i still cant belive it, 10 years........:CRY:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6135033
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i still cant belive it, 10 years........:CRY:
http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=6135033
seems like yesterday to me too
The true Legends never die do they?
Saw a great documentary the other night on Dale and I think it was on the Speed Channel but I'm not real sure.
Well, I've never said anything on this forum just to try to be popular and now is not the time to begin. I didn't like the S.O.B. because of the way he knocked others out of the race, rather than beating them fair and square. In my opinion, he got what was coming to him and I'm glad he's not around any more.
Let the flaming begin.
rubbin's racing. nascar nowdays is a dog and pony show for the pretty boys. complletely stupid and boring. stewart is the only exciting one left!
jimmy johnson can go kiss a duck
`im not as brave as tech .. i`m not gunna say what i think of the man ..i just wish i could turn on the speed channel and not see some show about him
i open a thread for a man's memorial and you got the balls to come on here and insult a dead man?
thats just downright BS
he used to say "get ahead or get behind or GTF outa the way" - - - not a sport for the hesitant ones - - - I personally think that he did more for NASCAR than any other celeb - - - but that's just my "onion"
Well Tech, you are entitled to your opinion. But why say bad things about his mother.
While I don't hold quite the strong opinion that Tech does, Dale Earnhart did NOT command my respect as a driver. He was a nasty driver, win at all costs, dam' the consequences and that other driver. He was crude and profane. He has been placed on a pedestal and worshiped and eulogized by people that really never heard of him until he died, Then there are those that booed him that are now in love with his memory. NA$CAR has benefited immensely by his death and still do. Na$CAR continues to put him as a leading citizen among their drivers. Most seem to forget the many others that raced and died doing what they wanted to do. Yes, he helped make NA$CAR what it is today, his death made racing safer - but he was not a god personified. I did not want his death - he did help make NA$CAR racing interesting - but he was past his prime, needed to retire and develop his business. I'm tired of his "tributes" as they are getting trite and do wish that NA$CAR would put some effort in recognizing other well known drivers who have passed.
Like Richard said - let some flames rise - but please don't forget, this is my opinion
so what are you trying to say tech.:3dSMILE:
I'll hang with tech on this one. If he'd of come up during the days of Junior Johnson, Fireball Roberts, and others of that time he probably not have made it past his second race although it would have been interesting to see how Junior would have reacted to being taken out of a race as he did to many others. And I lost ALL respect for NASCAR when they tried to blame his death on Bill Simpson who not so politely let them know that he would own NASCAR if they continued to lay blame at his doorstep.:mad:
Scooter, I have a great deal of respect for you, but if I want to see rubbin', I'll go to the fairgrounds and watch a demolition derby and laugh my *** off. If I want to see racing, I'll go to the drags. Nascar has never made any money off me and never will. I can't comment on Jimmy Johnson because I have no idea who he is and don't care.
You may as well get your money's worth from me, so I'll insult a few more dead men. Adolph Hitler was a S.O.B. too. And don't forget Mussolini, Hirohito and Stalin. One of the biggest S.O.B.'s in my lifetime was Martin Luther King and that assemblage of rabble rousing S.O.B.'s that gathered around him. He might have had a dream, but he left the rest of us with a freakin' nightmare.
R.I.P Dale...........
I've also noticed that many of the people who idolize Dale didn't know much more about NASCAR then how to spell it until he died. Can't argue with the guys record, but the way he got a lot of those wins can be questioned and he was in the era when there was only a dozen or so cars actually capable of winning a race... Sorry he died, but then I feel that way about anyone who dies racing. The publicity is never good for the sport and is usually misused and abused....
As to the current group of drivers, they're the best of the best!! Only 43 guys get to start the race on Sunday, and there's thousands of drivers who would kill for their shot at any of those starting positions!!!! If it's just stupid and boring, why are there so many drivers from so many racing venues trying to break into NASCAR???? Guess people can call Jimmy Johnson anything they want, but they also have to keep in mind that he is a champion 5 years in a row---never been done before in NASCAR. Hasn't been done by many in any form of motorsports....
The Earnhardt name has been marketed to death IMO. As with most anyone who dies, the majority of folks only want to remember the good things they did when among the living. Heck, dead is dead. IMO the respectful thing to do is keep their memory (the good and bad) in your mind and don't use their passing to promote yourself or your causes.....
I've got a 22''x28'' poster/2002-2003 calendar on the wall in my office of Dale Earnhardt. My daughter gave it to me for Christmas that year. I didn't have the heart to tell her NHRA not NASCAR so it still hangs on the wall.
RIP Dale. You either loved him, or loved to hate him. Either way a great driver.
Many racers hated him. His idea of winning was putting someone into the wall.
I felt bad he died, felt bad for his family- but I had 0 respect for him.
I remember watching the race & watching Michael win. Even in dying, Dale stole the spotlight from Michael. A last FU right to the end.
There's blind adulation, then there's blind hatred, neither one makes sense, but are aspects of human nature.
Since we seem to have more negative than positive I feel the need to toss out a hmmmmm, for balance.
