@@TyGuy.3000 look at austin dillon! or that one terrible truck series trash that happened around that time of dale. they both look like they shouldve been dead.
In another video, there's a similar quote. "President's Day. February 19, 2001. No one is talking about Michael Waltrip's first win after 462. No one is talking about DEI's 1-2 finish. \? No one is talking about the 17-car wreck in lap 173?\ , and no one is talking about the record-breaking 49 lead changes. None of it mattered in the end. Nobody won. Because the sport just lost its greatest driver ever."
You can clearly tell that Ken was traumatized by what he saw in Earnhardt's car. He immediately didn't want to think or talk about it. His brain had gone into defense mode and tried to block the images. That's exactly what happens when you've seen some horrific shit.
@J M If you had watched Ken Schrader's interviews before, you would know that he knew something was terribly wrong. He even said it afterwards that he knew Earnhardt was dead as soon as he pulled the net down. After this interview he immediately went to Victory Lane to tell Michael Waltrip that Earnhardt was dead. While nothing definitive was ever released, the rumor is when they found Earnhardt in his car, his eyes were open and he had blood and other fluids coming out of his mouth, ears, and nose. Ken Schrader was the first person to see that.
This shit destroyed him.. He said a couple years ago that of course he knew dale was dead when he looked in.. But he was so scared to even think those words and make it come true some how... He knew and took him decades to admit it. Hia wife said it ruined him. Poor guy.. Schrader and dale were pretty good buddies
@@TheRealSwampOperator2 Can't imagine what he saw, I've seen the autopsy report and don't even wanna think about what it would have looked like in person.
Schrader revealed 10 years after the fact that he had known Dale was dead right as he checked on him and that the only reason he never shared it then was because he didn’t want to be the one to say, “Dale is dead.”
Darrell Waltrip I think he was first to know you never hear Darrell Waltrip sound like that kept looking towards the racetrack I hope Dale's all right then it went to commercial I was thinking he's all right see wrecks like that all the time president of NASCAR came on we lost Dale I freaked out
It’s the tires You watch the front tires there no steering whatsoever coming off the wall you can see there’s no control over the steering wheel and that’s 1 of the signs you look for as well as the bet coming down as soon as the car does finally stop and none of that happened. But D DubYa could tell that the front tires had no one holding the steering wheel anymore as it slit down the track and into the infield down there.
I saw an article where they interviewed one of the EMTs that got in the car. They said Dale's eyes were open and fixed when they got in there. That is what Schrader saw I think. He knew he was dead.
watching the race live back then one of the thing i remember is kens face after that i told my mom sitting next to me that ken looks like he seen a ghost! Thats when i know it was bad!.
@@suestaley844 He was certainly DOA. I don't think he made it past hitting the wall initially. On the upside, considering he didn't try to maneuver the vehicle after impacting the wall, it means he probably didn't feel it. Was probably just a flash to him. Better than him suffering with a broken neck for 12 hours in the ER suffering a painful death that not even opiates would handle.
Yeah nobody knows exactly what happened inside that car in those last moments. People originally just thought it was a heart attack but after autopsy it was hell, seatbelts broke and he faceplanted into the wheel causing a basial skull fracture with brain splatter and guts and shit, blood everywhere. Kenny schrader saw that and knew but never said anything until the autopsy. What he saw still haunts him to this day
@@BANGITSME87 well you never know in these situations bro. There were likely multiple things that ultimately contributed to his death but even with autopsy its hard to tell
@@thatloserkyle if you have the stomach you can find pictures. It's not of Dale in the car, he'd been removed, but it was after and the pictures show some things that wouldn't be right for me to describe here. It gives a pretty good idea of what most likely happened
@@BANGITSME87 people did bro I have resources. But I mean they thought the ultimate cause was cardiac issues heart failure until the autopsy proved otherwise. Not saying everybody did but some
@@tropicalramen7835 he was going to check on Dale, thinking Big E would be mad for ruining the 1-2-3 finish but he saw the condition and called for emergency help
I still feel so bad for Kenny for having to have to witness that. Such a nice guy shouldn't have seen so much horror inside there....and he was just trying to help, too....he didn't have to go running over like that to help Dale, but he felt like he needed to...
