I was shocked to hear of the news that Dale Earnhardt died in a crash on the last lap at Daytona.
As a few of you know that my first passion is Hunting my second is Fishing.
I had the luck to meet this man while on a hunting trip down south.
He was a good man & a good role model.
He will be surely missed.


http://sportsline.netscape.com/ns/ce/multi/0,1511,3535420,00.html

That is so depressing Mike. I also was shocked by the news. He was truely one of the greats. He will be missed. God bless him and his family.

While it was wonderful to see M. Waltrip finally win a winston cup race, it was horrifying to watch that crash. All the cars today seemed to be right on the edge as they usually are.

Am I the only one who isn't saddened by this? Allright, I do feel bad that he is dead so I'm not totally mean but come on, you play with fire you're going to get burnt. We see what cars do on the highways and even on the side streets. There are a whole bunch of tragedies that happend day in and day out by those machines. He got what was coming to him.

Sad news. Allison, Petty, now Earnhardt? The really said thing is that he leaves behind a family.

Patrick, Shut Up. If you are fishing your favorite little jetty and a rouge wave drops you in the drink, was it sad but you had it coming? I mean that jetty can be dangerous so if you play with fire... Come on, that's just not necessary..

I have followed nascar for a long time.My uncle took me to my first winston cup race in 1982 at dover downs in delaware.

Until about 1992 I went to 13 winston cup races in delaware,pocono,rockingham,and martinsville.I was a race junkie! Dale earnhardt was my favorite driver and I had the chance to meet him at a few races.One thing about this sport is that the drivers or Stars of the sport are very,very accesible.I met dale for the first time in a McDonalds!!! He was eating a burger right next to me! He had no problem sighning my race program and even talked to us for a while about various subjects,Its ironic but, fishing was a sport he loved also!!

I was very upset at the death of Davey alison in 1992 as he was another of the drivers I met once at pocono and was lucky to get his autograph also at some steakhouse in PA.
I do not follow the sport like I once did but, I never miss the daytona 500 and I still like the races at bristol tenn.

I saw the accident when it happened and didnt think much of it?? I figured he would jump out of the car and run over and congratulate mike waltrip and his son dale Jr. I was absoulutly shocked when I heard of his death last night on the nightly news,I still cant believe He is gone.One thing is for sure,Racing will never be trhe same again without The "Intimidator" He was indeed the greatest race car driver of our time and I for one will miss him!!

Patrick, I'm new on this board but not in life. things out of your control happen ,they change the things around you forever////
No wonder you piss off people//

I was also surprised that that crash turned into a fatal one. I've seen those cars roll and disintegrate and the drivers walk away untouched. Sort of a freak accident in my opinion.

Patrick , bad form.

Watching that accident, you couldn't help think of a lot of "what ifs?". Biggest one, just a freak thing, if car #36 hadn't caught Earnhardt's just right and steered the skid head on, he hits the wall broadside, the force of the crash is absorbed by the body and frame of the car, and he walks away. There's nothing worse than a head-on crash, the human body can't stand the forces involved in a decelleration from 180 mph to zero in an eyeblink. Those spectacular looking rollovers, where the car comes apart, are the survivable ones because the body of the car is absorbing all the energy of the crash.

Patrick,......ah, what's the use.

Patrick,You are certainly stupid!! Just plain dumb.You are an idiot in the true sense of the word.Im surprised you are still allowed to post here!

No one "has that coming to them" You fool.

It is a sad loss when any one dies, no matter what they are doing. I wish his family well, what a terrible day that must have been for his son.

Yes Patrick, you are the only one who feels that way.

Think before you type, murderers , rapists and child molesters get what they deserve. Nobody participating in an activity that they make their livelyhood from deserves to die like that. GET A CLUE!!!

Im not a race fan but still I was saddened by the loss of such a great sportsman . Ive heard he was a real good down to earth guy off the track . My prayers go out to him and his family , then this morning I read that a freind of mine died in a fire this weekend 31 years young .
Life is so unfair there are so many jerks out there and it seems the good ones always die first . Racing has lost some of the best people in that sport ( allison , petty , irving and now earnhardt ).

