The unthinkable happened on the last lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001.
The NASCAR race at Daytona International Speedway is the first race of the season.
Fans are excited to hear the roar of the engines.
On Feb. 18, 2001, almost 200,000 people were in the stands and they will likely never forget it.
The headlines the next day said it all – “Racing loses a giant.”
Dale Earnhardt, also known as “The Intimidator,” “Ironhead” and “Man in Black” had died after a crash on the last lap in the Daytona 500 on Feb. 18, 2001.
It was the day that NASCAR fans and the racing community and family were in shock.
Earnhardt, 49, died after a crash into the retaining wall after making contact with Ken Schrader and Sterling Marlin.
Earnhardt’s teammate, Michael Waltrip, won the race – a hollow victory. It was his first career Winston Cup win. Before that race, Waltrip was 0-462.
Doctors said Earnhardt died instantly from head injuries.
At the time, NASCAR chairman Bill France Jr., said, “NASCAR has lost its greatest driver ever, and I personally have lost a great friend.”
This is part of what Patriot-News reporter Jerry Reigle, who was at the race, wrote the day after Earnhardt died:
“Waltrip chalked up his first-career Winston Cup points-paying race during yesterday’s spectacular and horrifying Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
Waltrip’s victory came in his first race as a member of Dale Earnhardt’s race team.
Earnhardt, one of the sport’s biggest names, died in a last-lap crash as he tried to protect Waltrip’s victory.
Earnhardt, considered a master of superspeedway racing, was locked in a battle for third place as his newest driver, Waltrip, and his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., headed toward the finish line for what should have been the most triumphant moment in the brief history of Dale Earnhardt, Inc.
The accident happened a half-mile from the finish of the NASCAR season-opener.
Earnhardt, running fourth in his famed black No. 3 Chevrolet, grazed Sterling Marlin’s car while fighting for position.
He crashed into the concrete wall at the fourth turn going about 180 mph, and was smacked hard by Ken Schrader’s car.
Leading into the race, Earnhardt tried to convince Waltrip that his winless skid wouldn’t last for long.”
‘That’s not right,’ said Waltrip. ‘It was Dale Earnhardt who got me in victory lane and he should have been right down there with me. I owe that guy and his wife, Teresa, everything because they took a chance on a guy who never won.’
Actually, it was in fact the entire Earnhardt clan who got Waltrip to victory lane. Both Earnhardt and Earnhardt Jr. blocked Marlin, who had the strongest car of the day, in the final five circuits.
Two-wide, sometimes three-wide racing, became the norm late in the race, as it was the entire day. Earnhardt Jr. kept his car positioned directly behind Waltrip in the closing stages while Earnhardt appeared to be blocking Marlin, Schrader and Ricky Rudd.
‘I knew both those guys [Earnhardt and Earnhardt Jr.] would be right there at the end,’ said Waltrip. ‘I really owe this one to Dale Jr. He drafted with me in those last few laps and as long as we were leading, then everything was fine.’”
The Daytona 500 was the race that eluded Earnhardt over his long career until 1998.
In 1986 Earnhardt was in the lead then ran out of gas with three laps remaining.
In 1989 he finished third.
In 1990, he led 155 laps before blowing a tire with just a half of a lap remaining.
In 1993, he led 107 laps then was passed by Dale Jarrett in the last lap.
In 1997, he flipped his car with just 12 laps to go.
And, he finished second in 1984, 1993, 1995 and 1996.
In 1998 he finally won.
Earnhardt had won seven NASCAR championships and 76 races.
The first Daytona 500 was held on Feb. 22, 1959. The debut race included a dispute about who had won. Johnny Beauchamp thought he had won but Lee Petty was declared the winner a day later.
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