I also feel bad for Sterling Marlin. It was just a racing accident but Dale fans gave him hell for that wreck. Dale knew what he was doing and the risk he was taking climbing in that car and doing what he did by blocking the other drivers. I wasn't a Dale fan but you damn sure had to respect the man and he died doing what he loved and made it where his cars finished 1 and 2.
I knew something was wrong almost immediately after the wreck, especially the concern Darell Waltrip had for Earnhardt despite his brother winning the 500. Then seeing Ken Shrader's interview and how shuck up he was told me he was mostly likely dead. Then as I turned the channel to watch the NBA game on NBC they broke in and said Dale Earnhardt had passed away.
@@winstonsmith11 I was 7 and even at that age. Like you said the way waltrip acted and my dad reacting to waltrip. I knew something was wrong. My dad waited what had to be hours. Comes in my room and tells me. I cried my eyes out like I’m sure other people did. Dale was my true childhood hero. My parents would say what are you gonna be? When you grow up. I would reply Dale Earnhardt.
It didnt even look bad. But dw been in a million too. He knew that particular one was worse than it looked. It alarmed me to hear dw so sidetracked from mikeys win. Then schradera interview. He knew when he looked in there he was dead And said as much a couple years ago... Ken shcrader has been traumatized for life for looking into that car.. His wife said that much
Kenny knew Dale was gone the moment he looked in the car, and he knew it when talking to that reporter, but he knew he couldn't be the one to break that news. He didn't want to be that one. For Dale Jr's sake, for Michael Waltrip's sake, he just couldn't bare it and you can see it on his face during the interview. He doesn't want to talk, he doesn't want to answer any questions, he just wants to go talk to Michael and Dale Jr and go-to the Hospital. I watched the race live. I was about 16 years old. I couldn't believe it when they announced on FOX about an hour later that he had died. My friend who was watching the race at his house couldn't believe it when I called him to tell him. Just felt like the world stopped.
I never watched NASCAR before Earnhardt died, it was actually all the attention surrounding his death that caused me to start paying attention to the sport. Been a fan for almost 20 years now and I regret not seeing a legend while he was still here.
That was the day I stopped watching. Wasn't an Earnhardt fan but that done it for me. I knew nascar would never be the same. He was a great driver and competitor. Tragic loss.
I had 10 lucky years to watch earnhardt sr do his thing, was my favorite driver, and even got to see him win when I was 7 at dover in 1993. This day changed my life and it's direction forever. I'm still a fan, moving to dale Jr, and now to Ryan Blaney, but I always go and paruse back through the memories.
de'angelo bayley FS1 got rid of in after 2007 and brought it back in 2016. the original poster of the comment commented between 2007 and 2016 when the theme wasnt used
+Crisgo3d Yeah man you can tell he doesn't want to talk about it. Also he shows signs of the "100 yard stare" people do when they're at least somewhat traumatized.
+JudgeTread1 this might be alittle tmi but I read an article and yes Schrader was traumatized because when he was going to check on Dale he saw blood coming out of Dale's nose and ears I would be traumatized if i saw that
I was 5, I was just getting into NASCAR because my dad loves it, I remember watching this race, and this was the first race I watched from flagtoflag. I remember the wreck happening and my dad being pissed but I wasn't because my favorite Bill Elliott got a good finish. But later, I remember my dad crying that's when I learned of Dale's death, to this day I feel terrible because dad lost his hero, but I remember Jr winning in July, which in my opinion, is the greatest moment in NASCAR History!