Patrick are you f$#@ed up or what . keep those stupid thoughts in your head . You are obviously too immature for the real world . And DONT email me crying about this remark I DONT want to hear it .

I'm surprised that he died from what appeared to be just a fender bender, at least when it comes to racing accidents. Man I don't know how the families of those guys sleep at night, especially in light of what's happened in the sport over the past year or so.

No need to even comment on Patrick, I think his post pretty much tells us how little class he has. He probably thinks all the firefighters in the new's over the past year all got what they deserved as well, because they literally do play with fire.

Tight lines.

Chris, sorry to hear about your friend. 31 is far TOO young to go. I have lost a few friends along the way too and it is always hard.

I think this is enough about Patrick as this thread is not about him. He really should see the error of his ways and maybe think things through a little more... At least I hope so.

Thanks John
Ive lost many friends to car accidents and illness never from fire . My heart goes out to his mom and dad . They didnt find him until the fire was put out I couldnt imagine . The initial report was it started from a cigarette . His room mate smokes and was saved uncontious so he couldnt tell them Jeff was still in the apartment so they never looked for a 2nd person .

thanks John and everyone else for your prayers and support .
chris lane

Sorry about your friend Chris. 31 years old!! What a shame.

I didn't say that to infuriate people. I have lost many people to car accidents, most of them were just kids. Starting at 16 all the way up to 22. I know what it is like to lose people at a young age. I know quite a few that were taken before their time.

Like I said, it is too bad that he died. I don't like to see anyone die. Now, I'm sure this won't go over too smooth but when I was removed from a certain website, what was I told? "You took the risks and you pay the consequences." Only this is on a much greater scale. I'm sure when they buckle up in their car, the thought of a crash is on their mind. It is too bad he died but we all take gambles and some of us lose.

Patrick, I guess you just don't have the compassion for others that you might think you have. Sure, you might show some for those you know or were close to you but is that where you draw the line? Am I the only one who isn't saddened by this? Maybe you are. More important to the loss of this individual to the sport is the loss of this individual to his children and his wife.

The death of Earnhardt is a reality check. When someone of his stature dies, it makes you realize that no one is invincible. It seems to me that NASCAR needs to get out of the stone age. I watched their press conference and listened to Bill France and wasnt impressed. He offered his "condolences" to Waltrip for having "alot of rain on his win" Now theres class....

The strange thing for me was that I NEVER watch nascar,,,,,,,but I did sunday, it was even worse was when the news came on that night and the hair on the back of my neck stood on end! I am not a major fan and I was a wreck over it! I cant imagine what you diehard fans must have felt!
Not really wanting to feed the flames any further ...but many members of my family and many friends of mine have been involved in racing, from cars to snowmobiles to motorcycles...you name it! I will admit there is always the element of danger that they must realize.....but it is too sad when a tragedy occurs. REGARDLESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It is sad and like Damon said, let it be a reality check. Something which is not advertised or gets the headlines that an unfortunate accident like Earnhardt's but does happen every year is that some surfcaster or fisherpeson almost always dies. Whether being swept off the rocks in Narragansett or the Plum Island breakwater, somewhere, every year, someone dies doing something we all love. Just take a more careful step this year...

I was reading the news and they may be attributing his death to a seatbelt that broke. Here is the link:

http://www.msnbc.com/news/535019.asp

I received an email today which raised a very good point. Here is a copy of how it read:
I still miss Dale, but.....



Quite thought provoking, please read carefully. Thanks



On 18 February 2001, while racing for fame and fortune, Dale Earnhardt died in the last lap of the Daytona 500. It was surely a tragedy for his family, friends and fans. He was 49 years old with grown children, one, which was in the race. I am new to the NASCAR culture so much of what I know has come from the newspaper and TV. He was a winner and earned everything he had. This included more than "$41 million in winnings and ten times that from endorsements and souvenir sales".



He had a beautiful home and a private jet. He drove the most sophisticated

cars allowed and every part was inspected and replaced as soon as there was any evidence of wear. This is normally fully funded by the car and team sponsors. Today, there is no TV station that does not constantly remind us of his tragic end and the radio already has a song of tribute to this winning driver. Nothing should be taken away from this man, he was a professional and the best in his profession. He was in a very dangerous business but the rewards were great.



