Tony Stewart sits down with Dan Patrick and talks about that fateful Daytona 500 in 2001 that claimed the life of NASCAR legend, Dale Earnhardt.
#NASCAR #daleearnhardt #daytona500
2001 Daytona you end up crashing the sport lost D Earnhardt Senor in that race looking back on that what do you remember about your crash all I remember I was we were three wide coming off a turn two I was the car on the very bottom um I think Robbie Gordon was next to me and Ward Burton was outside of him or vice versa but whoever the outside guy was hit the wall they came off hit the guy next to him that guy hit me and it turned me to the right and the wall and that’s the first thing I remembered after hitting the wall was the car being stopped and kind of coming to and not really knowing what’s going on and Bobby labani is staring at me through the window going are you all right I’m like yeah I’m fine he goes you know if we got to cut the top off we can cut the top off and I’m like I I don’t no I don’t want to do that I don’t want to hurt the car he goes I don’t think you need to worry about that I had no idea what had just happened and what what the status was but I I I said what happened he goes you landed on top of me I was running third he was running 23rd and I landed on top of him so I but I had no idea I said you’re oh it was Prett I’ll tell you about it later yeah that you go to the hospital uh when you’re in the hospital when do you find out that D or har Senor is in an accident uh when they accidentally rolled me in the same room he was in so I I had already been there i’ they had done all the scans on me uh they went to put me back in a room and they had already put Dale in the same room they accidentally put me in there and I was only in there a second but I I knew when I saw Dale it wasn’t good how’s that affect you I thought I had a bad day I realized that my bad day wasn’t a bad day at all and if you see the crashes yours is horrific senior just when he crashes at the angle that he crashes in that was you know in that accident after Dale’s accident sparked a whole new Revolution in driver safety in our sport but at that time we didn’t have soft walls we didn’t have head and neck restraints um and like you said my crash looked a lot worse than his his just he went and he hit with such force and it just stopped mine just kept going and going and going and it dissipated the energy I had one cut and a bunch of bruises and his was a lot more dramatic
38 Comments
Later on that night I rolled my Monte Carlo at 87mph. Young and dumb, unfortunately.
TONY SHOULD BE IN PRISON RIGHT NOW FOR MURDER MHM!!🤬
Was clueless about this story , how very sad.🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼
😢❤
Tony Stewart should be in jail killed race driver and I'm not surprised was him who did it the asshole
I've lost count of the number of men I watched die on live TV. It's definitely worn away the shine of the sport for me.
i wish i could like him………… i just……..
Kinetics in crashes. When I saw Tony's crash wow. The crash that Austin Dillion had at Daytona. They looked so bad. Dales crash looked nasty but not life threatening to me then. I was so wrong.
I was help a friend do his roof listening to the race, I passed out, when I woke up I thought I had dreamed Dale is dead. then realized it was so. Bummer of a day.
We, my husband and I were watching when the crash happened. People started calling, asking if my husband was OK. It was like a family member had died. He feels NASCAR was never the same
Murderer…..
🛑🛑 NASCAR Died with Dale Earnhart! 💯
23 years later I still can’t watch Dale highlights without bursting into tears. I didn’t have a father to look up to growing up. All I had was Dale. I’ll never forget his last win. Dale was a real Superman that day.
Tony Stewart killed a man on a small town race track. Ask him about that. He ran that man over.
Isn't ernie ervan the only driver to survive bsf?
Dale Sr. Was an A**hole, it was ok for him to Trade Paint on other Drivers. But nobody better touch him. His Ego is what put him into the Wall.
How do you get the crap stains out of a nascar fans underwear?
I remember that race very well… when Dale hit the wall.. i mean.. it really didnt look that bad…. what a shock. Like Tony said his crash looked much worse.. it was just unbelievable at the time. I still think they should have then or they need to now retire the #3 forever. Its crazy to me.. they retire all these jersey numbers of pro players.. most of whom are still alive… Dale actually died doing what he loved to do..race…and died trying to protect his son's track position…if ever a number needs to be retired…its # 3. To me Nascar has dropped the ball on this one. I know i'll get some flack from Jimmy Johnson fans and Richard Petty Fans..but to me.. Earnhardt was the GOAT of Nascar.
To me that was the day Nascar died. I was a fan since the 70's watching Richard Petty. When he announced he wanted to retire i had to find another driver to route for and when i heard intimidator i knew i found mt driver. Been a fan ever since
Dale was the causation of the crash
Worse day ever !! NASCAR hasn’t been or ever will be the same since Dale died.
Remember when Tony killed that guy?
I never even knew Tony was at the hospital the same time Dale was when he was pronounced Dead. Very sad to hear that would definitely haunt him forever that he witnessed it
Tony should be in jail for that NY state thing. More proof that a different set of rules… apply.
I did not like Earnhardt senior if he hit you it was ok but you hit him then all h come at you reminds me of players I once played with you were a sob but they thought it was ok to wreck you 🤬
Who?
They asked Dale who's the best besides you he said Tony Stewart
Tony is a murderer
Tony is a murderer.
“I thought I had a bad day, I realized my day wasn’t a bad day at all” is a line that hits deep. You never know what someone is going through so if you can look at the bright side of things and keep pushing. Be thankful you wake up and get to breathe every day
Get a grip people act like he was some kind of superhero! He was a great prick bully racer! Get over it just let him in peace alreay
Tony Stewart you will always be a Narcissus chicken shit driver .
It would be a massive no no for a hospital to roll another patient in the same room with a deceased patient. Stewart sounds like he's trying to somehow steal some kind of thunder by saying that.
Seriously doubt that.
Dale Sr. Will Always be remembered for a long time and, Nascar hasn't been the same since Dale Sr. 😢😢
I saw it live and like most other people, it didn't look like it a bad accident. It wasn't until later that I heard Dale had died as a result. As Tony says, that accident is what resulted in the head and neck restraints. I think I heard Dale died from a broken neck. Yes, kudos to both Ken and Tony for not sharing details.
I was only 8 when this happened…over 2 decades later I had never said this to anyone but like most…i remember that day very clearly.. —
I was/am a huge Rusty Wallace fan (or 2 fan i should say) and at my age I truly don't think I could grasp the risk these men actually put themselves into week in and week out… It just kind of seemed like a video game of some sorts in my young mind..
I don't have many regrets..but one of them is hoping.. you could even say praying that dale would crash the same race, the same day, maybe half way into the race…sitting in the bathroom upset rusty wasn't doing the best..
This was one of those regrets that I learned a very lot from and will never forget. Especially the look on my father's face after he saw Kenny waving for help.. and the whole rest of the night. things got very quiet and very dark.. with me knowing what I had wished for just an hour before.. and although he didn't say exactly what happened, I knew.
I've never told anyone that and I think about it anytime I see anything related to that day.. and following that day, I was extremely ashamed of myself…even knowing fhat at the time I onky wished for that was so rusty would win the race…not so he would be harmed..
i learned alot about life that day.
luckily just a month later we took a trip from NY to FL and visited Daytona and i got to pay my respects and left him a picture I drew and telling him I just didn't know…. and that I was sorry..
The sport died that day. And was buried when Dale Jr retired. Racing aint never been the same since.
Dale's impact speed was only around 35mph.