Sportsday: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.
Posted by Bryan on February 18, 2008
Dale Earnhardt, Sr. (April 29, 1951 - February 18, 2001). Yes, those dates are correct. “The Intimidator” crashed and died 7 years ago today on the last lap of the Daytona 500. Due in large part to the large fan-base of Earnhardt, his death triggered a very intensive focus on safety in NASCAR racing. Since this dedicated effort toward safety, drivers are now protected with mandatory HANS devices (head-and-neck restraints), SAFER barriers on oval tracks, new rules/regulations for safety belts, escape systems, and even a newly designed Car of Tomorrow. My guess is that our Blogging friend Kristine can appreciate this intense focus on safety. Though it is of course very sad that it took a tragedy to stimulate these efforts
A driver who developed an incredible fan base, even before the widespread marketing of NASCAR, The Intimidator will always be remembered as one of (if not the) greatest drivers in history.
As I’m writing this post, I’m wondering if the world of hunting has much to learn from NASCAR with respect to safety. Safety is always preached, but is it always practiced? I know that I sometimes let safety practices slide by in the heat of the moment, though I’m sure I wouldn’t if a tragedy hit home. Maybe remembering The Intimidator will remind us all to be safe when we’re driving and/or hunting…
Dale Earnhardt, hunting, NASCAR, racing, safety, The IntimidatorIf you enjoyed this post, make sure you subscribe to my RSS feed!
[…] deerPhD wrote an interesting post today on Sportsday: Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr.Here’s a quick excerptA driver who developed an incredible fan base, even before the widespread marketing of NASCAR, The Intimidator will always be remembered as one of (if not the) greatest drivers in history….As I’m writing this post, I’m wondering if the world of hunting has much to learn from NASCAR with respect to safety….Due in large part to the large fan-base of Earnhardt, his death triggered a very intensive focus on safety in NASCAR racing…. […]
February 18th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I can’t believe it has been 7 years. It is amazing how fast time goes by.
February 18th, 2008 at 12:52 pm
I was very sorry to hear what had happened, at that time I was not as much a fan as I am now.
Unfortunately it usually takes an accident to have changes made, it has always been like that.
February 18th, 2008 at 5:36 pm
Arthur, I thought the same thing…
Rick, I agree - I hope I’m able to prevent tragedies in the woods before they happen!
February 20th, 2008 at 10:17 am
My Dad is a huge Dale Earnhardt fan and was really devestated when he died. If any good did come out of that tragedy it is definitely the increased focus on safety. It is too bad someone had to die for the lesson to be learned, but at least NASCAR was smart enough to learn it.
February 20th, 2008 at 11:07 am