Remembering Dale Earnhardt:

Driver Reaction To The Tragedy

This page shows just what the other drivers thought of Dale Earnhardt...  Not only the fans admired Dale Earnhardt...  He was admired for his ability by every other driver as well as owners, crew members, and other people involved in the sport.  He was a hero and a mentor to them; someone to be looked up to; someone to set the mark for excellence!  These are the men who were Dale's friends as well as his competitors.  He was well liked by all of them, despite the occasional run ins on the track!

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Richard Petty
"We shared a common bond in championships as well as a mutual respect.
Our family has raced against his family since this sport began,
going back to when my dad and I raced against Ralph Earnhardt."

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Dale Earnhardt and Richard Petty are the two most popular drivers in NASCAR history!
They are tied for the record of seven Winston Cup Championships!

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Dale passes Richard on the track
 

Kyle Petty
"He was the last cowboy."  "No matter where it happens or how it happens or even
how prepared you think you might be for it, losing somebody close
to you hurts.  My heart just breaks for Theresa and the family."

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Rusty Wallace
"Patti and I are both having a hard time dealing with this. It's such a tragic loss.
We're grieving just like so many people are today with such a loss.

 He and I were about as close of friends as you can get in our sport with the competition
and all that goes along with it.  We've had some helluva battles out there on the race
track through the years, but we've had so many good times off the track.

 I can't help but think about all the fun we've had out on the water with the big boats
and all.  We've had some helluva good times out on the boats down in the
Bahamas.  We were both on the boats down in Daytona for all those days.
All the ups and downs we've both experienced...that all comes to mind.

 I just keep on running that last lap in my mind and keep saying to myself,
'Man, if I'd just been able to give him a little tap from the rear...that could have
meant all the difference in the world.'  It's just a helpless feeling I have.

 I have to think (about) the way it happened, and where it happened...he and his old
 buddy Neil Bonnet are up there doing something fun together right now.  It's just
 such a hard blow to the sport for everybody involved and for me personally.

 Patti and I both want extend our thoughts, prayers and sympathy to Teresa, Taylor Nicole,
Dale Jr., Kerry, Kelley and the whole Earnhardt family.  Our hearts go out to all of them, to all
his many fans and friends all over the world and especially to all the employees at
Dale Earnhardt, Inc., and at Richard Childress Racing."

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Rusty pays tribute to Dale after winning the NAPA Auto Parts 500 at California Speedway
(April 29, 2001) by displaying an Earnhardt flag as he takes his Polish victory lap.

 

Jeff Gordon
"Brooke and I are deeply saddened by this devastating loss.  Not only is it a huge loss for this
sport, but a huge loss for me personally.  Dale taught me so much and became a great
friend.  Our thoughts and prayers are with Teresa and the entire Earnhardt family."

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Dale Jarrett
"As millions of race fans mourn the loss of the man they knew as 'The Intimidator,' the sport and
the race that he truly loved has taken from me one of my best friends.  I know I should feel fortunate
that I had the opportunity to race with, tangle with, sometimes outrun, and like most usually
finish behind, the greatest driving talent NASCAR racing has ever seen."

 I am thankful for that opportunity but, more importantly, I am most grateful that I had the chance to know Dale Earnhardt in a way that so many people could only dream of.  He was a true friend -- someone I could always depend on to give me an honest answer and, at the very least, his opinion. I looked up to him not only because of his driving skills, but because he was so much more to so
many people, including me and my family. Kelley and I choose to remember this incredible
racer for his caring and giving personality."

 "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Teresa and the kids in this time of mourning. But knowing
Dale, he would rather this be a celebration of his amazing accomplishments.  This, we will do in
his honor.  Just know, Dale, that we love you and we all are truly going to miss you.
Thanks for making our sport what it is today and for being my friend."

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Tony Stewart
"Dale Earnhardt made a difference in the world.  On the track, he made us all better drivers because he set a standard of excellence we all aspired to achieve.  He had a passion and a desire that took the sport of NASCAR to a new level every time he climbed in the car.  Off the track he was a kind, giving, loving man who gave his all to his family and friends.  He worked tirelessly to make the world
 a better place for as many people as possible who were less fortunate than he.  I did not know
him as long as most of the other drivers, but he made a huge impact on my life in the years I have
been in NASCAR.  I am grateful and blessed to have had the benefit of his wisdom and guidance.
My heart and prayers go out to his wife Teresa; his children Dale Jr., Kerry, Kelley
and Taylor; and to all his family and friends."

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Michael Waltrip
"My heart is hurting right now.  I would rather be any
place right this moment than here.  It's so painful."
(spoken immediately after finding out about Dale's death in victory lane.)

Jeremy Mayfield
"I don't know what to say.  This is incredible, just incredible.  I think everybody is just in shock right now.  I didn't see much of what happened up there (in the fourth turn).  After the race was over, I heard things didn't look very good but, man, Earnhardt.  You figure he'll bounce right back. Your first thought is, hey, he'll probably come back next week at Rockingham and beat us all.  "My heart
goes out to Theresa and Dale Jr., Kerry and Kelley, and to Taylor Nicole."

"One of the biggest thrills of my career was the deal last year at Pocono.  You
  know he never said anything to me about that?  He came over and gave me
  that grin of his, and that was like his seal of approval."

John Andretti
"I feel like somebody kicked me in the chest. I'm stunned,
and I'm really sad.  That's about all I can say."

Bill France Jr. (Chairman of NASCAR)
"NASCAR has lost its greatest driver ever, and I personally have lost a great friend."
 

Richard Childress
"Words cannot express the tremendous loss all of us at Richard Childress Racing are feeling at this time. All of our thoughts and prayers and deepest sympathies are with Martha, Teresa, Kerry, Kelley, Dale, Jr. and Taylor Nicole and the entire Earnhardt family.