3:47-3:49 There it is, how quickly he answered that question says it all, he tried to make it as brief as possible because he knew the truth and didn't want to break down🤦🤦🤦
He's such a good guy he came out to our dirt track in Wichita KS in 2006 got to meet him talked for about 5 minutes but after that I sat in the stands and thought for a bit I just met the man that was first to see Dale after the crash sent chills down my neck feel so bad for Kenny what he saw
I always see comments saying "It didn't even look that bad"...probably because the car didn't do a lot of thrashing around. Which is why it was fatal. Most all of the impact energy went directly straight into that wall and nowhere else. Usually at that angle the back of the car will whip left after initial impact and the car will spin out helping transfer that energy. With Schrader's car in that position, it helped wedge Dale's car in. NO dramatic spinning, flipping, etc...just all force straight flush into the wall at 160 mph, with no safer barrier or hans device. There's another angle on turn 4 somewhere that shows just how fast and violent it really was. RIP.
I'm not really a big racing fan, but its hard to imagine being in Mr. Schrader's position that day; inheriting such a horrible responsibility without warning, and then having to decide in a very short amount of time how to handle it. I don't think anyone could have done any better.
RIP Earnhardt, and I certainly feel bad that Schrader had to endure that. But the guy that I feel the most sorry for in all of this... is Sterling Marlin. Not many people acknowledged it, but he endured constant ridicule from fans, and even received death threats. It took Dale Jr publicly absolving him to make it stop. Really set his career back for good. Such a good man. Deserved better.
Sterling was one of the best in his day. I've honestly believed that the 2002 incident where he got out of his car helped fans move forward a bit and change their perception. Yes, I know the tire rub was there, but it was at least an interesting coincidence.
The real reason why he died was because of a basilar skull fracture. The cause was not wearing the HANS device. And if Dale wore it, he would most likely still be alive.
I was 11 and this was my first full Daytona 500. I watched the wreck, and something wasn't right. Shrader calling for EMTs wasn't good, but watching the ambulance moving that slow was the "Oh my God, he's dead!" moment for me. All these years later, I can see another way to interprit Ken Squire's quote. Rest in Peace, Dale Earnhardt.
I can’t imagine what Kenny was thinking and feeling after going over to Dale’s car and finding him in the condition he was in. He even knew he was gone
I think DW knew pretty quick as well. When they show the replays you can tell he's holding back. "I don't like that. That's not the kinda crash - that's the kinda crash that hurts you." It sounds like he's about to say the kinda crash you don't walk away from but stops himself.
Stirling Marlin had alot of death threats after the race. The Earnhardt crew had to make a statement that Stirling Marlin didn't cause the accident. The Subsequent Nascar investigation also cleared Stirling Marlin of any wrongdoing.
Jacob Hammering Hamman Do you not understand racing?? Let alone restrictor plate racing?? Maybe you should get mommy & daddy’s permission next time you get on social media..
Still have to say Congratulations to Mikey 🍾 🏆 You finally did it buddy & Dale did whatever it took to try & be apart of that. Dale knew you Won it Brother.
NASCAR knew about this and you can tell that Ken Schrader knows about it and when they threw that question, he didn't know what to say, he doesn't seem so confident. The commenters didn't want to announce his at that moment because people were to busy celebrating Michael Waltrip's win. They decided to put it later.
NASCAR cannot pronounce someone dead though, in this situation the right thing to do is get medical attention from doctors at the hospital. "Great rule package they got" Dale wasn't wearing a helmet like Ken's, and it should have been a rule, a safety requirement. There were so many bad wrecks before this, even fatalities before this. Why wasn't safety put first already? This could have been prevented. Ken was somehow able to do those interviews. Was asked at one point about Michael Waltrip winning and all he could say was I'd feel a lot better for him if his boss was here to help him. This is a gut wrenching story.
Still to this day I can’t believe that accident took him. Dale jr’s interview with Kenny is a must watch. He thanks him for staying classy and respectful.
You hate to saddle anyone with that burden, but in hindsight, it was fortunate that it was someone like Kenny. To this day, he’s never said a word about what he saw that day, although I’m sure it still haunts him. Truly a class act and one of the good guys in this sport.
Heart wrenching. Can’t these reporters just take the social cues and let the man walk away. I’ve been in similar situations like this, holding back tears and anguish, just to automatically break down crying as soon as no one could see. Brutal. RIP Dale
I was 12 at the time of this race and I remember watching the entire race and remember when they showed how slow the ambulance was moving I had a feeling it wasn't good. I live 15 mins from the track and remember our local news came on at 7pm and showed the announcement by Mike Helton saying they lost him. I was shocked it's still shocking
Can't even imagine what Ken Schrader was feeling this day and what he saw when he went to check on Dale. Such a burden for him to carry for the rest of his life.
