From what I can tell he was trying to throw the block over the whole field, so his cars could win, he got tapped, and when he jerked the wheel to the right to try to save it, he hit the apron and shot into the wall. If he had let it spin, she would have went into the infield, and would have been fine. I think the only mystery surrounding his death is the seatbelt controversy. My opinion is that he wasn't using manufacturer specs on his belts, which caused them to rip. So why would Nascar let Bill Simpson take all the heat? Because, Earnhardt being a 7-time Champ, and being Nascar's biggest star had the clout to do what he wanted. Nascar didn't make him follow proper safety guidelines, which means they were negligent. I know Andy Petree (Dale's crew chief in 93,94 and 95) said Dale mounted his seatbelts different to make them more comfortable. They probably don't want anyone to know that. I had heard before that Earnhardt always used what was comfortable, not necessarilly the safest. They concluded that he would have died whether the belt had ripped or not, which is also a load of crap. I've seen other drivers hit like that (watch Ken Schrader's practice crash from the '97 or '98 Daytona race) and walk away. The only variable is the seatbelt ripping. When his belt ripped his face hit the steering wheel. I have seen the inside of the car. His head bent the steering wheel. Now I don't blame Nascar, I just think they've been less than honest. I think if a driver chooses not to use the safest stuff, that's his mistake. Anyway, I sure do miss Earnhardt. Nascar hasn't been the same. And the movie was good, but they left a lot out. They should've done a miniseries.
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redneckgal_8908
17 years ago
I heard that no matter what Dale used for safety nothing could've saved him. Hitting a wall at 180mph is a very hard hit. They said the HANS device would've saved him because then his head wouldn't have shot forward.But,even if he used the HANS device his head would of stayed in place, but his brain would've went forward and hit his skull....causing swelling. There still would've been internal injuries. Think of it this way: no matter how good you are strapped into the car, nothing is keeping your organs from moving....at least not in the type of collison. I don't think Dale done anything wrong in his choices concerning safety. And he DEFINATELY didn't wreck on purpose. He said he was gonna race as long as he possibly could.
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firefighteremt73
17 years ago
redneckgal_8908
it was safety issues for what we know. plenty of drivers have hit at 180mph and walked away. there has been worse wrecks then his. His is a freak accident. If he had the Hans device on it may have saved his life. But you know what, its only an "if". I am not trying to be a jerk but being an amid nascar fan and from someone who races dirt bikes and grew up in car racing, there has been worse wrecks. Take a look at the link below. The King Richard Petty flips the hell out of his car the proceeds to get t-boned and he lived through it. Also Jr has hit the wall head on since Sr's death. not at 180mph but he has hit a 150mph. Again not to be a jerk.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsVOk7TRTfo
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shrkfan00
17 years ago
Kwo, I agree with you 100%. NASCAR is hiding something and it was a shame for them to blame Simpson for Dale's death.
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indycolts112
17 years ago
i dont know if this was posted before cause i didnt read all the posts but ironicly there was a huge crash before the one on the last lap that had aa large amount of cars involved and one of the anouncers said that nobody was hurt because the cars are so safe
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charlie_barley21
17 years ago
Actually in the months and years following his death, NASCAR and a separte investigating body found out that on the day of the race that Earnhardt had a considerable amount of heroin in his blood stream.
The medical examiner determined that he must have shot up just prior to the race and the high or the euphoria caused by the heroin may have prompted him to drive his car into the wall on the final lap of the race.
It was interesting to see someone post the idea that he may have committed suicide because he was seeing a psychosomatic therapist during weekdays because he was feeling extreme pressure to win from NASCAR. The people who run NASCAR were threatening to pull his license and stirp him of sponsorships if he didn't start winning more races.
In the end Earnhardt lost the biggest race, with heroin.
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tonygunshow
17 years ago
this is ridiculous! save these dumb comments for youtube. you all seem to forget your mocking someones death, not cool. i dont care who it is, dale, sadam, hitler, jesus. you dont mock how someone dies.
unless of course your peeing through a fence and lightning strikes the fence, travels up the stream of urine, blowing up your penis and killing you as well. now thats an awful way to die and a way to die we all can laugh at.
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bareavis
16 years ago
Rusty Wallace once said the night before Earnhardt died, they were hanging out and Earnhardt mentioned in about a year or two he'd quit driving. Plus, I don't know how reliable this source is but I heard after the big wreck a few laps earlier, Earnhardt took off his seat belt but didn't put it completely on. Don't hold me to that statement, BUT after he died, several drivers said Earnhardt didn't put his seat belt on properly.
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jkward88
15 years ago
Thats a very legit theory. I've always felt that on the last lap, Dale unbuckled himself, because thats the kinda thing he would have done.
I beleive the cut belt was a result of somebody from the safty crew not wanting NASCAR, or Dale to look bad.
Of course thats just my opinion, I could be wrong.
If someone asks if you are a god, you say, "yes!"
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TheLordofTheHarvest
11 years ago
Dale wouldn't have killed himself on purpose, how silly. He was self admitted in a pre race interview that he was at the time "the happiest he ever was" with life at that point, he wouldn't be so silly to kill himself on a high like that.
He had a crappy belt system in his car plus an older helmet than everyone else. If Childress would have updated he might not would have died, probably been hurt though. 2001 could have been a good year for him, we will never know though.
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