After 23 years it still stings like a sonafabitch. Was up there that week. Took me a long while to accept it. Never met Dale, but felt like he was one of us....working man's hero. Today i am grieving the loss of another working man's hero. Toby Keith. GOD BLESS them both.
can't believe it's been 23 years😔 i went fishing with an old friend that day. he was visiting out of state, we listened in the radio. anyway he was killed in a car accident the next year. so feels like yesterday. anyway
not me finding out about toby keiths death through this comment... (never listened to his music, but my aunt and i used to go to his restaurant in missouri. wild.)
I was Mark Martin fan, hated Sr. cause he was dirty. But I also found myself heartbroken that day. Nascar has never recovered and hasn't been the same since.
@@JDCardwell80 Sterling Marlin beats himself up emotionally by watching this wreck, wondering if there was anything he could have done to not make contact with Dale's car. The year before, his teammate Kenny Irwin Jr lost his life in Loudon.
@@jeffmccurry1401 Mikey wanted that hug 🫂 way more than his winnings and it never came. The great tragedy of that, Mikey worked so long and so hard for that first winston cup win, and he wasn't able to enjoy it.
When Ken Schrader whispered the news to Michael when he (Mike) was at among the highest emotional states he could be,, then as the title of this says,, "In the blink of an eye" his high is SLAMMED to the depths of his soul to learn his friend was is (at the time) in a most serious crash. DAYMN,, I felt the tears well up. Of course for Dale but for Michael and Darrell Waltrip as well.
Strange that they didn't mention Mikey's teammate Steve Park winning at Rockingham the week after Dale passed; that was obviously a massively emotional win and an important part of the story of that 2001 season.
It's strange that Steve Park wasn't mentioned at all. Was he supposed to be a part of Dale's plan to win the 500 along with Dale jr. and Michael before he was in the big wreck?
If I just had to guess the answer is probably what it always is with these things… Teresa Now it’s just wild speculation but back when he made this maybe she had some wild little shit still holding it over Steve or anyone using his likeness she could sue him for. I’ve never heard of there being any animosity between Michael and Steve and Jr. 110% sings Steve his praises. So idk it either has to be for some weird legal reason or maybe he just wanted to hit the biggest high/low points for him.
Can't deny a piece of the country died that day we lost Dale - I'll always consider him The GOAT of the sport, The void he left behind will never be filled.
Yeah, the sport has really changed like a lot of others have.... All about money.... But I guess that what it takes to keep things a rollin' Still love those Super Speedway races...
Are you friggin kidding me! I didn't know about any of this. I watched that 2001 Daytona race live (non-Duty weekend, NAVY). I was so excited because FOX picked up NASCAR. I only got to see it from time to time when it was broadcasted throughout my years. I was looking forward to seeing more of the races. Even bought tickets to a few in advance out there in California (Fontana). But, I had no idea Michael Waltrip never won. It was his first Race in the car, with a new team, etc.. I followed Rousch Racing (Mark Martin, Kenseth, Busch, Biffle) mainly. But, gosh, seeing this gave me goose bumps/chills, and I even tear'd up a bit, learning what Dale did. He literally gave his life for him, his team, Michael's dream/first win, his company going forward. Wow, I had no idea. Powerful stuff. Great documentary. Thank you for sharing
I feel for Michael with all my heart, but wow, can you also imagine what Serling Marlin has also gone through having so much pain wondering if he could have done something different and on top of that getting death threats. so sad!!
The original documentary is called THE DAY and is available on YT. Both of these are very well done . . The Day shows more of Dale's best friend (his true bud, Richard Childress.) .I was watching live on TV from my home. I will also never forget the July race after Dale's passing. Michael will always be at peace with himself for helping (and not passing) a son win the race 5 months after his dad died on the same track. I was sobbing in my living room. Finally, So many fans don't understand the pressure put on a young, new driver named Kevin Harvick (age 21 if I recall) to get in Dale's car and race it the rest of the season. RIP Dale.
It still pisses me off that Adam, Kenny and Dale had to pass before NASCAR would start even thinking about mandating driver safety features. F1 proved the Hans device was working in like 94 or 95.
@@NationFirstGreenville22 took nascar 9 months after Dale passed to mandate a full face mask and HANs. Explain how it was dumb?? Sounds like you're the dumb one here.
Not only is bringing F1 into this dumb because they actually had to make the damn HANS device smaller for the fucking car but they didn't mandate shit until Blaise Alexander died in ARCA in October of 2001
"Why would you wanna do something that you know darn well could kill ya?" "I had never wanna do anything else, never ever wanted anything as much as I want racing or enjoy it or like it or would give up most anything in life to have it." "Why?" "It's born in me bred in me I reckon. I think racing that's all i think. I have let it get in my way of personal feelings a lot of times and I have chose racing every time." Has to be my favorite quote ever. When I first watched this a couple years ago I replayed that part countless times
When I saw Kenny waving his arms like he did, I knew it was bad. I can't imagine what he saw. He never says what he saw and just honors Dale. I felt that Michael was taken the best day of his life to the worst!
