Why Bubba Wallaces Talladega win is such a big moment for NASCAR He diced it up all day with old Daytona 500 rival Sterling Marlin, and two cars he owned, driven by Michael Waltrip and Earnhardt Jr. "A great day was unfolding," then-NASCAR president Mike Helton remembers thinking from race control, the press box booth where NASCAR executives and officials monitor and officiate the race below. Could this thing that a few drivers wore, called the HANS Device, really have saved him? When we look back on Feb. 18, 2001, the day Earnhardt died at the end of that race, we find so much of both -- personal recollections about conversations that feel so foreboding now, and moments when so many racers chose to stick with the norm, even amid the constant sounds of safety experts' warnings, ambulance sirens and funeral parlor organs. WebEarnhardt died of a basilar skull ring fracture, the same injury that had killed three other NASCAR drivers Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin and Tony Roper over the previous eight "But at the same time, he takes comfort in that one of the last people Dale might have seen and heard was Kenny, a friend who was there for him.". Hours before the race, Schrader had told Waltrip that if he won, he would go straight to Waltrip's motor home to get the celebration started. 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They seem to be incredibly grounded. As Dale Jr. read the letter, Ken wiped away tears. 'The ones that look really bad are never really bad, and the ones that don't look bad can be bad,'" Petty explains. "When I walked up to that car, I thought about a lot of things over the next couple of hours, and quitting was never on the list," he said. The seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion was killed when he crashed into the fourth turn on the last lap of the February 18th Daytona 500. How could he, even in a sport that is known as dangerous, die on the final lap of a Daytona 500? Unconscious, unresponsive, not trying to breathe. No idea if hes ever went in detail about it. Unfortunately, Dale Sr. collided with driver Ken Schrader and hit the outside wall head-on. The death of Dale Earnhardt from a crash during the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500 is considered the darkest day in the history of NASCAR. PHOTOS: Memorable moments of Earnhardt's No. It was 13 years ago today when Earnhardt died on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Instead, he delivered the bad news to Waltrip, who had just won NASCAR's biggest race for the first time in a car owned by Earnhardt. THE RACE ITSELF was a good one, with 49 lead changes swapped among 14 different race leaders. 20 machine took a hard right-hand turn and drilled the concrete wall with a perfectly centered shot from the nose of his Pontiac. Photo by: F. Peirce Williams / Motorsport Images. I saw a friend in trouble. It often leads to major bleeding in that area. Chase Elliott to return to NASCAR competition this weekend, Bell hoping to build extensive NASCAR playoff resume, Bell hoping to build extensive NASCAR playoff resume He finished second in his division in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, second to youngster Tony Stewart in the Bud Shootout All-Star event, and third in his 125-mile qualifier. As his and Schraders cars spun down the track in unison, Earnhardts right-rear wheel parted company an indicator of the violence that had shaken through the vehicle. Crash: Im Glad It Was You, Alligator Bites Off Leg Of Elderly Man At Florida RV Park, Coors Stock Goes Up As Bud Light Stock Takes A Hit Following Controversy, 6 Facts Youll Be Surprised To Learn About John Wayne, Cody Johnson Drops Details About His New Album, Crowd Cheers As Riley Green Slams BUD LIGHT With Lyric Swap, Anheuser-Busch CEO Breaks Silence As Stocks Take A Hit, Relive The Country Music Sing-Off Between Steve Austin And The Rock. 2023 question: Does a finally healthy Matthew Stafford equal a healthy Rams offense? Based on the fact that a basilar skull fracture is essentially an internal decapitation, Kenny probably saw Dale slumped over, jaw broken, and blood pouring out his nose. The headlines the next day said it all Racing loses a giant.. The early benefits and challenges of NASCAR's Next Gen car, How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style, How Penske's rookie sensation opened NASCAR's new era in style As we all know now, Dale Sr. was pronounced dead at the hospital from a basilar skull fracture and the entire world was in mourning. Sterling Marlin went on to finish fifth behind Waltrip, Earnhardt Jr., Wallace, and Rudd. 2023 Advance Local Media LLC. Youre one of only a few to see the darkest moment for my dad. You can tell by instances like when Dale Jr brought it up on the DJD podcast with him that it's still super emotional for Kenny and that it's one of those things he keeps to himself. I think if people just come back to their senses and listen to what everybody is saying, and watch the tape, theres no question. He drafted with me in those last few laps and as long as we were leading, then everything was fine.. Taylor explains calamitous pitstop that led to fateful Acura charge, Huge first Porsche 963 win thanks to rolling the dice Tandy, Huge first Porsche 963 win thanks to rolling the dice Tandy Its a secret that youll keep til your last breath. It was fairly small and there were photographers and videographers standing on desks trying to get a shot of NASCAR President Mike Helton uttering the words that Earnhardt had died. When we look back on tragic days in our lives, we always find what feel like missed signs of what was to come. Since Earnhardts death, and its subsequent safety drive, NASCAR has not suffered a fatality in its major leagues. 