I know for sure I do.

Quite frankly,

Nascar lost a lot of appeal for me since Dale has been gone.

Don't really know quite why, save for it just hasn't seemed nor "felt" the same to me since that race.

No one has been able to step up and fill his shoes,

and I do not believe anyone will.

have a good day,

schinde

Amen.

I can say I miss Dale as a personality, but not as a driver. That is certainly not to speak ill of the deceased, as i've heard he was a great guy to know, but as a driver he was as dirty as they come. Nascar has been on in my house since ive been born, as i'm sure many of yours as well, and Ive never understood this seemingly cultish following for Dale Sr. If somebody drove you that way on a local level theres a chance you'd be in his pit with a crow bar, but for some reason people loved it from him. I always kinda thought it was the "new breed" nascar fan, but im sure theres members on here that have been around it longer than me. Myself, i miss guys Like Pearson, Allsion (both Davey and Bobby) Tim Richmond, and many more. these guys were hardnose tough race car drivers who could get around you without running ya over. JMO

Yes but Dale Sr. was from this era of drivers that you miss. Most of the stuff you so speak of actually happened tenfold more in those days. I too miss him and yes since his early passing cup has changed tremendously. And Matt you are absolutely correct in saying noone will fill his shoes

See, I diddnt really see it that way, it seemed that most of the drivers from the 70's era were more concerned with settin up the slingshot, then getting into somebody. Now thats certainly not to say that they diddnt get into each other, but i think it was alot less and not very accepted(hence the yarborough allison fight) I think Dale was involved in a changing of the guard so to speak, as the older drivers left the newer ones came along and learned that things like the "dump and run" were ok from Dale. I think Dale is largely responsible for the product we have today... both good and bad. Days of thunder coined "rubbin is racin" and dale executed it in real life. It's not for me but i guess it sells tickets.

Especially since we lost Dale, but as we lose all of these great veteran drivers who came from an era of racing for grocery money with holes in their jeans... We also lose the meaning behind what NASCAR was originally about.

Now it's a rich-kid pretty-boy politically-correct advertising circus.

It's everything that Dale Sr. HATED about the modern era of motorsports.

We miss Dale, but mostly I think we miss RACING.

Mike

VERY well put!

Dale Sr. used the " bump & run " all the time. Ask D.W. It seems when one passes away you tend to remeber the good over the bad. That being said watch some old video of Sr. He is constantly putting the fender to somebody. The kind of stuff Tony Stewart gets find for or "warned " about. The after death following is kind of creepy too. As my late father would say:He was a s.o.b. driver and now he's gone, He's a saint? Scheech.....

I think that's what the problem is right there. The problem isn't that Dale did this type of stuff, it's that now all of a sudden racers are supposd to be "polite and respectful" to each other on the track and that's not what it's supposed to be all about.

NASCAR never tried to "officiate" racing like they do now until Dale died. He stood up for what racing is and always was supposed to be. Now it's 90% orchestrated political B.S. that quite frankly doesn't interest us anymore, or at least not nearly as much.

Whether you were an Earnhardt fan or not, that is the summary of what his death has done to NASCAR.

They could play some of the races during the week now to compete with daytime soaps....


Mike

I agree. Until Sr. died they were letting prettty much everything go. But now its like no matter what you do your either getting fined or losing points cuz of it. Let them go out there and race. As long as nothing is done on purpose or rather with the intent to injure someone let it go.

I believe where Dale is missed is in the garage. He took more then one young rookie off to the side and schooled him privately. He had an effect on the sport that created a balance between the drivers and the brass. When he spoke, France and the boys listened, and he is influence in rules and procedures was heavy inside NASCARS glass palace. But when he spoke in the garage, drivers listened as well. He was a leader among them and many looked to him for advice as well as keeping NASCAR in check.

I met the man, spent time talking with him, worked with him on a magazine article and quickly realized he was probably one of the most misunderstood drivers there ever was. That was probably because as simple as he seemed, he was actually a very complicated individual. Withdrawn at times, out spoken at times, silent at times, temperamental at times and extremely good at handing out jokes and pulling gags at times. He was focused and an extremely smart business man. While some considered him an 8 th grade drop out who lacked education and smarts, he actually was an extremely intelligent man.

I had a great deal of respect for him and enjoyed at times being around him. At other times I stayed clear of him as he had his days and could be a real bear.

Chris

That is the part to miss. I don't think most of this crap that Nascar has been pulling the past few years would be going on if Dale Sr was still alive and racing. And I wonder if there would be this darn COT?

It is, what it is!!!!

Thats the best way to put it there.

Mike, you put that down so pinpoint accurate! I agree.

