REMEMBERING 3

10 years ago, in turn 4 in the last lap of the 43rd running of the great american race, nascar nation lost a legend and a hero to many. dale earnhardt was a self made man that grew to nascar stardom from the textile mills of smalltown kannapolis, north carolina. his father ralph was a also a racer. i guess you can say it is in the earnhardt blood to be great. dale sr represented the blue collar working man and was as tough as the reputation he had. he raced a full season with a broken vertebrae in his neck. nothing would keep the intimidator out of a race car on sunday. it was what he loved to do and he did it well. noone has ever had the respect of his competitors and fans as dale sr did. he went on to tie richard petty for 7 nascar championships. there was one race that haunted dale most of his career. the daytona 500. dale came so close so many years but never could close the deal. dale felt that somehow there would be a little mark by his name for not ever winning the great american race and he would always be recognized more for not winning it, than for all of the things he did win. finally in 1998, dale took the checkered flag at daytona. every single person on pit road was lined up to pay tribute to the man who had finally won the big one. it was something that i know i can still think about today and get chills. the same chills i get today when i turn on the tube and dont see that black #3 lined up on pit road. that very next race at daytona, on july4th, his son, dale earnhardt jr won the pepsi 400 there. it seemed when that happened, we were healed. we knew then it would be ok. in many ways dale sr's death saved many lives in nascar. after his death, nascar made drastic safety improvements to increase safety for all the drivers. softer walls, safer barriers, hans device, and safer cars all were born due to dale sr's passing. every single driver that has walked away owes his life to dale. he meant alot of things to alot of different people. to me, he was living proof that a common man with a dream can achieve anything. he was the type that would wreck you in a heartbeat to win a race. i liked that. thats called a desire to win. alot didnt like his style of racing though. however, even those that didnt like him, still respected him. now, the earnhardt name rest on the shoulders of his son, dale jr. i hope jr can win today in honor of the the 10th anniversary of the passing of his father at this same track. today, we remember the intimidator. forever a fan of #3