3 on the pole for the 2014 Daytona 500, it will bring back plenty of memories of seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt. Kenny, I know you might sometimes wish you werent the one, but Im glad it was you. I really owe this one to Dale Jr. There was no movement from Dales #3 car, but Ken managed to wiggle out of his and ran to his friends window. There were just so many questions. After the crash, NASCAR did an internal investigation and found that there were some design flaws in the cars that pertained to safety, per the Orlando Sentinel. THE 2001 DAYTONA 500 was without question the most hyped and anticipated event in NASCAR's then-53-year history. Things got so bad in the days following the wreck that Marlin received death threats, which he essentially had no choice but to address. Although it appeared to be a regular NASCAR crash at the time, the impact at this angle was devastating for the occupant. No one knew that February day would be the last one of Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s life. In the end, he decided it wasn't going to. Ive known you a long time and a lot of time has passed since that happened, Earnhardt Jr. reads. Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who were running 1-2 when the white flag dropped, had separated themselves a bit as the pack hit turn three, which is always a madhouse as every NASCAR driver worth his salt wants to make that one last push to win. In the end, he decided he wouldnt let it. Its no way in this world I would do something like that knowing the consequences and put myself in jeopardy, too. Earnhardts open-faced helmet had rotated forwards when he hit the wall, exposing the back of his skull. Before stepping out of the NASCAR trailer, Helton asked his colleagues, "How in the world do I say that we've lost Dale Earnhardt? There were rumors at the next weeks race that Schrader was going to quit, that what he had seen in Earnhardts car--which he wont discuss in detail--was just too much to overcome. "I went back in my bus in the room and shut the door to my bedroom and just sat there," Earnhardt Jr. says. His autopsy revealed the underside of his chin had impacted the steering wheel, and hed suffered a second blow to the back of his head, as he rebounded from the impact back into his seat, which displayed scuff marks on the head-surround area. On the night of Feb. 18, 2001, phones started ringing at the homes of HANS device co-inventors Jim Downing in Atlanta and Robert Hubbard in Michigan. IndyCar at Long Beach: Start time, how to watch, entry list, etc. I had to ask him, for a different story, about having Budweiser and Remington on the side of his sons car at the same time. It's not going back into my body as a race car driver. The impact registered around 60 G's, so much force that it pushed the entire right front corner of the car from an aerodynamic curve into a flat surface that fit the wall as perfectly as a jigsaw puzzle piece. NASCARs crash report, published in August 2001, stated: Dale Earnhardt's death was most likely caused by a blow to the back of the head not from one single cause but from a combination of unusual factors. It was just strictly a racing accident. Earnhardt Sr. was going 150 miles an hour when he hit the wall at the angle that he did. The hardest part was yet to come. Bohannon was still in the trauma room, watching a technician prepare Earnhardt's body for the mortuary. In 1986 Earnhardt was in the lead then ran out of gas with three laps remaining. According to the official accident report, Earnhardt's Monte Carlo was traveling 160 mph when it blasted into the bare concrete wall at the 1 o'clock angle and immediately decelerated by 42-44 mph. I'm not discouraging the question from being asked. The summer before, Dorothy Schrader had spent a week with the Earnhardts on their yacht. "This is undoubtedly one of the toughest announcements that I've ever personally had to make," he began, "but after the accident in Turn 4 at the end of the Daytona 500 we've lost Dale Earnhardt.". The doctor had never been to a news conference, let alone be asked to field questions in one. I didn't know for certain [that he was dead], but I would have bet. In 2000, he was hired by the racetrack as its chief emergency doctor. WebKen Schraders age is 67. It's morbid IMO. I hollered at Dale a couple of times [on the radio] and he didnt answer back which was a little unusual., Schrader, who was the first person to attend the crash scene, said that moment will always stay with me and has famously refused to divulge any details of what he saw inside Earnhardts car. Bill Elliott, Ricky Rudd, Jeremy Mayfield, and Bobby Hamilton were right there in the mix as well. Schrader couldnt avoid hitting Earnhardts car on the passenger side. 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