In 2000, Earnhardt began looking like his old self. Many believed it was due to neck surgery he'd had to repair the injury he suffered at Talledega in '96. He won 2 of the most exciting races of that season. One was at Atlanta when he beat Bobby Labonte to the finish by.006 seconds, the other occurred at Talledega when Earnhardt gained 17 positions in 4 laps to take the victory. With these wins under his belt, Earnhardt climbed to 2cnd place in the point standings. But wrecks at Watkins Glen and Bristol, plus poor performances in a couple of other races would prevent him from gaining another title.
It was a beautiful day for racing, February 18, 2001. The first official race of the year, the 'Super Bowl' of NASCAR, the Daytona 500. Despite not winning the Twin 125 qualifying race he'd dominated for most of the '90's, Dale Earnhardt looked relaxed and confident before the start of the race. A spectacular wreck in which several cars were eliminated from competing occurred late in the race. After a red flag stop for track cleanup, the race continued with Dale Earnhardt, son Dale Jr., and his DEI teammate Micheal Waltrip in front. With 3 laps to go, it was Waltrip in the lead followed by Earnhardt Jr. and Dale Sr. Earnhardt Sr. had been fighting off Sterling Marlin's attempts to take the third position.
During the last lap, Earnhardt was racing three wide with Marlin and Kenny Schrader. For reasons unknown, Earnhardt's car suddenly dove down the track. The left rear quarter of Earnhardt's car made slight contact with Marlin's front bumper. The #3 car ran down off the track and onto the apron, then started to head back up the track. Earnhardt's car hit Schrader's car and Dale ran head long into the wall at 160 miles per hour. Compared to similar wrecks of that type, it didn't appear to anyone that it was that bad. Waltrip went on to win the race. EMT crews, along with Dale Jr. rushed to the crash scene. Earnhardt was taken to Halifax Medical Center by ambulance. Some hours later NASCAR president, Mike Helton announced Dale Earnhardt's death. Not just NASCAR, but the whole sports world was stunned. The once seemingly unbeatable Dale Earnhardt was gone.
But as a friend pointed out to me, he probably died right where it fitted him. Doing what he loved so much, and was so damn good at. Dale Earnhardt Jr. races still, and has some accomplishments under his belt. Dale Earnhardt Sr., he was competitive, stubborn, tough, to his friends and family, just a good 'ole boy from North Carolina, and he was a winner. He was all those things. I'd like to think when he got to heaven, Ralph Earnhardt was there to meet his son. With a handshake, a pat on the back, and a comment that went something like this, "Damn, boy, you did pretty good. I'm proud of ya."
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