Remembering Dale Earnhardt Sr

For the past six years, the beginning of each new NASCAR season turns my thoughts not to the possibilities of who might win that year's points championship, but to a champion we lost. I remember exactly where I was when I heard that Dale Earnhardt Sr. had died at Daytona in February of 2001. I had been gone most of the day, and had not been able to watch the race. When I got home, I went to ESPN.com, hoping to see that Dale had repeated his 1998 victory in the Daytona 500.

The headline that greeted me is still vivid in my mind: "Earnhardt Killed At Daytona". It seemed unreal to me, like when I first heard that John Lennon had been shot. Earnhardt had walked away from so many horrific crashes during his long career; it seemed impossible that he could die in the last turn of Daytona while blocking for his teammate Michael Waltrip and son Dale Jr.

This started the transformation of "The Intimidator" in the mind of the public, especially those who were not normally NASCAR fans. It was inevitable that a mythology would grow up around someone who pulled off the rare feat of being both an enigma and charismatic at the same time. I started watching Winston Cup in the early 1990's while in the Army, and because so many of my friends were from North Carolina, Dale Sr. was a normal choice for me to root for.

What people don't remember today, however, is that just as many people hated him back then as loved him. His aggressive style turned off a lot of people who, ironically, now profess to have always been his fans.

The two most vivid pictures that stay in my mind are the pit crews from every team lining pit row, congratulating Dale after he won the Daytona 500 in 1998 on his 20th try and him bending down by his car so his little daughter could give him a kiss. He was what NASCAR, and life, are all about: going full speed all the time, and sometimes having to knock people out of your way, while still remembering what's important.

Earnhardt's death marked the end of an era. The days of true racers was ending, being replaced by corporate-sponsored pretty boys who know less about an engine than I do. Of today's drivers, only Tony Stewart retains Earnhardt's spirit. And more often than not, he gets fined for exhibiting that spirit.

The loss of Dale Sr. was loss was a tremendous one for NASCAR, his fans, and most importantly his family. But he gave us over 20 years of great memories, and he died doing what he loved. That he was taken so soon is what is still so hard to grasp.