The other day I posted up a clip of his last win, 2000 Talladega. From 17th to finish in less than 6 laps on a restrictor plate. Didn't crash anybody out, and got lots of waves of congratulation from those who knew him best and were bested. Then I remember 1998 when he finally won the Daytona 500. Every single crew member walked out to the edge of pit road to give thier acknowledgement. Maybe none of them knew him very well, or maybe NASCAR orchestrated that too.:whacked: (I don't think even Petty ever got that kind of ovation......but the King is still respected and revered so that particular form of acknowledgement is not a slight to him.) Seems like the people who fought in the arena had a different view of him than the fans......neither good nor bad, just the way it is. Nobody's mind will be changed by this, but these are realities that don't bear out the anymosity some may have.
That being said, Speed is overplaying the memorial stuff.
I didnt like him either. He was a complete pain and put many guys into the wall on purpose---havent watched Nascar since he died-I do miss the attitude!:)
Well I might as well open my mouth here I was watching the day he killed himself. I told my wife MANY other drivers hit wall that hard and walked away.. I thought is he was cooky enough to have taken his belt off last lap and all, then he got caught and no way out. Just My thoughts He drove to win and didn't care who he put into the wall to get there.Sorry hes gone but don't miss him. What more??? I think his kid wouldn't be driving right now if the old mans name wasn't hanging out there. My $.02
I have been a Dale Earnhardt Sr. fan since he first showed up. Did he race dirty, yep, there is no dought (sp) about that. But the dirty driver that you seen on the track was not the same person off the track.
Did I know him personally, no. So how can I say that? You don't get friends like Ken Schrader, Mark Martin, ect, if you were a total jerk off of the track.
JMO.
Bug, if you don't break bread with Ken Shrader or Mark Martin, then you have no idea what kind of men they are either. I'm not meaning to cast aspersions on these fellows because I don't know them or break bread with them, so I don't know anything about them. I'm just trying to get you to understand that a man isn't necessarily a good guy just because he acts like a good guy on camera. Television evangelists act like good guys on camera, but most of them are found out to be thieves and charlatans and cheats of the worst kind.
Maybe you haven't been on this rock as long as I have and had the experiences I have had, but what life has come down to for me is....
1. ACCEPT NOTHING AT FACE VALUE.
2. QUESTION EVERYTHING.
Now, someone may come along with a post following this one and say that it's sad to have to live that way, but that's just the way it is. I've been whacked up side the head one too many times for trusting people to do what they say they will do.
Tech, you are absolutely right. That is why I said on my first post that you are entitled to your opinion.
But, you still have not answered why you would say bad things about his mother. I have the utmost respect for your knowledge and the help that you give everyone here on CHR, but you lost some with those three little letters.
Edit:
Just to add. I am sure that loosing a little respect from me, being a relatively new-bee here will not make you loose any sleep. But I was brought up with better values than to call people names like that.
Also, have you broken bread with Dale? How can you think so little of someone that you do not know? In your own words "then you have no idea what kind of men they are either". You are basing your complete opinion about Dale solely on what you have seen on TV.
Last, FYI, I do not trust anyone that I do not know, and I only trust about 1% of the people that I do know.
Wow, not tryin to start a computer duel here tec, but i dont think he deserved to die for bein a bumper. I agree he got into people way too much, but what you said is very harsh.
If Dale had driven a FORD I would have worshiped him like all those Chevy fans did or do. I loved to hate him. Had a "Anybody but Earnhardt" sticker on the back of my van back then. Don't know if I miss him or I just miss the way NASCAR was before he died. Think it's the latter....
On a side note, if Davey hadn't been killed in that helicopter Gordon wouldn't have all his titles.
Hey dont go trashin my man Jeff like that stone cold! hahaha
Hey, the title of the thread is R.I.P. Dale Earnhardt.........................quite a few must have read it without the punctuation..............
Dale Sr.was probably the last of the "Good 'Ol Boys" who came up thru the ranks on the local short dirt tracks where drivers learned to drive by the seat of their pants without radios and spotters and all the rules that took away "run what Ya brung".I would much rather watch NASCAR racing from back in the 60's and 70's when there were no "cookie cutter cars" and a little bumpin' and banging were just part of racing.I raced on the 1/4 mile dirt in the late 60's early 70's till a divorce ended my career and my wallet:(,so I know about the good old days.I was an Earnhart fan because He was still driving like times past.We in America have lost the meaning of competiton and are leaning more to a mamby pamby politicly correct way of living,you can go to sports for the kids these days where they don't even keep score because they don't want hurt feelings,that is not the America I grew up in.As for Dale Jr.if the old man was around today he would probably give him a "boot in the butt".R.I.P. Dale!
Yep 82-83 seasons I think it was and drove the #15 Wrangler Thunderbird for Bud Moore. Also started with his Dad's 56 or 57 Ford Victoria, # K-2 painted pink. :3dSMILE: I think he drove another Ford for 1 year but can't remember for who. He drove Chevy, Ford, Buick and Pontiac's through his carrer. 84 and on was Chevy only.