Dale Earnhardt
On April 29, 1951, Earnhardt was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, to Martha Coleman and Ralph Earnhardt, Earnhardt one of the best short-track drivers in North Carolina. Ralph won his one and only NASCAR Sportsman Championship in 1956 at Greenville Pickens Speedway in Greenville, South Carolina. Ralph was a hard teacher for Earnhardt, and after Ralph died of a heart attack at his home in 1973. Earnhardt had four siblings, Danny, Randy,Cathy, and Kaye.
He married his first wife,when was 17,Latane Brown, in 1968. Brown gave birth to Earnhardt's first son, Kerry Dale, in 1969. They were subsequently divorced in 1970. In 1971, Earnhardt married his second wife, Brenda Gee (the daughter of NASCAR car builder Robert Gee),who gave birth to a daughter, Kelley King, in 1972, and a son, Ralph Dale Jr,in 1974. Not long after his second son was born Dale and Brenda divorced. Dale then married his last wife, Teresa Houston in 1982, who gave birth to their daughter Taylor Nicole in 1988.
Dale Earnhardt
Always a media favorite, in the weeks before the 2001 Daytona 500, Earnhardt stirred up controversy by skipping the annual fan and media preview event, drawing criticism from fellow driver Jimmy Spencer. For the first time in his career, Earnhardt participated in the Rolex 24 endurance race at Daytona, the event which kicks off Speedweeks at the track.
Despite the early start, Speedweek was a disappointment for Earnhardt, who had a long-running tradition of winning at least one race during the two-week season kick-off. Earnhardt finished second to Tony Stewart in the Budweiser Shootout. He was also denied victory in the Gatorade Twin 125 qualifying race in which he participated. Earnhardt had won every Twin 125 event he competed in during the 1990s, and was in 3rd place on the final lap in 2001 when Sterling Marlin pulled off a slingshot pass going down the backstretch.
Taking it in stride, Earnhardt appeared relaxed and confident in television interviews on the morning of the 2001 Daytona 500. When the Daytona 500 started, Earnhardt showed early promise, leading the race and running up front for most of the event.
A multi-car wreck late in the race eliminated several cars in spectacular fashion. Tony Stewart, who had beaten Earnhardt in the Budweiser Shootout, found his car tumbling wildly down the backstretch. The race was red flagged to facilitate cleanup of the track, and when the race resumed, it was Earnhardt and DEI drivers Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip who were running up front. As the laps wound down, Waltrip was leading Earnhardt Jr. and Earnhardt.
On the front stretch coming to 3 laps to go, Earnhardt made contact with Sterling Marlin's front right fender. Earnhardt's car wiggled but Earnhardt kept control and he remained in third position. Marlin was known for having a fast car throughout the race, and Earnhardt repeatedly blocked his attempts at passing during the last few laps. With less than two laps remaining, Darrell Waltrip commented that "Sterling has beat the front end off of that old Dodge (Marlin's car) trying to get around Dale (Earnhardt)".
Heading into Turn 3 on the last lap, Earnhardt was racing three wide with Marlin to his left and Schrader to his right. In the corner, Earnhardt's left rear quarter made slight contact with Marlin's front bumper.
Earnhardt’s car slid off the track's steep banking, onto the flat apron, and then turned sharply up the track toward the outside retaining wall. As the #3 car came up the track it collided with the #36 Pontiac driven by Ken Schrader. Schrader's car hit Earnhardt's car just behind the passenger door, causing both cars to run nose-first into the wall. Earnhardt's #3 hit at a critical angle at nearly 180 miles per hour. The right-rear wheel assembly broke off the car on impact. The hood pins severed and the hood flapped open, slamming against the windshield as the car slid slowly down the track. To most observers, the crash looked minor, and certainly not as dramatic as his famous 1996 wreck at Talladega, when Earnhardt's car was pelted several times in the roof and windshield as it slid across the track.
While Michael Waltrip raced toward the checkered flag to claim his first victory, with Earnhardt Jr. close behind, the cars of Earnhardt and Schrader slid off the track's asphalt banking toward the infield grass just inside of turn four. After climbing from his car, Schrader peered into Earnhardt's car, only to jump back and signal for EMTs. As medical crews converged upon the crash scene, NASCAR on Fox reporter Jeanne Zelasko asked Schrader about Earnhardt's condition. "I'm not a doctor, but I got the heck out of the way as soon as they got there," Schrader said solemnly. Earnhardt was taken to Halifax Medical Center by ambulance after being removed from his car. Hours later, at a press conference, NASCAR President Mike Helton made the formal announcement to the world saying, "Undoubtedly this is one of the toughest announcements I've personally had to make. After the accident in Turn 4 at the end of the Daytona 500, we've lost Dale Earnhardt.
SOURCE : en.wikipedia.org
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