He saw blood coming from Sr's mouth, ears and nose. He was already gone. Ten of the best doctors on Earth could have immediately been there when he was pulled from the car and it wouldn't have mattered. He died the moment he hit the wall. If he would have had the HANS device, he'd still be alive today. What Ken saw was absolutely shocking and the fact he manned up and went around passing along the info to those that mattered, is a testament to his personality. Great man. It all played out perfectly as far as that aspect. No other driver would have handled it like Kenny did.
What a day that was. I just happened to be in an emergency room waiting room while someone I loved was dying. We watched the last 30 mins of the race in that waiting room. Not 10 mins after the race was over the doctors came out to tell us they couldn’t save her. Then they told us on the tv dale was gone. I can picture that room to this day like it just happened. It was surreal.
I can watch anything and everything Dale Earnhardt , I can , but I can’t watch that race again , I cried like I lost my own uncle or dad or close family member , I watched it once when it happened , I’ve done good not to watch it since , and I won’t watch it in this video either , that broke my heart. Michael didn’t get the celebration he deserved and we lost the best driver in NASCAR. 👍👍👍✌️✌️✌️
That is a wise decision. Senna is my Dale, and I rewatched his last race for the first time again a couple of weeks ago. It was horrible. I don't even know why I did it. It's not entertaining, I already know what happened (and I will never forget), and all it did was that I felt as devastated as I did back then.
Senna may not have been the greatest champion because his life was drastically cut short; but for me he is the best driver on the track I have ever seen; I'm 40 years old and I saw Senna on TV and woke up every Sunday with my family to see him win and bring us emotion and joy. Senna forever.@@valeriebumblebee7607
Smokey Yunick built and Presented safer barrier Walls to NASCAR made from used race car tires in the Early 1960's but NASCAR didn't want to spend the Money. It was not until after Dale Earnhardt death almost 40 years later that they addressed the situation .
Being a Dale Sr fan since i was 5 in 93 my dad was a die hard fan also, when we lost Dale it was like losing a family member, i always felt bad for Mickey not being able to enjoy his first win afler all those years of losing and to lose a good friend, mentor, someone who believed in you and stuck his neck out for u had to be a heavy burden to bare. I still watch alot of old races just to see Dale Sr doing what he loved. RIP Dale u will forever be missed.
This feature really helped me understand what was going on behind the scenes during that race and in a season I was too busy at the time to follow any more than cursorily. So much space was taken up by Dale Sr.’s loss that it was only later that I came to understand what else was at play at that time - the rise of Junior, Waltrip joining DEI, the tectonic shock losing “Big E” had on DEI, the hole left at Childress and what would become of the 3 car, etc. This documentary put the heart into those stories that had begun before that February and continued after and was incredibly moving. Like so many, my interest in NASCAR began to wane after 2001 and with the loss of Dale Sr.: though he wasn’t ever my “favorite” driver, it turned out he kinda was. Something was lost with him, somehow - an important part of what made the Winston Cup in the 80’s and 90’s so special, even while figures like Rusty Wallace and Terry Labonte were still there. Anyway, this was really, really wonderful and brought me back to that feeling and those times. Worth the watch, regardless of what some are calling “glitches” which are more likely places where RU-vid’s copyright algorithm bloodhound caught a scent.
WTF are you talking about man ? They've done a ton of things to reinvigorate the sport the new bodies are tougher so they can race harder, first street race last year possibly a 4th manufacturer coming to the sport and ratings are going up.
@@danmiller4960Be sure and let us know when NASCAR has to rebuild the back straight grandstands at Daytona and Talladega, has to remove the signage covering the back straight grandstands at other tracks. They did all of that so as not to show empty grandstands on TV because of poor attendance. Still had empty seats at most races last season. Today's upper level NASCAR events are a far cry from it's past glory. As far as the Chicago street race, you do know that NASCAR had to give a lot of tickets away to "community" members.
Very few movies, documentaries, or video footage keeps me glued to a phone screen for over 5-15 mins TOPS. THIS IS ONE THAT I'LL WATCH AGAIN AND SHARE. Because I was sooo dam into NASCAR back then. Every week, every statistic, and any information about Dale, Jr, and Mikey was a religion for my friends and I.
I remember that race. I had just become a Nascar fan, it was devastating but this documentary helped explain the feelings of those who experienced it. R.I.P Dale
Thanks for seizing this comrade ✊🏽 Id heard about this for years, wasn't gonna pAy WiTh AdS I was NOT expecting how he first meets Earnhardt on-track! 🤣😅🤣😅 Had to rewind that about ten times!
I was eight years old when it happened, me, my mom, and my dad we were glued to the tv. I was like is dale allright, while we were watching Michaels victory lane interview, and we were like, we need answers on dale. Then about three an half hrs later, my mom broke the news to me, and my dad that dale had passed away. I went from a gordan fan, to an earnhardt jr fan, to support his son career in honor of dale sr. Nascar hasn't been the same since dale left us. R.i.p Dale.
