It was "Out of compassion for his friend, he went to the car and I think maybe he saw more than what he bargained for," said Schrader's wife, Ann. ", E60 explores the legacy of Dale Earnhardt 20 years after his death. I am not sure if he lost all of his blood volume but seems like a lot of it. Having Dad was like a cheat sheet, like knowing all the answers to everything. So it was hard for her, she had a lot of questions and a lot of concern for Taylor.. Unlike his fellow competitors, who didn't learn Earnhardt was dead until well after the accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500, Schrader knew how bad it was the 18+, UK residents only, T&Cs Apply, Gamble Responsibly, Dale Earnhardt death: NASCARs tragic Daytona 500 remembered, Death of "hero" Earnhardt impacted me hugely - Ricciardo. France Jr. was happy. After looking in, he immediately signaled for medical help. Schrader also had his own emotions to deal with. In 1997, he flipped his car with just 12 laps to go. That's when Bohannon realized someone else was in the room with them. That is part of Earnhardt's legacy: safer cars. The emotion in his eyes was hidden behind sunglasses, but his face was pale and his voice shaky when he lied and said he didn't know. It was Schraders mannerisms, coupled with the fact that Earnhardt was being taken straight to the hospital, that hinted of a tragic day. He had a host of other injuries, including fractures to his ribs and left Per Earnhardt's request, she started doing it for him as well. I do know that his children are polite and have been a pleasure to deal with in this industry. It had been nearly two hours and they were about to step into the media center to address the world. But at the same time, he takes comfort in that one of the last people Dale might have seen and heard was Kenny, a friend who was there for him.. In it, he recalled: I couldnt wait for Dale to get to Victory Lane. He told Eury what had happened, assuming he already knew, but it was the first he was hearing of it, and the stoic old mechanic broke down. "When I realized that was the way that this was going to go, that Dad was gone, I turned and saw [Earnhardt's PR representative] J.R. Rhodes and ran to him. ONE BY ONE, cars started leaving the hospital to return to Daytona International Speedway. Do I write about the time he let the clutch out of his car at the gas pumps and his car lurched forward, almost hitting a number of people? How would Earnhardts death affect him? The head-on collision meant his head had traveled straight forward, stopped before it could extend into a deadly head whip. However, in an interview 10 years after the crash, he did reveal: I saw a friend in trouble. Where were we supposed to go now?". It was the day that NASCAR fans and the racing community and family were in shock. "I walked out after that. But he had might as well have been conjuring the feelings of the entirety of NASCAR. Reads Letter to Ken Schrader Unlike his fellow competitors, who didnt learn Earnhardt was dead until well after the accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500, Schrader knew how bad it was the moment he poked his head into the battered No. I didn't know for certain (he was dead), but I would have bet. It looked as though his save from Friday's IROC race might happen again. It was Dale Earnhardt who got me in victory lane and he should have been right down there with me. and Ken Schrader knew there was trouble. Now, NASCAR continues to flourish as it drives on into a bright future. And that is his legacy. His sudden frantic waving to the arriving trucks of the Daytona International Speedway safety crew was the first real indication to the world that something was indeed very wrong. Earnhardt was seemingly everywhere throughout 2001 Speedweeks. And Earnhardt's 2000 resurgence as a title contender had the old-school fandom worked into a frenzy. "But at the same time, he takes comfort in that one of the last people Dale might have seen and heard was Kenny, a friend who was there for him.". Huge first Porsche 963 win thanks to rolling the dice Tandy, How Porsche's Daytona hiccups evoked the premiere of its Group C king, How Porsche's Daytona hiccups evoked the premiere of its Group C king Instead, he delivered the bad news to Waltrip, who had just won NASCAR's biggest race for the first time in a car owned by Earnhardt. Copyright 2023 Sporting News Holdings Limited. So many years have passed since this day and the man who was involved in the crash, the man who looked into Dale Sr.s window after the crash, has never spoken publicly about what he saw, until his March 2020 appearance on Dale Jrs podcast, The Dale Jr Download. Johns Hopkins Medicine describes this injury as the most serious type of skull fracture, and involves a break in the bone at the base of the skull. Like most observers, he can't believe it was bad enough to kill the racing legend. And after poor performances in Rockingham, N.C., and Las Vegas, Schrader had to make a difficult change on his team by firing crew chief Sammy Johns before last week's race at Atlanta Motor Speedway. But two hits from onrushing cars punted Stewart's car into the air. Sterling Marlin himself but his family as well. Both Earnhardt and Earnhardt Jr. blocked Marlin, who had the strongest car of the day, in the final five circuits. It was a truly sad day, one that would be etched in the minds of the people that saw it, but there would be something good that came of it. But this time, he made a point to come see me.". Driving a race car, whether it is NASCAR, Formula One, or another type, is far more than just going around in an oval. 