If Dale Earnhardt Were Alive Today ...

by 4ever3 on May 1, 2008 1:16 AM EDT

I was crawling the Internet looking for some NASCAR related media when I stumbled upon this article written by Ben White (Senior Editor NASCAR Illustrated) entitled "One Great Man, One Simple Question".

What Ben did was ask many people in the NASCAR Garage area ranging from drivers to owners and from former crew members to Dale Jr himself, one simple question, "What would Dale Earnhardt’s life be like if he were here today?"

Everyone seemed to echo the same responses; he would be hunting more, he would be heavily involved with DEI, Dale Jr would still be at DEI, when Dale spoke NASCAR listened, etc., but two comments really stuck out for me. One was Elliott Sadler's (driver, #19 Dodge):

"Dale was really good at talking to the young drivers just getting into the Cup series. He was always giving the rookies hints and advice. I think the kids coming into the sport would have a better attitude about things. They wouldn’t be so hotheaded and ‘punkish.’

"Dale Earnhardt really knew how to put you in your place and set you straight. He reminded you how hard to race each other, how to take care of each other and to make sure you took care of the fans and sponsors. He was a great role model."

The other statement I found interesting was Kenny Wallace's (part time driver and Speed TV analyst):

"If not for the death of Dale Earnhardt, the soft walls wouldn’t be as prominent and the HANS device wouldn’t be as popular — you might even be called a wimp if you had one. All of the state-of-the-art safety equipment might not be inside these race cars today. His death was not in vain.

He was very influential with Mr. France and Mike Helton because they truly listened to what Dale had to say. Dale filled up the grandstands, just like his boy does today. I truly feel the sport would be headed in an entirely different direction. That’s how strong Dale Earnhardt was. If he were alive, we may not even have the car of tomorrow."

Wow. You know, there might be some truth in that statement.

Certainly Dale was old school, but I do honestly think that he would have seen the light as far as safety is concerned - he was always concerned with Dale Jr's safety - and Dale was not a stupid man, he and Richard Childress made improvements in their race cars after Dale's huge crash at Talladega that NASCAR later mandated for all other teams. But I do think more people would have been injured (or even died) needlessly before NASCAR would have acted like they did when Dale died.

The speedy advances in safety and the like would probably have taken longer to be introduced for sure. I think things like the HANs device would have made their way into NASCAR, but they would have be more optional at first rather than a requirement. Would Dale have worn a HANs? Probably not, but I think he would have worn an early version of the Hutchens Device which was less restrictive than the HANs at the time and was being tested by RCR through Bobby Hutchens, the General Manager for RCR.

Would we have the CoT? Don't know. Maybe, to some degree anyway, but it would probably look different than it is now.

As Jeff Gordon stated in the article, Dale tried to look at every issue from all points (driver, NASCAR, sponsors, etc.) and then make his decision and certainly that side of him would have eventually seen the need for safety improvements, just how long would that have taken? Don't know.

So maybe Kenny is right when he said that the sport of NASCAR would be headed in a totally different direction. I think NASCAR would maybe not be as safe as it is now, but still better than it was when Dale died.

So what is your take on this? Here is an added bonus question, "If Dale Earnhardt were here today, would we have the Chase format?"

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Yes I think the Chase would have been implemented. Just after Dale got number 8. I wonder what Dale would have thought about Winston leaving or ALL the older bullrings were taken off the circuit. I do not think he would have been too happy with that, excuse me I KNOW he wouldn't.

by Tiredawg on May 1, 2008 5:56 AM EDT reply actions

I think he would have gone along with the Chase. I'm pretty sure he would have openly advocated the SAFER barriers, in fact, I seem to remember that he did advocate that something be done to protect the driver from the concrete walls.
He was against the restrictor plate, but he made a science of plate racing.
I don't mean this to seem as though I'm making light of anything, but, because he needed freedom of movement to race, if he were forced by rules to wear a HANS device, it very possibly could have caused him injury.

by RevJim on May 1, 2008 7:53 AM EDT reply actions

Wasn't most of the 'bull rings' already gone by 2001? And I think Dale was ahead of his time when it came to the financial side of racing and being successful.

Just as Dale switched sponsors from time to time, he did it because of the dollars and benefits involved.

He had a history of 'ignoring' better safety equipment (see his open faced helmet) and I think the HANS and Hutchens devices were available before 2001 as well.

It is not that Dale was wrong for not taking advantage of them, as I am sure he had his own personal reasons and preferences. But sometimes the governing body has to step in and make thing mandatory even though a 'legend' doesn't like them.

by okla21fan on May 1, 2008 8:57 AM EDT reply actions

I may be wrong on this but it unfortunately took the loss of Dale for NASCAR to really step up and deal with driver safety I think.

My memory is fuzzy but I don't recall a huge rush from NASCAR to install safety barriers, implement mandatory HANS etc after Kenny Irwin, Jr or Adam Petty were killed.

by Ernie on May 1, 2008 9:57 AM EDT reply actions

Dawg,
You are right he didn't like it. Dale did know about Winston's departure and he didn't like it either. He spoke out against the gov't's interference in tobacco advertising several times.

RevJim,
I seem to recall something about safer barriers too, but can't quite place it.
As far as the restrictor plate racing goes, he was against it for sure. In fact he spoke out against the particular areo package that NASCAR had them using at the time of his death and said that they should just get rid of the plates instead of using the packages.

Okla,
You are right about the financial side of Dale - he saw where the money was and went for it - he took car of his sponsors.

As far as the open faced helmet goes, Dale actually thought he was being safety aware by wearing one. He even insisted that Dale Jr wear one too. Why? Because it was not as heavy as a full faced helmet and therefore put less strain and g-force on your neck during a crash thus potentially causing less injury. Jr switched to a full faced helmet after his daddy's death. As far as the HANs and Hutchens devices go, I'm pretty sure the HANs was already available prior to Dale's death but was mostly used in open wheel and road racing (drag racing too to some extent), and the Hutchens was still in the developmental stages (that I know for sure).

I agree, it is up to the sanctioning body to implement these things, not the drivers. Unfortunatley it cost NASCAR several up and comer drivers and it's current super star before it REACTED - nothing proactive about it - and started instituting these 'safer' policies.

Ernie,
Bang on brother!

by 4ever3 on May 1, 2008 10:43 PM EDT reply actions