Those days were long and far between. Dale was a hellacious man and race car driver! It was the worst 1st thing that happened in 2001. He was a giant among mortals and he was always the one to beat. Look at those stands, show me another date after #3 died that could invoke that kind of feeling
This breaks my heart watching Mikey talk about this all over. I was a huge fan of Sr and all his drivers. I was watching live at a usual NASCAR Sunday party when this happened. I still can’t believe it.
I watched Dale Sr. die. I still am affected by this tragedy. He and Ernie Irvan were my drivers. I haven’t watched a full race since he passed and I’ve never watched the Daytona 500 again. These tragedies have changed my life.
Like 9/11, I will never forget where I was when Dale died. For whatever reason, I started watching NASCAR that year and was watching live. Met Jr. a few years ago and that was a dream - I always think about Jr.'s loss and pray for him often.
Wow, what a emotional documentary. I remember a little bit about racing, more about dale because he was my uncles favorite driver, but never followed it, and this brought a tear to the eyes lol crazy
I have always pulled for you Mikey and have always loved you and your personality, My wife and I got to meet you just once in the pits at RIR and you took a few moments out of your hectic scheduling to at least get a picture with her...as I was too ugly to be included. Thanks for the great memories and sharing this story...
I think Tim Richmond & Dale Earnhardt’s short rivalry would have just gotten bigger & bigger & better. If there wasn’t a #3 Dale Earnhardt then i think Tim Richmond could have drove that black “Goodwrench” car imo.
I can't help but watch the part leading up to the 2001 Daytona 500 and think... "What about Steve Park? He's at DEI, isn't he?" I know he was a part of the DALE documentary, but still, he often gets forgotten. Heck, I'd love to see his own documentary made.
I never met Dale, but I feel like I've known him my whole life. His death affected me as a close family member would have. This brought back all the emotions of that day, RIP Dale #3
My family was big Earnhardt fans. We live near Daytona and went to all of the races. When we left the track, we didn’t find out about Dale until we got home a few hours later. My Mom started crying and when watching the replay, she got really pissed-off. She said Dale should have been trying to win that race, not playing blocker for Jr. and Mikey, something he had never done in his life. She always believed that if Dale Earnhardt had been trying to win the race, he would still be alive.
So glad michael won another daytona 500 and more races because that one was brutal! Also very glad Park and Earnhard Jr. stepped in to reduce the hate on Marlin for essentially kinda causing the accident, thank god after that most fans realised how wrong they were to blame the last lap racing incident on Marlin, it happens, it just happened to be a horrible angle of impact + Schröder riding against the wall w/ Dale, did not help! May he race against his father now forever and look over all race fans!
Michael Waltrip that day went from feeling the highest of highs for winning to the absolute lowest of lows in less than an hour. I can’t even begin to imagine what that emotional roller coaster must have felt like.
Always loved Micheal waltrip, he showed a certain glimpse of brilliance that only Dale could see, and if Dale were still here today Micheal waltrip would have many more wins and opportunities
I always felt bad for Mickey because he went nearly 500 races without a win, his nest friend put him in that 15 car and he wins his first race, he went from the highest moment of his life to the worst in the same 10 mins. It's so sad but there's great moments too, it's a story book.
Michael had endured another tragedy prior to this, too. He had won the 1996 All Star Race for the Wood Bros. team.(It didn't count as a Nascar win because it's a non-points race). That win qualified him to race in it the following year (1997-Michael finished 17th). On the way home after the race, Leonard Wood and his family were in a 4 car crash on I-85 that that killed Leonards wife, and badly injured him, their daughter, and grandchild. Another grandchild, and son in law, were ok. A vehicle had crossed the interstate median (2 in this vehicle were also killed) and hit the Wood's van head on. Two vehicles that were behind them also hit their van during the wreck. A nurse had stopped at the scene to help, and probably saved the daughters life. It was another very sad time for NASCAR.
Well one positive thing that can be taken from this is nobody knows really who won which Daytona 500 but everyone knows Sr. won it in 1998 an Michael won it in 2001
Glitches or no glitches, the intimidator has always had my respect and deserves my attention to watch any media available on his legacy. I became an Earnhardt fan at the age of 5 when my grandfather and I bet on who would win. $5 on the line (which I never received lol) I chose that black #3 cause I was my favorite car. He chose Bill Elliot.
February 18th 2001 my 21st birthday i still remember that daytona 500 always a die hard fan of Dale Earnhardt still couldn't believe he died that day worst day in Nascar history I still remember that day like it was yesterday too
Pretend the glitches are from mikee bugging the video producers editors and talking too much.great nascar video.im gonna watchlisten to it again when i work on my racecar
Dale defending the position means - Let my kids fighting for this win!" Oh man the way they overcome that moment to create another unforgettable and magic moment at the same track it's like coming home after all they have to get through 😭🫶❤️❤️❤️🍾🏆🏁 What Michael & Darell at Nascar were - it's for European the Schumacher brothers from F1 what an emotional & thankful documentation of this iconic lifetime story and that iconic and surely saddest moment in the history of NASCAR 🙏🙏🍀😇🍾🏆🫶❤️