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It was 13 years ago today when Earnhardt died on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. As his and Schraders cars spun down the track in unison, Earnhardts right-rear wheel parted company an indicator of the violence that had shaken through the vehicle. A broken bone in his neck at Atlanta had him essentially driving with one arm in 1999. When search suggestions are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. His car slid alongside Earnhardt's and they stopped nose-to-door in the infield grass. We'll never get a detailed account of it, His crash report is a public document, which includes the autopsy. The 49-year-old racer was fighting for position when he slammed into the Fellow racer Ken Schrader was the first to get to him and realized he was dead, per ESPN. For racing fans although they were all on the same team this was on track to being one of the most exciting finishes in history. I'm not discouraging the question from being asked. I didnt idolize Earnhardt I dont really idolize anything. Theres nothing Ken Schrader can do to erase the image he has of seeing Dale Earnhardt dead in his car. "What I saw in the car that day, that will stay with you," Schrader said in his first extensive interview about the crash. Earnhardt, 49, died after a crash into the retaining wall after making contact with Ken Schrader and Sterling Marlin. Hours before the race, Schrader had told Waltrip that if he won, he would go straight to Waltrip's motor home to get the celebration started. As he threw his final block, Earnhardts left-rear corner tagged Sterling Marlins right-front fender, getting his car loose. Earnhardt, seemingly trying to straighten out without slowing down, went to the apron for the briefest of moments before veering back up the track into the outside wall, hitting it nearly directly head-on before being pushed by Schraders No. You can actually see Ken Schrader telling Michael Waltrip about Dale's condition in victory lane at the thirty minute or so mark. Racing is a dangerous way to make a living and these things are going to happen. Before that race Waltrip was 0-462. He was survived by Dale Jr. and his other son Kerry as well as his daughters Kelley and Taylor. Senior writer for ESPN The Magazine and ESPN.com. It certainly didnt take long for fans of Dale Earnhardt Sr. to begin threatening Sterling Marlin following the fatal accident. Then he delivered the bad news to Waltrip, who had just won NASCARs biggest race for the first time in a car owned by Earnhardt. She didn't interrupt, she didn't, um, disrupt anything," he says. In a teleconference from Dodge MotorSports just a few days after the accident that killed Dale Earnhardt Sr., Sterling Marlin told his side of the story and explained that definitely didnt do anything intentional on that final lap. Michael Waltrip was not there. Darrell Waltrip was there too, with a growing number of NASCAR officials. If they could drop out of school, accomplish great things, help out friends in need, own businesses, including a race team, and yet also dictate their will on many people, that would be a great life. Ive seen photos of the wrecked car. He called time on his 26-win Cup career in 2017, and successfully transitioned to a media career, both as a commentator with NBC and a host of his hugely successful podcast, The Dale Jr Download. "The cars went in side by side," he said. Unlike his fellow competitors, who didn't learn Earnhardt was dead until well after the accident on the final lap of the Daytona 500, Schrader knew how bad it was the moment he poked his head into the battered No. Things happen and people are going to look for somebody to blame. He knows things can happen in a race car, Ann Schrader said. Schrader also had his own emotions to deal with. Six key themes to follow in the 2022 NASCAR Cup season, How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of Next Gen arrival, How NASCAR had to learn a harsh lesson ahead of Next Gen arrival His steering wheel had likely saved his life. 36 into the infield grass. No, she said -- something was telling her that one was the right one. Schrader couldn't avoid hitting Earnhardt's car, tagging him in the passenger side. The doctor had never been to a news conference, let alone be asked to field questions in one. Its been 20 years since the crash at the Daytona 500 that took the life of motorsports legend Dale Earnhardt Sr. and there are still a few folks out there that believe Sterling Marlin is to blame. "I was in the garage at the invitation of those teams and I knew who was going to listen to me and I knew who wasn't going to listen.". There were 12 to 15 medical personnel in the room, each doing their task amid the controlled chaos. Greg Newman recalls his sons frightening Daytona 500 crash: It was pretty agonizing just to stand and wait. "He was relieved when we told him that Tony was OK," Childress recalls. I think if people just come back to their senses and listen to what everybody is saying, and watch the tape, theres no question. But then Schrader's car hit Earnhardt in the passenger side door, creating a sudden surge of speed and turning both cars into the wall. In order to keep delivering our expert journalism, our website uses advertising. I saw a friend in trouble. "He got real discouraged and he talked about quitting, but I begged him to come back," Childress says. Earnhardt said to Waltrip two days earlier, in an interview with the rival-turned-retiree-turned-TV analyst. Schraders next thought was to go to Michael Waltrip, who was celebrating his first win, unaware of Earnhardts death. #DJD pic.twitter.com/yuUtVhuJcB, NASCAR on NBC (@NASCARonNBC) March 11, 2020. Schrader couldnt avoid hitting Earnhardts car on the passenger side. (3:04). And I said, 'Do what she says,'" Bohannon says. Earnhardt battled for control, his car clipping the apron, unsettling it still further, and so it began to spin clockwise, moving up the track and across the bows of the closely-following Rusty Wallace and Ken Schrader. Dale Earnhardts death still an unforgettable day. Stuff flying everywhere. