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Curtis Fleet Admiral
Joined: 29 Sep 2001 Posts: 14903 Location: Wisconsin
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Wed Feb 15, 2006 12:57 am "The Earnhardt Legacy - Five Years Later" |
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Hey guys, you know I was just thinking. I know a lot of us are, or aren't race fans but when you think of that sport what is the first name that comes to mind? For myself it's Dale Earnhardt Sr. This Sunday is the Daytona 500 and not only does it mark the start of another racing season (which I'm looking forward to by the way ), but it also marks the five year anniversary since the death of the legendary Dale Sr. So I was surfing the web tonight and came upon this link at NASCAR.com: http://www.nascar.com/special/earnhardt/ . In that is several stories about "The Intimidator" himself, like quotes, articles, and even how is death changed the sport forever safety wise. Lastly, With the Daytona 500 approaching on Sunday it also gets you wondering, "Who'll step out of Dale Earnhardt's long shadow to become Racing's next icon?" (In quotations because I got the headline from our cities newspaper, The Green Bay Press-Gazette)
Again, I know a lot of us either are or are not racing fans, but I just thought I'd post this topic for everyone to reflect on a great role model, father, and legend...Dale Earnhardt Sr., "The Intimidator" and how is life, and death, influenced a sport (yes T, sport ) forever.
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Leo Wyatt Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 19045 Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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Wed Feb 15, 2006 2:19 am |
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I love Nascar. Matter of Fact, Charlie and I are going over our friend's house to watch it while on a cook out.
When Dale was alive, he was not my favorite at all. I always thought he cheated in my opinion.
His son is okay now. I like him. I am more of a Ryan Newman type but really anyone but Jeff Gordon. Can't stand him for some reason.
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Curtis Fleet Admiral
Joined: 29 Sep 2001 Posts: 14903 Location: Wisconsin
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Wed Feb 15, 2006 11:43 pm |
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Don't feel so bad, I loathe Jeff Gordon for some reason. Whenever I see him, on the track, I hope for many things to go wrong. As for my favorite driver(s) or who I feel is the sports next star...Dale Earnhardt Jr., just because so many people have thought that already and he's the only real person left for me to cheer for, other than defending champ Tony Stewart, because truthfully, I now love NASCAR but never got into it-into it until three years ago in '03. However, I always felt as though Dale Sr. was a role model and a great man to build a sport a round and I can see how you wouldn't like him that much while he was alive, but from the races I saw back then (very few I might add), I loved his style on the track...something new and different and probably what made so many peeps hate him on the track.
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LightningBoy Commodore
Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 1446 Location: Minnesota, U.S.A.
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Thu Feb 16, 2006 2:03 am |
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Dale Earnhardt was my hero growing up. His death left the first of many real holes in my life; the first taste I ever had of real pain. I still miss sitting down on Sunday to watch the intimidator. Truly an American Hero.
The next NASCAR superstars are going to be Tony Stewart(already there), Denny Hamline, and if the team can get it together, Kevin Harvick.
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Curtis Fleet Admiral
Joined: 29 Sep 2001 Posts: 14903 Location: Wisconsin
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Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:44 pm |
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Perhaps, if the team can get it together, but I truly don't see that happening. If you ask me, Childress will eventually let Harvick go (in the future of course) and bring back the famed #3 Chevrolet, and he'll ask no other than Dale Jr. to take that seat.
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Leo Wyatt Sweetest Angel
Joined: 25 Feb 2004 Posts: 19045 Location: Investigating A Crime Scene. What did Quark do this time?
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Thu Feb 16, 2006 11:58 pm |
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A Dodge needs to win a race cause I am so sick of Ford and Chevy.
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LightningBoy Commodore
Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 1446 Location: Minnesota, U.S.A.
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Fri Feb 17, 2006 10:50 pm |
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Dale Jr. doesn't deserve the #3. I like Jr., but he's nothing like his father.
Nobody should ever race the #3 again, and I think it was fitting that the last person to drive it was Richard Childress in a salute parade lap to Dale.
