Dale Earnhardt....sorry BUT.....

[slypnslyde]

Excuse me.....and I'm sure I'll make a lot of enemies with
this one BUT.....
I understand that Dale Earnhardt was a good driver...I have nothing but sympathy for his family and friends...but the way he's been typified in the press and all you'd think he was the second coming of christ...I know people in the racing community...and forgive me if I'm wrong but...wasnt he basically just another redneck who learned to drive running shine for his uncle? I dont get it...I can drive my car in a big circle at 202 miles an hour and if I died people would consider me a stupid fuck...to all of you Dale fans who now hate me remember...none of us get out of this one alive...he died doing something he loved (no matter how dumb) and the possibility of doing that is rare...love him and let him go...this is getting really annoying...

 

[Wizard]

180 miles per hour....................

 

[Cheyenne]

180 miles per hour....................

Wasn't it 185? Get the details right!

 

[Wizard]

I thought the paper said 181 really ,but not 200 or 202.........

 

[Wizard]

But the average speed is around 180..................

 

[slypnslyde]

does it really matter how fast?

 

[Handy-Andy]

182 , it said over here in the U.K.

 

[Wizard]

It does if you hit the wall.....................

 

[slypnslyde]

besides those cars are regulated now....it used to be in the 200s....

 

[Cheyenne]

Yes, it matters. The man was the second coming of Christ, remember? You need to make sure all the details are correct for the telling of the story to future generations of red necks as they run their shine.

 

[Wizard]

The truck race in time trials were running in the 190's till they made them make the rear spoilers lagers to slow them down..............

 

[slypnslyde]

lmao...cheyenne it doesnt matter....in 10 years it will be 220...and he will have been out in front....

 

[Cheyenne]

lmao...cheyenne it doesnt matter....in 10 years it will be 220...and he will have been out in front....

Isn't that what all good legends are made of? 8 parts truth and 2 parts fiction?

 

[Cheyenne]

Hey, didn't want this thread to slip too far yet for those not ready to love him and let him go!

Actually, I wanted to add that I thought the same thing you do now until about 7 or 8 months ago. NASCAR drivers and fans had to be red neck guys from the south, right? I was wrong. That may be the roots of the sport, but it is national now complete with big business involvement, corporate sponsors, etc.

Someone I met last year is a NASCAR fanatic, and a Dale Earnhardt fanatic in particular. I took the time to try to learn something about the sport because it was important to him, not because I had any real interest in becoming a NASCAR fan. But I was surprised at what I learned. The number of fans that attend these races each week is unbelieveable. It isn't a small time sport by any stretch of the imagination.

I was even more surprised to find out how many NASCAR fans I already knew. I have a little black #3 car in my office- reminds me of my friend when I see it so I keep it in clear view. So many people who stop in my office comment on that car. First, they are shocked that I have it and know who drives (drove) #3. Then they tell me all about their personal favorite driver! It has improved communication with some of the employees who normally wouldn't have said more than 3 or 4 words to me! And now that it is "acceptable" to be a NASCAR fan, some of them are wearing their NASCAR clothing to work on casual Fridays. By the way, I've even gotten comments from other senior management. They are closet NASCAR fans, it seems. Surprised the hell out of me.

 

[Madame Pandora]

Okay...

Now, I was as shocked as anyone when this happened. I've watched NASCAR since I was a kid and Dale has always been around.

I didn't like him as a driver, but I respected him in the sport. And I hate to see ANYONE die in a sport. It’s all supposed to be about fun and competition no matter the danger. When someone gets hurt or dies, it is a wound to the sport. And Nascar was brutally wounded by Dale’s death.

Yes, people tend to go a little over the top. Every kid who dies in high school was an honor student, etc. But, in this case, whether you liked him or hated him, you couldn't argue that he was pretty much the top of the food chain.

This would be like Michael Jordan slam-dunking the winning basket in the last moment of the series, bashing his head on the backboard, and dying. It would make Basketball fans crumble to their knees.

I do get a little irritated with the overblown importance of it. Hell, I had to flip channels and scour the web to find out how the fucking space shuttle was doing.

But, NASCAR is not regional. So...a person in California could have the same favorite driver as someone in Florida. And, the last time I was in Indy, they explained that the Nascar Brickyard race drew the second largest annual crowd to ANY sporting event worldwide (second only to the Indy 500, btw). And this guy's death did affect a lot of people.

It's easy to roll our eyes and say "come on, it's just a redneck who used to drive in circles..." but the bottom line is that a lot of people enjoyed that redneck. And, in this day and age when there is so much to make us cringe in disgust, it doesn't hurt anything to have some genuine feelings of grief over someone who gave us enjoyment.

Yeah...I know. I got a little tired of the whole Princess Diana bit, too, but she meant a lot to many people, as did JFK Jr. So let them grieve.

Hell, I'd rather see clips of Nascar on the news than another meaningless Republican probe into Democrat X to divert attention from the fact that we have a moron in office.

MP

 

[Nobody Special]

does it really matter how fast?

No it doesn't matter Esp. if his safety straps were cut like they are trying to say they were..
Investigation continues..
E

 

[Cheyenne]

does it really matter how fast?

No it doesn't matter Esp. if his safety straps were cut like they are trying to say they were..
Investigation continues..
E

Post a link to any place where they are saying his safety straps "were cut."

There is none that I have seen.