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Morning News

Dale Earnhardt, 1951-2001: Fans Remember NASCAR Racing Legend

Aired February 19, 2001 - 10:01 a.m. ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

LEON HARRIS, CNN ANCHOR: And this one is the shocker of the morning, a death that many Americans are just learning of only this morning. NASCAR racing legend Dale Earnhardt was on the final lap of the Daytona 500, a mere quarter mile from a third place finish when a glancing blow sent him careening into the wall. And we begin this hour with a life spent in the fast lane and lost in the blink of an eye. Dale Earnhardt was a driving force in NASCAR racing, known to both fans of the sport and those who shunned it as well.

Word of his death rocked the racing community and its growing legion of fans. Most of those who saw the crash thought Earnhardt would brush it off, as he had so many other times in the past. It was a crash seemingly and surprisingly unspectacular on the final lap of the Daytona 500.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Meanwhile, fans of Earnhardt are grieving for their racing hero. Many have gathered at a museum that honors Earnhardt. It's in Mooresville, North Carolina.

And that's where we find our Brian Cabell this morning.

Brian, hello.

BRIAN CABELL, CNN ANCHOR: Good morning. It is a bright, sunny day here in western North Carolina. But there's a distinct chill in the air, a chill over the fans of Dale Earnhardt as they have arrived all evening long on into the morning by twos, threes, fours and fives to set up this makeshift memorial that you see behind me. This is in front of the Dale Earnhardt Inc., the business that he set up some years ago where he builds cars, where he's built cars, where he's worked on cars over the years with his sons.

And now, as I say, we have a memorial in front of it with fans coming by, streaming through the evening, streaming through the morning. And we will have more throughout the afternoon, you can be guaranteed of that.

With us right now, some of them. Lisa Alley...

LISA ALLEY, EARNHARDT FAN: Hi.

CABELL: ... you're a neighbor...

ALLEY: Yes. CABELL: ... you're a fan. You ever meet Dale Earnhardt?

ALLEY: Yes, several times. I work for Outdoor World and he comes in with his daughter, Taylor (ph). And he's just a very impressive person. He took us through the shop and allowed us to see just how it was set up.

CABELL: We heard he was a regular kind of guy.

ALLEY: Yes, he is, a very family-oriented person. And that's why I wanted to come over here with my son, just to, you know, have him pay respects. He just had his birthday last weekend and it was a Dale Earnhardt birthday. And so we're very saddened by this.

CABELL: Your son was a big friend -- fan of Dale Earnhardt?

ALLEY: Yes, yes. He has the dolls, the cars, the pictures, everything. And he was genuinely grief stricken yesterday as we watched the race and then as we found out that he was no longer here. And we came over here last night twice. And it's just been unbelievable, the outpour from the community. I mean, he is Mooresville. He's made Mooresville, and people are thankful for that and they're going to greatly miss him.

CABELL: Thank you very much, Lisa Alley.

Let's talk now to Danielle Reeves.

You as well, you knew him.

DANIELLE REEVES, EARNHARDT FAN: Yes, I did.

CABELL: How did you meet him?

REEVES: I met him by doing an insurance physical, life insurance physical, as a matter of fact, in February of 1997, on he and Teresa.

CABELL: Give me some impression of what he was like?

REEVES: At first I was a little nervous, but he did not intimidate me at all. So he was very kind, very funny, very, very, very interesting to speak with.

CABELL: He made you a fan of NASCAR?

REEVES: Yes, he did. I did not watch racing until I met him and actually did his exam. And I promised him that I would watch him race. And my comment to him at that time was, have you ever won at Daytona? And he said, no. I said, well, your time will come. And it took him a year, you know, and 1998 is when he won the Daytona race. So when I saw him race yesterday, I thought he'd come in third place. I didn't expect it to be his last race.

CABELL: Thank you very much.

REEVES: Thank you. CABELL: Once again, we have community people out here, we have fans. We talked to a gentleman from Florida who had driven up here in a bus 16 hours, came up here specifically to see this museum. He hoped to see Dale Earnhardt. He will not see him.

I'm Brian Cabell, CNN, live in Mooresville, North Carolina.

HARRIS: All right, thanks, Brian.

You know, on the track, Dale Earnhardt never gave an inch.

KAGAN: Nope.

HARRIS: He bumped, some would say bullied, blustered his way to earning his nickname, the "Intimidator."

KAGAN: But meanwhile, his ferocity inspired fans and enraged foes. But there was one thing that no one could deny: Earnhardt knew how to win.

For a look at his accomplishments, we turn to CNN/Sports Illustrated's Laura Okmin.

Laura, welcome back.

LAURA OKMIN, CNN/SPORTS ILLUSTRATED ANCHOR: Thank you. And we're going to continue to sing his praises. And, boy, everybody is doing that this morning, and very deservedly so.

Since Dale Earnhardt burst onto the NASCAR scene in the late '70s, fans have either loved him or hated him. There was no middle ground when it came to the "Intimidator." That officially changes today as the entire NASCAR community comes together to mourn a racing legend.

Dale Earnhardt was called the Intimidator because of his reputation as a tough and unyielding driver. Ironically, it was an uncharacteristic side of him that led to his tragic death. With a half a lap to go, Earnhardt let his son, Dale Jr., and the newest driver in his own team, Michael Waltrip, fight it out for the victory while he blocked for them. Waltrip went on to win his first race, Dale Jr. finished second. His father never reached the checkered flag.

In 27 years, Earnhardt was a seven-time Winston Cup champion, and his 76 victories were the most among active drivers. The man in black also looked very good in green, earning over $40 million, the most of any NASCAR driver in history. His 34 wins at Daytona ranks first, a track which before yesterday had been so good to him.

Earnhardt wasn't just a key figure, but probably the key figure in NASCAR's growth over the past 20 years, taking it from a regional sport and truly transforming it into a mainstream America powerhouse.

On a day NASCAR began its six-year, $2.8 billion TV contract, it also lost its biggest draw. Earnhardt's popularity was surpassed by no other driver. NASCAR fans bought more souvenir items of the man in black than of any other racer. He was the sport's version of Michael Jordan or Tiger Woods. Even the fans who loved to hate him had to respect his racing style and his determination.

The man who defined NASCAR, Dale Earnhardt, killed just two months shy of his 50th birthday. He leaves behind his wife, Teresa, and four sons.

Former NASCAR champion -- excuse me, four children -- former NASCAR champion Ned Jarrett said, quote, "It was a complete shock. We felt he was invincible."

And I think, Leon and Daryn, that sums it up from everyone. I think that's what was so shocking. That race truly was -- that crash was truly unspectacular.

HARRIS: Yes.

OKMIN: You really did -- we've seen him walk away from so much worse than that.

HARRIS: We've seen guys walk away from crashes much worse than that all over the place.

KAGAN: Well, even the other -- the crash that came earlier, what, 19, 20 cars...

HARRIS: Yes.

OKMIN: Thomas Stewart (ph).

KAGAN: ... the car that went over and over and he just had a separated shoulder and a concussion.

OKMIN: Yes, and he was the only one. Everyone else walked away fine. So absolutely, very strange.

HARRIS: Just goes to show you never know.

OKMIN: Yes.

HARRIS: All right, thanks much, Laura.

KAGAN: Thanks so much.

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