The Final Ride for #3

[Clayton_Wetter]

[TS FAN]

WOW!!! It was a horrible time for many Dale E fans.

[Clayton_Wetter]

[Clayton_Wetter]

Whoops, how did that get in there????

[TS FAN]

Good old Dega picture. Then there was. TSK TSK picture

[CIRF]

We were at Daytona that day back in 2001 and it was a beautiful winter day in north Florida. My wife is/was a huge Kenny Schrader fan and cussed ol' arnhead for causing Kenny to wreck out on the finale lap then felt bad after we found out he'd perished. We kinda' could tell it wasn't good as we were filing out of the grandstand watching them working to get ol' arnhead out of the car but it really didn't look all that bad. We left the track not knowing precisely what had transpired. Went to a fish camp restaurant in New Smyrna Beach for dinner later that evening and heard about the demise of arnhead while eating dinner. Drove back to the track after we'd finished eating and there was a huge bonfire burning in turn 4 where ol' arnhead had smacked the wall.

Blocking and ill advised shoulder belt installation was the cause of the fatality. NASCAR has successfully alleviated much of the possibility of what happened to arnhead with the installation of safer barriers and mandatory head & neck restraints. But they still allow blocking and although, thank God, blocking hasn't been responsible for any fatalities since arnhead, it certainly could have. At the very least blocking has cost millions in racing equipment since arnhead's death and NASCAR still has done nothing to curtail it.

[dirtdobber45]

The day NASCAR died

[CIRF]

The day NASCAR died

Really?

Are you insinuating that NASCAR would not have seen over half it's fan base disappear had he lived?

Hmmm. Arnhead would now be 68 years old had he not attempted to run interference and block Sterling Marlin at Daytona. No one know's how long he'd have driven had he lived but probably too long, just as the King and several others did. One thing is for sure, he'd would be retired for many years by now and his affect on the sport would be minimal by now, or at the very least greatly reduced. Fans who began following NASCAR after his theoretical retirement would know little of arnhead's career and care even less. It's the way things are in most instances these days with short attention spans being the norm.

If you are speaking for yourself I fully understand and empathize with what you're saying. But in general, if he was alive, NASCAR would be in the same shape it is today in regards to relevance to the overall American sports scene, which is very little.