I still cannot believe what happened, 18 years later. I vividly remember seeing this live as it happened and I just thought it was a standard crash and that Dale was not injured badly. I do remember that Darryl Waltrip was worried for Dale from the moment it happened
@@dennissmith4186 I think so too. I am thankful for all that tried to help Dale and all the efforts. I will honestly say that his death was one of the worst and saddest days for us. The Oppermans from Texas will always love and miss you Dale Earnhardt Sr -your devoted fans forever
Dale was my favorite driver. I followed him through childhood and into adulthood. I saw the wreck as Mikey and Jr. were speeding away to the checkered flag, and I was mad that Dale would not win the Daytona 500. I wanted him to win every race I ever watched. Then I saw the replay of the crash. The full speed replay. My heart sank and I knew he was gone. I felt sick. We went to church and found out what I already knew when we got home. I don't think I will ever get over it completely. NASCAR was never the same, though Junior did provide some pretty exciting wins over the years. When Junior retired, that was the end of the Earnhardt era, and now I just watch, but without anyone that I am really pulling for. I still wonder if Dale would have won that 8th championship in 2001. He would have been great in the booth if he wanted to do that when he retired. We miss you Dale. RIP
When you saw Kenny's reaction as soon as he looked in the car you knew it wasn't good...😥 Hard to believe it's been over 20 years now. We love the sport because of the excitement and how close to the edge it is. Sometimes we're reminded just how dangerous it really is.
When they showed the ambulance going slow I knew we lost him. An ambulance NEVER goes that slow unless it’s a spine fracture or death. Considering the head on crash and the angle and speed into the concrete wall it could only be death. Gen4 stock cars and concrete walls simply put.. was not safe. Looking at even his autopsy report, a HANS device wouldn’t of done very much. It was just his day to go.
Doubtful honestly. If Dale had the safety features of today yes. But the Hans alone wouldn't have. If anything, he'd possibly still be here, but he'd be in bad shape.
I'm surprised they worked him at all. Tramatic arrests are usually called. They worked him at the hospital for awhile too. Bilateral chest tubes, bilateral large bore IVs. Etc. The first physician to the car knew he had a basal skull fx. Anyone else would have been pronounced in the field. Sure do miss that man.........
I wont ever forget this i was 11 watching this with my sister and my mom and dad on the way home from church we heard he died on the radio my dad fell appart rough day dale was the man
Earnhardt's head was bent down to the left. You can see in the video that the crown of his helmet moves the window net and leaves him resting on his left against the door panel. What supports this is the view of Ken looking down and in, and then looking at the photos of the car after the crash in that very spot. They're quite graphic. Just wanted to clarify, I feel really bad for Kenny. He is a class act and I respect him.
He was a rookie broadcaster at the time and he was getting the news in his earpiece just like the rest. They all knew. Listen to Ken Squier's closing thoughts - he knew. Darrel was just having a harder time compartmentalizing it as a good friend and being only very recently retired. But "the show must go on," as they say. They heard and saw everything and knew he was probably gone but were holding on to the very last shred of hope they were wrong. It had to be absolutely gut wrenching for the broadcast crew and Schrader to put on a hopeful face knowing what they knew.
I agree 100%. I was a huge Earnhardt fan and the wreck didn't seem like anything out of the ordinary. But Darrell, on a day that his brother won the biggest race of his life, kept saying "I hope Dale's okay, I hope Dale's okay"
@@shawnreap yeah but Darrel Waltrip raced with Dale Earnhardt and knew he did not like a tight 3 point belt system. Plus not hard to see from camera angles. Dale's lack of safety precautions caught up to him. And that was his last ride.
I have never respected another racer like Ken Schrader. Maybe 1or 2% of people could see what he did and keep composure with a camera stuck in their faces. How he did that is taken for granted among too many. Kudos to him for keeping it together and even more so for not going public with details.