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. The summer before, Dorothy Schrader had spent a week with the Earnhardts on their yacht. I really owe this one to Dale Jr. I thought I had this path and this direction, with him, to do what we were going to do. From Formula 1 to MotoGP we report straight from the paddock because we love our sport, just like you. When Earnhardt dropped low in front of Marlin, he hadn't completely cleared the nose of the No. On his way, Schrader was stopped by a TV crew and asked about Earnhardt. The hardest part was yet to come. He looked completely at ease as he rode his bright yellow motorcycle through the infield at Atlanta and was confident when he climbed into his race car and drove it to a season-high eighth-place finish Sunday in the Cracker Barrel 500. Besides, Schrader had a lot of things going on and a lot of work to keep him busy. Things got so bad in the days following the wreck that Marlin received death threats, which he essentially had no choice but to address. He crashed into the concrete wall at the fourth turn going about 180 mph, and was smacked hard by Ken Schraders car. Since the changes, there have been no fatalities in major NASCAR races. Earnhardt suffered a broken ankle, broken ribs, a fractured sternum and cuts to his scalp and chin. But he was immediately distracted by Earnhardt's crash, watching the No. Or do I write about the time he was so gracious in his hauler talking to me and another reporter about Daytona? Schrader had to talk to his 11-year-old daughter, a fan of The Intimidator and friend of Earnhardt's daughter, Taylor. Tony Stewart's orange No. And that's the other stupid saying you'll hear. A racer through and through who spends his time away from Winston Cup at dirt tracks and other small circuits, Schrader had seen death before. The calls were from stock car drivers and teams. While I was amazed at his talent, I also saw an obvious prickly side. 3 on the pole for the 2014 Daytona 500, it will bring back plenty of memories of seven-time Cup champion Dale Earnhardt. It was a huge story and time to go to work. A revamped superspeedway rules package, the same one Earnhardt used to earn his already legendary 18th-to-first dash at Talladega, promised to provide an entertaining event. Teresa Earnhardt, always quick to leave the grid and get back to the motorcoach in time to watch the start of races, instead uncharacteristically lingered. 'It's not how fast you go, it's how fast you stop.' As the garage was emptying, we were soon shooed away from Earnhardts team hauler. You can watch this clip below and listen to the full podcast here. But how, especially without any head and neck restraints? An autopsy completed Monday showed Earnhardt died of blunt force injuries to the head. "But anybody I've talked to before -- and I've even got a lot of e-mails from fans who know me only from watching me doing interviews -- they said they knew it was serious from that interview.". While Michael Waltrip pulled into Victory Lane, Earnhardt Jr. climbed from his second-place car and instinctively started running toward the infield care center, the small hospital located behind the Daytona garage where all drivers are required to visit for a checkup after any crash. Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr., who were running 1-2 when the white flag dropped, had separated themselves a bit as the pack hit turn three, which is always a madhouse as every NASCAR driver worth his salt wants to make that one last push to win. His right-rear corner was struck by Schraders left-front, which crucially accentuated the angle of Earnhardts car before it nosed hard into the unprotected concrete. Crash: Im Glad It Was You, Alligator Bites Off Leg Of Elderly Man At Florida RV Park, Coors Stock Goes Up As Bud Light Stock Takes A Hit Following Controversy, 6 Facts Youll Be Surprised To Learn About John Wayne, Cody Johnson Drops Details About His New Album, Crowd Cheers As Riley Green Slams BUD LIGHT With Lyric Swap, Anheuser-Busch CEO Breaks Silence As Stocks Take A Hit, Relive The Country Music Sing-Off Between Steve Austin And The Rock. The lasting NASCAR legacy after Dale Earnhardts death, From the archive: Dale Earnhardts final Autosport interview, Taylor explains calamitous pitstop that led to fateful Acura charge, Taylor explains calamitous pitstop that led to fateful Acura charge Was pretty agonizing just to stand and wait was relieved when we told him that was! Schrader ken schrader knew dale died stopped by a TV crew and asked about Earnhardt telling Michael Waltrip, was. I dont really idolize anything recalls his sons frightening Daytona 500 disrupt anything, Childress! 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