As for Dodge, I've lost all respect for them. I will never own or drive one; not after this:
Quote: | Petty fined in 2004 by Dodge: Kyle Petty did a favor for Richard Childress Racing and driver Kevin Harvick in 2004, and he paid $45,000 for it. Dodge fined Petty $45,000 when the veteran relieved Harvick in the Sharpie 500 at Bristol in August 2004. Harvick complained that he had lost feeling in his left arm and Petty, a Dodge driver, took over for Harvick in the RCR Chevrolet. Petty, whose car was already out of the race, did not have permission from Dodge to drive the Chevy, and Dodge promptly fined him for breaching their contract. Dodge didn't announce the fine, but it was revealed in depositions released during their recently completed trial involving Bill Davis Racing. "Initially it was a shock just because that's just a given in the sport - if a driver is down, everybody rallies and tries to help him out," Petty said Feb. 11. "Kevin was sick; Kevin felt bad, so I drove the car. When I got a phone call and a legal letter that said I owed them $45,000, that was a little bit of a shock. But at the same time, they were exactly right. I have a contract to drive for Dodge." Dodge Motorsports Director of Operations John Fernandez said Feb. 10 that he believed Petty's violation of their contract was inadvertent but that the manufacturer must protect the sanctity of its contracts. |
-Jayski
Punishing a guy for doing a friend a favor. No. Doesn't fly for me.
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Scapegoat Bob Commodore
Joined: 02 Sep 2001 Posts: 1198 Location: The Barn
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Fri Feb 17, 2006 11:09 pm |
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aint he the guy that hit a wall? hes a hero? for what
-------signature-------
Here, kitty kitty kitty!
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robbiewebster Rear Admiral
Joined: 27 Apr 2004 Posts: 2594 Location: Rochester, New York
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Tue Feb 21, 2006 10:55 am |
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Scapegoat Bob wrote: | aint he the guy that hit a wall? hes a hero? for what |
Thats pretty harsh there boss, to a lot of people he was a hero. He represented an ordinary man that came from nothing an became a superman.
-------signature-------
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LightningBoy Commodore
Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 1446 Location: Minnesota, U.S.A.
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Tue Feb 21, 2006 2:49 pm |
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robbiewebster wrote: | Scapegoat Bob wrote: | aint he the guy that hit a wall? hes a hero? for what |
Thats pretty harsh there boss, to a lot of people he was a hero. He represented an ordinary man that came from nothing an became a superman. |
Thank you.
"aint he the guy that hit a wall?" unbelievable. Some people really need to either grow up, or stop talking about what they don't understand.
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IntrepidIsMe Pimp Handed
Joined: 14 Jun 2002 Posts: 13057 Location: New York
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Tue Feb 21, 2006 4:24 pm |
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I suppose that that's why it was presented in the form of a question...
Anyway, didn't they determine that he was trying to block the other cars so his son could win or something stupid like that?
-------signature-------
"Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being."
-Wuthering Heights
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LightningBoy Commodore
Joined: 09 Mar 2003 Posts: 1446 Location: Minnesota, U.S.A.
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Tue Feb 21, 2006 4:29 pm |
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Do you know anything about the nature of racing at Daytona? Have you ever heard of a restrictor plate? If so, do you know what they do to racecars running in large packs?
The fact really is, Dale Earnhardt was killed by restrictor plate racing. Cars going 180 should not be running in such tight bunches, they need breathing room, and simply, it wasn't there. The accident was no driver's fault, it was a consequence of the rules package they were running at the time.
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IntrepidIsMe Pimp Handed
Joined: 14 Jun 2002 Posts: 13057 Location: New York
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Tue Feb 21, 2006 4:33 pm |
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Nope, I don't (in response to the first question). Nothing about nascar interests me, to say the least.
Wikipedia suggests that he (Earnhardt) was trying to hold off the other cars, and then because of that he was nudged, and then the rest happened.
But once again, I have no interest in watching people drive.
-------signature-------
"Nelly, I am Heathcliff! He's always, always in my mind: not as a pleasure, any more than I am always a pleasure to myself, but as my own being."
-Wuthering Heights
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Curtis Fleet Admiral
Joined: 29 Sep 2001 Posts: 14903 Location: Wisconsin
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Wed Feb 22, 2006 3:37 pm |
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IntrepidIsMe wrote: | Nope, I don't (in response to the first question). Nothing about nascar interests me, to say the least.
Wikipedia suggests that he (Earnhardt) was trying to hold off the other cars, and then because of that he was nudged, and then the rest happened.
But once again, I have no interest in watching people drive. |
That is very true (the second part of your post). As for blocking so his son could win...his son didn't win, his driver (Michael Waltrip) for Dale Earnhardt Incorporated won the 2001 Daytona 500.
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