Back in the day people used to say "he's the driver you love to hate". Dale Sr was either loved or despised. I respected him for his accomplishments. My wife was and still is a fan of SR ( she misses him on the track) I don't think it's morbid at all that he still has a following. In some respects he's a cult hero. It's in the same respect that people are fans of dead rock stars like Curt Cobain, Jimmy Hendricks, Jim Morrison.....etc.

Armani,
I know what you mean by a cultish following. We have two Dale Earnhardt cars at the Kruse Automobile Museum near Auburn and this one we take to special events like the Three Rivers festival where I took this photo and where I sat for three days and you're right, I think when you turn the lights off at night there is a heavenly glow to this car. People just have to touch it, it's like it heals some people. I was also a Dale Earnhardt fan and a piece of me left NASCAR racing when he died but I can touch his car anytime.

I missed the racing.

If they go I won't miss: the chase, the soap opera, the 5 hours of pre-race coverage that goes on and on about who said what after the last race

You know, you might just be onto something here Gavin.

Think about it. The Chase comes about after Dale dies.

The NFL type "buildup show" comes after Dale dies.

The "who said what about who" comes about after Dale dies.

The racing has not been the same since Dale died.

A lot about Nascar has changed after Dale died.

Kinda like it lost it's soul.

At least I think so.

have a good day,

schinde

I miss the good racing, mostly. Yes, Dale brought great personality to the sport, you either loved him or you hated him. I personally did both. I loved him on his good days (when he crashed or finished in the back...oh, c'mon, i had to add it!! tehe) and hated him when he dominated and shoved my guy out of the way. I guess it goes both ways. I do miss his loyalty to staying true to the sport and what racing is and was all about!

TRG

I find myself wondering...how much of the current popularity decline in NASCAR...can be attributed to the inability of the media and the fans to GET OVER his death?

He's been gone nearly SEVEN YEARS...yet he's mentioned EVERY race and they still sell his souvenirs...including slapping a #3 on stuff he never drove...anyone for a black #3 COT?

Racing is a dangerous game, drivers die...grieve and then race on!

You don't hear F1 guys talk about Aryton Senna every race.

Note...while ALIVE...he...NEVER won the "Most Popular Driver" Award. Not ONCE! Where the hell were all these fans back then?

Reminds me of when Elvis died...Frank Sinata was creditied with saying it was a "good career move!"

Anyone miss Davey Allison? Alan Kulwicki? Adam Petty? Kenny Irwin?....

I miss all those guys Bob! I also miss Neil Bonnett!!!! Davey was my fav driver in Cup before he died. Then after that I just stopped even liking the 28 car altogether and jumped on the Gordon bandwagon (even before he won a single cup race people!)

Bob,

Kind of like anyone else that passes,

Yes, I was saddened with Aryton's passing.

I can even remember feeling out of sorts so to speak, when Eddie Sach's was killed at Indy.

Stan Perry's passing left a hollow feeling in me that will always be there.

Dale wasn't a media darling, never wanted to be.

But, Dale meant a lot to the sport of stock car racing, from his family roots, to his particular era, to what he represented when he was on the track.

For that reason, he is missed by many, and I am among them.

He represented for the modern era, the throwback driver, the one who definitely was the every man's driver, and someone that many of us as drivers could look to for that drive to get it done.

No way can what he meant to the sport in general be denied, nor can his memory.

And it cannot be denied that when he was killed, this sport lost an icon.

And it has been for the worse.

Just my thoughts on it,

I miss the guy.

have a good day,

schinde

Davey was a great race car driver in his short career, he would have went on to do great things.. IMO

I miss Adam Petty a lot. I remember telling my father that Adam was a force to be reckoned with, and then he died. It was a bit heartbreaking. I was young, and therefore learning to understand death and why people die. I have learned that we can't always pinpoint a reason, for His ways are higher and His thoughts are higher than ours. I thought Adam was a fine example of a driver carrying the family name, and carrying it well. Adam Petty RIP!!

TRG

I agree with everything up to the icon point. The Cup Series lost leadership from a driver's standpoint. He didn't become an icon until after his death and has been marketed that way since.

In My Opinion.

I looked to Tony Stewart to carry the flag as the bad boy of racing. I think he felt he could pull it off. Nascar mistakenenly opted to eliminate that character from the weekly epic they call the Sprint series. I cannot fathom a sport where there is no one to hate-wether it be Bonds, Belliceck or Triple H.

What could Nascar be thinking--that Toyota would stop selling cars if Tony spun someone???? I think they will be fine. Bruton Smith talks about empty seats and poor TV ratings. He wants to see the COT's with black donuts--but whoops, you couldn't read the sponsors name.

The answer- I don't know. I usually need sleep sunday afternoons, so I'm good until 40 to go. Call me when the excitement is back.

Just the ramblings of an old seat guy