The Day NASCAR Changed

As I grew older I attended less NASCAR races up close and in person, but still found myself watching the 'big' ones each year and keeping my favorite drivers close and of course booing my driving adversaries. That is the fun of it and any NASCAR fan knows this. Heck, I can't count the times I made fun of my young son for being a Gordon fan. Those rainbow colors sure are cute on your head son! And the jibes and teasing are all a part of this sport, and likely one of the best parts of all.

When my son was about ten years old I was working for a NASCAR distributor who sold some of the nicest diecast cars you can imagine. I did love the job and although it required us to work on Sundays, race day of course, we didn't mind too much because we still were allowed, possibly even expected to watch the races! My job there was to post the cars to the person's eBay store and boy did some of them bring in a pretty penny. So this particular Sunday was just like any other. Posting some cars online, watching the race. Sunday February 18th of 2001, indeed, started out just as any other day grinding away being 'forced' to watch a sport I've loved since I was a child.

Of course as any race is coming to an end the excitement builds, people start whooping it up and carrying on, even the boss would be enjoying his tonic water at the end of each race! All item posting stops and we all make our way to the fairly good sized screen to watch the final few laps. How could we forget how he wedged himself in three wide with Marlin to his left and Schrader on his right. My boss was never an Earnhardt fan. Always said the same thing a lot of people said. He played dirty. But I know even before this fateful day that most anyone would agree, fan or not, he made any race he was in far more explosive and exciting!

I recall after he pulled himself out of the wedge and how Earnhardt's rear quarter tapped into Marlin's front bumper. We watched this seasoned warrior of the track at one hundred and eighty miles per hour swerve down into the lower track and then veer back up. We held our breath but no one really even thought for a second that he wouldn't pull it off. He had pulled off way more miraculous moves before to save his own hide. As he veered up to the top of the track towards the retaining wall, Schrader, unable to dodge Earnhardt's car, collided with the old #3 which pushed both cars nose first into the wall.

I recall how we all sat in amazement. I had never been a huge Earnhardt fan. He'd run a couple of my favorite drivers off the road to with his hell bent for leather tactics, but I did always appreciate the spice and true grit he brought to the sport. We didn't even consider he may not have survived. We waited for him to be pulled out and wave, even as the ambulance made its way to the wreckage. As we waited and watched we noticed no one was being removed and worse, that the media was beginning to show coverage of people trying to protect whatever scenario was inside of old #3.

Odd how once we found out he had definitely passed on that some of my deepest thoughts were for not only his family, and the entire NASCAR family, but for the drivers involved in the wreck. I knew they would some blame themselves and others just stay in denial. I felt for their pain when I considered how I would have felt even though I had no control over the situation, and lucky to have made it out alive myself.

My thoughts, my feelings and my respect changed for Dale Earnhardt that day, as did my love for all things NASCAR. In the following days watching grown warriors of the NASCAR breed crying their eyes out I realized that in the midst of all this other incredible driving talent, Earnhardt has indeed created his own one man show. And everyone, friend or foe, was always eager to watch his shows.

I guess it's just one woman's perspective because I am the type of person who will get teary over a football game when one guy ruins it all. Poor guy I may think. Hope they aren't too tough on him in the locker room. But NASCAR is an entirely different sport and these guys know they can face certain death each and every time they jump in that car and push it to the limits. To say they do it for the love of the sport and its fans would be a gross understatement. Their families are just as strong a soldiers as the drivers who climb in those cars too. NASCAR and everyone it touches personally are a great breed of sportsmen and women, who may jeer each other in a heartbeat, but I've also seen them cry together in the next one. I hope all of the NASCAR drivers knows they have loads of fans like this out there just about everywhere!