Earnhart SR. Dead at Daytona

[montfort]

Dale Earnhart Sr. died today on the last lap at the Daytona 500. He hit Sterling Marlin and got turned sideways and went straight into the wall and collected Kenny Schrader in the accident. Although I was not a personal fan of Earnharts, he was surely one of the best Stock car racers in the world and will surely be missed. My thoughts and prayers will be with his family.

[Keith]

Considering how the crash looked, the news was a complete shock. The racing world has lost an incredible asset and friend. He will be greatly missed. Although I've heard two different causes of death (base skull injuries and chest injuries) and the doctor on duty stated that the HANS device probably would not have helped, I'm wondering if HANS devices will be mandatory now in NASCAR, as they are in IRL, F1, and CHAMP car racing.

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Keith Carter #28
94\95 VanDiemen
keith@formulacontinental.com

[Bob Wright]

We sometimes forget racing is dangerous...then we have to live with news like this. Every time I tighten the belts I accept the fact that someting might happen, but I don't dwell on it. Crashes are a part of racing and I've had my share, but I always expect to walk away. I suspect Dale always looked at things that way.

I'm his age and this really hits home. I watched the race and saw the crash; it had all the makings of a really bad situation, sadly to be proven true. I've admired him for two decades and I'll miss His intensity, his incredible skill, his desire to win....

[mark defer]

i too was shocked to hear the news. i was in detroit this weekend and watched the race with some racing buddies. the crash just didn't look that bad. it did bother me when they didn't at least say whether he was conscious or not but i didn't think anything else about it till i got home and found out he had died. what a shock. md

[FC44]

i think we racers live in a world of denial - it'll never happen to me. then something like dale earnhardt's death happens and we are forced to face reality ... if it can happen to him, it can happen to anybody. i felt the same way when ayrton senna died. but, despite it all, i'll strap into the car again this weekend at sebring. i love racing, but i sure hate things like this. fc#44

[ennis bragg]

Two days later, it still doesn't seem real. Unbelievable. Dad and I were working on the Van Diemen listening to the race on the radio. I was so happy when Michael Waltrip took the win! But when we heard that Schraeder was motioning to the medics, we got worried. We heard the news as we got home shortly after 7pm. Sad sad day. I'm certainly not the biggest NASCAR fan, but one thing is for sure, I'll miss #3.

[Keith]

I just heard on the radio that it was reported after investigation that Earnhardt's harness was broken. Whether or not it was broken before or after the impact has yet to be determined. That finally explains why the doctors said that he had massive head trauma to the front of the skull along with the base of the back of his skull being broken.

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Keith Carter #28
94\95 VanDiemen
keith@formulacontinental.com

[dc]

Friday February 23 9:55 AM ET

Broken Seat Belt Caused Earnhardt's Death

ROCKINGHAM, N.C. (Reuters) - Dale Earnhardt's seat belt broke, causing the fatal injuries that killed him on the final lap of Sunday's Daytona 500, NASCAR officials said Friday.

Earnhardt died of a skull fracture when he crashed into the fourth turn wall on the final lap.

"Our investigation indicates that a broken left lap seat belt came apart," said NASCAR president Mike Helton. "We don't know why, we don't know how, we don't know when it broke. We aren't going to speculate. We will continue our investigation."

Helton said all NASCAR Busch Series and Winston Cup crew chiefs have been informed of the problem in an attempt to correct any faulty seat belts in their cars.

Helton said the broken left seat belt was discovered during an investigation of Earnhardt's wrecked Chevrolet on Sunday night.

[NER19FC]

That reminds me - Time for new seat belts this year!!

[RobLav]

Speaking of new belts, I need some new ones too. I'll prolly get the Willans like what's in the car now. Who's got them for the best price?
NER 07

[Mike B]

Continental has a "special" but I don't know what the price is. I got mine from Averill and got not only a great price, but really good service, too.

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Mike Beauchamp
RF95

[rocketrob95]

BTW, seatbelts can be shipped back to the manufacturer to be rewebbed.

[dc]

Some conclusive findings reported on by Sports Illustrated.

Interesting findings. Seems to have come full circle.


doug

[Purple Frog]

Not that I'm a big Bill Simpson fan...I have a lot of his gear... but it does seem that NASCAR attempted to shaft him.