Two weeks ago seven U.S. Army soldiers died in a training accident when two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters collided during night maneuvers in Hawaii. The soldiers were all in their twenties, pilots, crewchiefs and infantrymen. Most of them lived in sub-standard housing. If you add their actual duty ours (in the field, deployed) they probably earn something close to minimum wage. The aircraft they were in were between 15 and 20 years old. Many times parts were not available to keep them in good shape due to funding.



They were involved in the extremely dangerous business of flying in the Kuhuku mountains at night. It only gets worse when the weather moves in as it did that night. Most times no one is there with a yellow or red flag to slow things down when it gets critical. Their children where mostly toddlers who will lose all memory of who "Daddy" was as they grow up. They died training to defend our freedom.



I take nothing away from Dale Earnhardt but ask you to perform this simple test. Ask any of your friends if they know who was the NASCAR driver killed on 18 February 2001. Then ask them if they can name one of the seven soldiers who died in Hawaii two weeks ago.



18 February 2001, Dale Earnhardt died driving for fame and glory at the Daytona 500. The nation mourns. Seven soldiers died training to protect our freedom. No one can remember their names and most don't even remember the incident.

</SPAN

Sorry if this is posted twice, but the first attempt didnt seem to post. I received an email today that I thought made a lot of sense. Here is a copy of how it read:
I still miss Dale, but.....



Quite thought provoking, please read carefully. Thanks



On 18 February 2001, while racing for fame and fortune, Dale Earnhardt died in the last lap of the Daytona 500. It was surely a tragedy for his family, friends and fans. He was 49 years old with grown children, one, which was in the race. I am new to the NASCAR culture so much of what I know has come from the newspaper and TV. He was a winner and earned everything he had. This included more than "$41 million in winnings and ten times that from endorsements and souvenir sales".



He had a beautiful home and a private jet. He drove the most sophisticated

cars allowed and every part was inspected and replaced as soon as there was any evidence of wear. This is normally fully funded by the car and team sponsors. Today, there is no TV station that does not constantly remind us of his tragic end and the radio already has a song of tribute to this winning driver. Nothing should be taken away from this man, he was a professional and the best in his profession. He was in a very dangerous business but the rewards were great.



Two weeks ago seven U.S. Army soldiers died in a training accident when two UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters collided during night maneuvers in Hawaii. The soldiers were all in their twenties, pilots, crewchiefs and infantrymen. Most of them lived in sub-standard housing. If you add their actual duty ours (in the field, deployed) they probably earn something close to minimum wage. The aircraft they were in were between 15 and 20 years old. Many times parts were not available to keep them in good shape due to funding.



They were involved in the extremely dangerous business of flying in the Kuhuku mountains at night. It only gets worse when the weather moves in as it did that night. Most times no one is there with a yellow or red flag to slow things down when it gets critical. Their children where mostly toddlers who will lose all memory of who "Daddy" was as they grow up. They died training to defend our freedom.



I take nothing away from Dale Earnhardt but ask you to perform this simple test. Ask any of your friends if they know who was the NASCAR driver killed on 18 February 2001. Then ask them if they can name one of the seven soldiers who died in Hawaii two weeks ago.



18 February 2001, Dale Earnhardt died driving for fame and glory at the Daytona 500. The nation mourns. Seven soldiers died training to protect our freedom. No one can remember their names and most don't even remember the incident.

</SPAN

Good point. The same with those Marines that died in the Osprey crashes, onboard the Cole, all of the other training accidents that occur every month and year. Or the Rangers from Somalia, the Marines in Beruit, and the few from Desert Storm. Now while I don't know their names, I do mourn their losses.

But that is an excellent reminder to remember those that have died in the service of our country...

good one Damon . Being a vet I feel for their families . I know of the crash but dont know any of their names . And a couple of months I will have forgotten the exact day earnhardt died . That email is very accurate we always forget those that fought for our freedom we take it for granted . During a number of years in my life every vietnam vet I met I thanked him and welcomed him or her home 75-01 . Many really appreciated my gesture many have said I was the first to ever say that to them . I have helped many vets get through some tough times after the war . Unfortunatly the government forgets the peace time heros the military is a tough job .