I remember watching that wreak... i remember saying " nasty hit, but he'll be ok..." but something in my head kept telling me, " he isn't walking away from this one... we just lost Dale Earnhardt...."
I can remember what I was doing when this happen.. Building a lawnmower trailer and listening to the race on the radio and had to go inside the house to see it for myself. If only he was still here....My god time go by so quickly .......
I remember me, and my dad we had a basketball game to attend (Father and son/player) My dad recorded the race, and all of the sudden we made it back before Tony Stewarts wreck, and before the red flag, and we were just in time for the prime time event who was going to win the race. When Earnhardt SR crashed I thought, he's fine, but my dad knew even during Michael's interview, and when the blimp showed the rescue teams helping dale, that something was seriously was wrong. I was eight about to be nine when it happened, I was a massive Jeff Gordan fan back then. A year later in 2002 I became a dale jr fan. Nascar hasn't been the same since dale left, r.i.p dale
I know one thing. Earnhardt had refused one of Fox's in car cameras. And good thing too as from what I have heard, the scene was extremely gruesome. And oh god, I can only imagine the horror if that was displayed on national TV with millions watching
The Anonymous AcclerDew yeah, imagine having it focused on the DEI cars in front but it still showing a good portion of Dale. That would be horrible considering how bad even the pictures look. And having millions of people watch that. My God.
I know this may sound gruesome but i can imagine the scenario after the onboard view the person who controls the camera turns to the inside view at first many fans think it's just a inside view with the Tony Stewart crash but then they look in the rear view mirror and don't see a wreck ok maybe it's just a onboard view from the green flag but they see the dei cars heading into turn 4 Darrell Waltrip gets anxious dales car turns right and hits the wall first earnhardts seatbelt brakes loose and his head hits the 2 inches apart from the middle of the steering wheel a blood falls out of his head and some of it even gets on the camera now it's a bit of red and the inside view Darrel Waltrip says "GOD DAMMIT TAKE THE CAMERAS OFF!" But it's too late the camera control man didn't know it was his death crash he thought it was Tony's wreck dales car comes to a rest you can see smoke coming out of the engine from the window then you can hear Richard say dale you Alright? Then kenny walks up in the rear view mirror then he appears next to the window net you can see his m&ms jacket the red and yellow and a bit of the blue m&m can be seen on his firesuit then he puts his visor up you can already see the horror in his eyes he takes the window net down then call the singal in the rear view mirror you can see ken shooken up and taking his m&ms gloves off then the camera cuts off
I remember watching this race and getting so pissed at Dale for causing my favorite driver Ken Schrader to crash out on the last lap. Feelings completely changed when the announcement was made.
22 years ago and I've watched that crash over and over and still can't comprehend how that killed him. Especially seeing some of the other accidents he's been in where I was certain he was dead and yet, he walked away without a scratch! Life is definitely a mysterious journey!
Ken Schrader definitely seen something that he will never forget. He was in a mode where he wanted to un-see what he had seen. This is why people should appreciate the drivers, not be a constant negative whinger. Racing is dangerous even now and no one knows what the future holds
Oh shut the fuck up with your nonsense. Yeah, dude is trying to breathe with blood all in his lungs and a fractured sternum and he gets the idea to play arts and crafts with some smoke. Wow.
ArmyRob13 Really dude? Next time you wanna say something like that, keep that shit to yourself. You may not believe in a higher power, but that doesn't give you the right to shit on other people's beliefs.
I will never forget this day. Been an Earnhardt fan since I can remember. When Mike Helton said "We've lost Dale Earnhardt." I went to my room and cried like a 14 year old baby! #Intimidator #3
Them asking Kenny over and over again "Ken, what did you see? What can you tell us?" was just beyond horrible. Someone should have realized just by that man's body language what he'd seen and stopped the rest of the media from badgering him. Jesus.
The last thing he heard was his spotter telling him "inside, inside, inside..." He was so focused ahead and just trying to maintain cohesion with the most extreme concentration any person can imagine that he couldn't have known he was touching Marlin's nose and the rest of what happened was an extremely unfortunate chain of events, to say the least.
