Earnhardt dies following Daytona 500 accident
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- Seven-time NASCAR Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, 49, was fatally injured Sunday in a multi-car accident on the final lap of the 43rd Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway.
"NASCAR has lost its greatest driver," said NASCAR Chairman of the Board Bill France, who himself is recovering from life threatening illnesses, "and I personally have lost a great friend."
His wife Teresa was at his side at the time of death. Dr. Steve Bohannon, emergency trauma surgeon who was on one of the ambulances that responded, said, "My speculation would be head injuries, basically to the base of the skull."
Earnhardt, who won the 1998 Daytona 500, was unconscious when he was cut from his No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet after the accident between Turns 3 and 4 of the 2.5-mile speedway as a tangled pack of cars raced to the checkered flag. He was immediately transported to Halifax, less than one-mile from the speedway.
"I don’t know what to say. This is incredible, just incredible. I think everybody is just in shock right now.
"I didn’t see much of what happened up there (in the fourth turn). After the race was over, I heard things didn’t look very good but, man, Earnhardt. You figure he’ll bounce right back," said Jeremy Mayfield, driver of the No. 12 Penske Ford. Your first thought is, hey, he’ll probably come back next week at Rockingham and beat us all.
"My heart goes out to Theresa and Dale, Jr., Kerry and Kelly, and to Taylor Nicole."
Earnhardt was pronounced dead while his driver, Michael Waltrip, was being interviewed in the Daytona press box after his first career victory in 463 starts.
In the accident, Ken Schrader's No. 36 Pontiac was pinned against the outside wall by Earnhardt's out-of-control No. 3 Richard Childress Racing Chevrolet, which came from a lower lane on the 31-degree banked turn.
"I don't know what happened -- all of a sudden we were all crashing," said Schrader, who was unhurt in the accident. "I guess someone got into Dale because Dale got into me and then we went up. We hit pretty hard and Dale hit harder."
Schrader tried to visit Earnhardt's car after the accident ended, but quickly left the area.
I didn't get to talk to Dale," Schrader said of his escape. "I went over there and then they (safety workers) got there real quick, so I got the hell out of the way.
Cody Higginbotham is an extreme race fan from Guntersville, Alabama. Cody has received many great opportunities over the last ten years. He got his first big break working on a message board (forum) for Jamie Mosley in 2003. “Jamie was driving a part time schedule in the #39 for Jay Robinson. He offered me an opportunity to work on a message board for him. I was only 12 years old at the time. I will admit that I was pretty nervous, but I was also excited about the great opportunity I received.” Cody received a second great opportunity to work with Venturini Motorsports in 2004. “Venturini Motorsports marketing/ PR Tom Venturini noticed me when Billy Venturini was still driving. He offered me an amazing opportunity to work on a message board (forum) for them at the end of 2004 until 2007.” Cody also worked on a message board (forum) for Brad Keselowski in 2005 - 2009, David Gilliland in 2006-2007, Burney Lamar in 2009, and JD Motorsports in 2008 - 2012. Cody received more amazing opportunities before and after he was finished working on message boards for race teams.
kicked off the car, he was left a far distance from everything. He reached a
Over 5,300 people suffered incapacitating injuries and 462 people died from the crashes in Massachusetts in 2003.
...hed the last race and made his way home the end of the ceremony may begin.
...ptly stricken by an illness which landed him in the hospital. He died on April 9, only two months before his 92nd birthday.
Death race 2000 PHILADELPHIA, PA - Tamika Ross, 26, is being held for trial on charges of the murder of Nathaniel Davis. Apparently Ross ran over Davis' hat with her car. When Davis confronted the driver a dispute erupted and Davis allegedly hit Ross. That's when the mother of five took matters into her own hands and ran him over with her car, killing him. When questioned, police quoted Ross as saying, "He hit me so I ran him down."
telling them he was injured. He was caught and they found many tools in his car. He
Athletes come and go, but their legacy never leaves them. In recent years, there have been deaths by young athletes. Dale Earnhardt, a NASCAR driver, who received a painful death when his car crashed into the wall. Walter Payton, a NFL running back, perhaps the greatest running back of all time because of his ability to change the momentum of the game. Bruce Lee, the greatest martial artist in the history of this sport. He changed everything. He is associated with the poem by A.E. Housman.
...e drivers because he chose not to move out of the way." (76) When the families did decide to flee, the husbands, at a later date returned to gather more possessions only to find the wreckage of buildings and dead bodies. They were thankful, I am sure that they left when they did.
“In the front seat was Gregg, driving, Sarah, in the middle, and Robyn, on the passenger side. In the rear seat was Jeff, behind the driver, Haley, in the middle, and Rachel, on the passenger side. EVERYONE was wearing their SEAT BELTS, as is our family habit. EVERYONE walked away from this accident with only bruises. The only blood was Robyn had small nicks from glass in a couple of places on her right arm and right leg.
...e she was having dinner with drove her to the emergency room. His wife supposedly told him “fight”, “fight” and Frank Sinatra said “I’m losing” which were reportedly his last words. And at 10:50 he was pronounced dead.
...t home and tells his wife that he nearly crashed the car again (Miller 8).
As stated in the last paragraph as the speed of the car goes up it affects the safety of the driver inversely. One of the new innovations that many auto racing series run is the safety barrier. The safety barrier became more important and looked at after a horrific wreck at Daytona International Speedway on February 22, 2013. The front end of a drivers car sheared off when the car hit the fence and sent parts and pieces of the car into the stands. (Greenberg). After the officials saw the wreck and the horrible aftermath they designed a fence that would keep the c...
This report is based upon extensive library and internet research as well as an interview with Zaman Qamar, performance engineer at General Motors. He is one of the team members for crash and safety department which deals with accidental issues during severe crash.