 Dale Earnhardt was much more than a race car driver.  He was a very loving husband
and a proud father and grandfather.  He was a successful businessman.  He was also
a hero to millions of racing fans throughout the world.

 Dale was my friend.  We hunted and raced together.  We laughed and cried together.  We were able to work side-by-side and have the success we had for almost 20 years because we were friends first."

 "I will miss him always.  He was the greatest."
 

Bobby Labonte
"I, like everyone else, am in shock with the passing of Dale Earnhardt.  Besides being an incredible driver and spokesman for the sport he so loved, he was a true friend and has been a major influence on my life and career.  Understandably, my family's thoughts are with Teresa, Kerry, Kelly, Dale Jr., and Taylor Nicole as well as all of the employees and their families at Richard Childress Racing and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated.  May God bless all of them and watch over them in this time of need."
 

Johnny Benson
"There is really nothing I can say right now.  I found out about Dale after I got home (Cornelius, NC) tonight.  I'm very sad.  NASCAR lost its greatest driver and probably the greatest driver it will ever have.  My heart goes out to his family, his crew, his friends and his fans.  There is no better group of fans in our sport and I feel for them tonight also.  Our sport will go on, but I don't think it will
ever be the same. NASCAR is about family, and I can't think of a time in its history when it needs to pull together like a family.  I know everyone on our team and our entire sport sends its condolences to everyone hurting."
 

Ron Hornaday
"Dale and Teresa changed my life with a simple phone call, and I will be forever
  grateful to them both for having that confidence in me."
 

Shawna Robinson
"You might look at him and think he was the biggest chauvinist around, but he would always help me if I had a question or a
problem.  He was not the kind of guy who would cut you one bit of slack on the race track, but he would do whatever he could
to help you off of it."
 

Jeff Green
"Dale Earnhardt was to NASCAR what Elvis was to rock and roll.  He meant everything to this sport.  He's my idol, what I want to be.  I won't be the only driver to tell you this, but I want to be as good as he was.  That's my focus--to get there."
 

Jimmy Spencer
"I really don't know what to say.  I can't believe Dale Earnhardt isn't with us anymore and that he's not going to be out there every week in that black number three.  There isn't anyone I loved racing more than him because he was the best and you always want to challenge yourself against the best."

 "The thing about Dale Earnhardt is that there were two Dale Earnhardts...  The Dale Earnhardt that raced you for every inch on the race track, and the Dale Earnhardt who cared about making people happy.  He loved my dad and he loved my mom.  Every time he saw me he'd ask how my mom and dad were doing.  Every time he saw my mom he grabbed her hand and would stop and
talk for a minute.  He did it just last week at Daytona."

"I've got so many Dale Earnhardt stories I could write a book.  I  remember he came to my mom and dad's house in Berwick (Pa.) and I'll never forget it.  We crashed three or four cars one night in my dad's junkyard and just had a great time afterwards just laughing and eating dinner.  Then there was the time in 1988 when we raced up Route 136 from his old shop in Kannapolis to his new facility.
It was late at night.  He had a pickup and I had a pickup and he beat me.
He never let me forget that and rubbed it in every chance he got."

 "I'll miss him.  There isn't one person in NASCAR that won't say they'll miss him.  I was talking to my dad today and I said to him, 'What are we gonna do as drivers?'  We all congregated around him.  He was always one of the first drivers to go out for pre race introductions and I don't care if you were Rusty Wallace or Dale Jarrett or who it was, we all talked to him because he was the guy."

 "That 3 car scared every driver because they knew what was coming.  Dale Earnhardt never gave up.  He didn't care if he was five laps down, you were going to have to work to get past him.  He would race you just as hard for 20th as he would for the win and us as competitors all realized that and expected that from him."

 "I said some things a few weeks ago that looking back in hindsight I wish I could take back.  I'm sorry for what I said, but at the time I felt I needed to speak up because T. Wayne (Robertson) was like a father to me, and I just felt that Dale Earnhardt the race car driver should have been there.  I don't mean to slight any of the other top drivers in our sport, but if there was an autograph session and it
 was Dale Earnhardt against anybody else in the garage area, he would outdraw them two or three to one.  Why? Because they want to meet John Wayne.  He could probably outdraw any professional athlete in the world and maybe even the President of the United States.  He had that kind of power."

 "It's really hard to express just how sad I am.  All I can think about is Teresa and
 the whole Earnhardt family.  Our thoughts and prayers go out to them."

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Dale clowns around with Ward Burton, Dale Jarrett, Rusty Wallace, and Dale Earnhardt Jr.
 

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Dale talking to Dale Jarrett and Rusty Wallace
 

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Dale Talks to a group of drivers
 

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Dale chatting with Rusty and Sterling Marlin........Dale chatting with Schrader and Jarrett..........
 

Dale fooling around with Gordon, Jarrett, and Jeff Burton
 

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Dale chats with the Wallace brothers and Bill Elliott.....Dale chats with some of the drivers from
............................................................................................days gone by, including Davie Allison.
 

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Dale with Dick Trickle.......................................................................................................
 

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Dale with Darrell Waltrip
 

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Dale with Jeff Burton
 

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Dale with Mark Martin
 

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Dale with Mike Skinner
 

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Dale with Terry Labonte
 

Dale with Sterling Marlin
 

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Dale with Dave Marcis
 

From left to right: Jeff Burton, Tony Stewart, Bobby Labonte,
Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt, Ward Burton.
 

Steve Park honors Dale by winning the first race after Dale's death.
 

The crew members will miss Dale too...
They saluted him by holding up banners before the race the next week.