In fact, two seconds before contact, from the onboard view at time index 2:48, as his spotter keeps telling him "inside, inside, three-wide, inside...." the back-end gets loose on him, before the contact with Sterling Marlin.
Darrel’s insights are really fascinating here, he really had no idea what had happened yet, but his experience as a driver and his gut intuition told him that everything was off.
Michael waltrip didn't get a chance to really celebrate his win like he should've due to Dale's death in 2001. In 2003 it was rain shortening, but the best car won the race and Michael was able to enjoy it. I felt that Dale would have driven by two cars that he owned and go on to win his 2nd Daytona 500. Instead of not caring for who was in front of him he blocked Sterling Marlin and Schrader and was proud of what he saw out the front of his windshield.
I can only imagine how Kenny felt. He came out smerking ready to joke with his friend and saw what he saw. No wonder he had glasses and didn’t have much to say. He saw it first.
I’ve watched this wreck so many times over the years and I still can’t believed this wreck took his life. We’ve seen cars go airborne, flip, catch fire and get torn to shreds and drivers walk away. It just didn’t look like that bad of a crash. I was talking to a crew member from the Mike Skinner car. He said Dale died instantly and sustained servers
I thought the same thing, but there's a difference in being thrown around in a car while it's tearing apart and going into a wall head on to a dead stop from 180mph even if it was for a fraction of a second before he started sliding down the wall. 180mph down to 0 is not survivable sadly. So tragically sad.
@@marlonisaac1 I know your right. It’s very deceiving to watch the crash. I didn’t realize as you stated that he came to a sudden stop when he hit the wall even though he slid down the race track. It just didn’t look that bad of a crash. I accidentally hit the wrong button in my text. I was trying to say, I was told he sustained server neck injuries and that he died instantly. So sad.
@thepspman116 Same here. I was 9 when Earnhardt died but he will always be my favorite driver. I just watched the finish of the 98 Daytona 500 the other day and it put me in tears.
Ken Schrader's expression and demeanor says it all. Such a tragic and bittersweet moment. I miss Rockingham... And 10 years later the Simpsons is still on TV and all those other shows not!
poor waltrip. he was clowned so long for not winning not being competitive. then finally wins it and his happiness is gone. any partying he deserved gone. in its replacement comes death and sadness. this event is probably what made junior the most relatable driver of all time
He didn't have much time left anyway, when they started tinkering with the point system most lost interest. A guy that dominates all season can lose the title to a bum that squeaked out 1 win and made the playoffs.
@@bignickdigger7105 every sport has playoffs get over it no diffarent in nascar guys were winning cups in august when half the season wasnt even over thats not fair winning a cup that would be like a nfl team winning in october when the SB isnt until February and he ddint have much time left because nascar would have been on to his bullshit he was fucking around with belts and wrecking people too win which both of those things now days would have him parked and even suspended in any sport you can win all year and be out in the first round of playoffs
@@NickyD try to use punctuation ma'am! I almost died reading that poorly written sewage. Look in the stands and at the ratings. The sport is on life support, and it started once they changed the point system and started restricting guys from dirty racing and fighting. Putting them on probation etc. People want to watch crashes, 2 drivers fight in the pits after a race, rivalries etc. You think fans show up to a hockey game and hope a fight doesn't break out? Or a rodeo and hope a bull doesn't stomp on someone? You're living in some kind of sissy liberal world and in certain sports..it's not gonna fly.
What a terrible day. Only positive thing from that day is what everyone learned about safety and how many lives it may have saved from day on. It just sucks that something that terrible has to happen to figure it out. Everyone of those guys strap into those cars knowing what could happen but it doesn’t make it any easier for anyone when tragedy strikes. Rip intimidator!
It eventually got him into a position where dale was in the middle of Schrader and Sterling and he cut in front of sterling and thought he had room to get in front of him but didn't. When the car came back up and clipped Schrader's left front, that caused Earnhardt to slam head on into the wall causing the fatal crash.
