@@TyGuy.3000 look at austin dillon! or that one terrible truck series trash that happened around that time of dale. they both look like they shouldve been dead.
I still feel so bad for Kenny for having to have to witness that. Such a nice guy shouldn't have seen so much horror inside there....and he was just trying to help, too....he didn't have to go running over like that to help Dale, but he felt like he needed to...
I also feel bad for Sterling Marlin. It was just a racing accident but Dale fans gave him hell for that wreck. Dale knew what he was doing and the risk he was taking climbing in that car and doing what he did by blocking the other drivers. I wasn't a Dale fan but you damn sure had to respect the man and he died doing what he loved and made it where his cars finished 1 and 2.
Yeah nobody knows exactly what happened inside that car in those last moments. People originally just thought it was a heart attack but after autopsy it was hell, seatbelts broke and he faceplanted into the wheel causing a basial skull fracture with brain splatter and guts and shit, blood everywhere. Kenny schrader saw that and knew but never said anything until the autopsy. What he saw still haunts him to this day
@@BANGITSME87 well you never know in these situations bro. There were likely multiple things that ultimately contributed to his death but even with autopsy its hard to tell
@@thatloserkyle if you have the stomach you can find pictures. It's not of Dale in the car, he'd been removed, but it was after and the pictures show some things that wouldn't be right for me to describe here. It gives a pretty good idea of what most likely happened
@@BANGITSME87 people did bro I have resources. But I mean they thought the ultimate cause was cardiac issues heart failure until the autopsy proved otherwise. Not saying everybody did but some
@@tropicalramen7835 he was going to check on Dale, thinking Big E would be mad for ruining the 1-2-3 finish but he saw the condition and called for emergency help
You can clearly tell that Ken was traumatized by what he saw in Earnhardt's car. He immediately didn't want to think or talk about it. His brain had gone into defense mode and tried to block the images. That's exactly what happens when you've seen some horrific shit.
@ If you had watched Ken Schrader's interviews before, you would know that he knew something was terribly wrong. He even said it afterwards that he knew Earnhardt was dead as soon as he pulled the net down. After this interview he immediately went to Victory Lane to tell Michael Waltrip that Earnhardt was dead. While nothing definitive was ever released, the rumor is when they found Earnhardt in his car, his eyes were open and he had blood and other fluids coming out of his mouth, ears, and nose. Ken Schrader was the first person to see that.
I knew something was wrong almost immediately after the wreck, especially the concern Darell Waltrip had for Earnhardt despite his brother winning the 500. Then seeing Ken Shrader's interview and how shuck up he was told me he was mostly likely dead. Then as I turned the channel to watch the NBA game on NBC they broke in and said Dale Earnhardt had passed away.
@@winstonsmith11 I was 7 and even at that age. Like you said the way waltrip acted and my dad reacting to waltrip. I knew something was wrong. My dad waited what had to be hours. Comes in my room and tells me. I cried my eyes out like I’m sure other people did. Dale was my true childhood hero. My parents would say what are you gonna be? When you grow up. I would reply Dale Earnhardt.
It didnt even look bad. But dw been in a million too. He knew that particular one was worse than it looked. It alarmed me to hear dw so sidetracked from mikeys win. Then schradera interview. He knew when he looked in there he was dead And said as much a couple years ago... Ken shcrader has been traumatized for life for looking into that car.. His wife said that much
RIP Earnhardt, and I certainly feel bad that Schrader had to endure that. But the guy that I feel the most sorry for in all of this... is Sterling Marlin. Not many people acknowledged it, but he endured constant ridicule from fans, and even received death threats. It took Dale Jr publicly absolving him to make it stop. Really set his career back for good. Such a good man. Deserved better.
Sterling was one of the best in his day. I've honestly believed that the 2002 incident where he got out of his car helped fans move forward a bit and change their perception. Yes, I know the tire rub was there, but it was at least an interesting coincidence.
The real reason why he died was because of a basilar skull fracture. The cause was not wearing the HANS device. And if Dale wore it, he would most likely still be alive.
He's such a good guy he came out to our dirt track in Wichita KS in 2006 got to meet him talked for about 5 minutes but after that I sat in the stands and thought for a bit I just met the man that was first to see Dale after the crash sent chills down my neck feel so bad for Kenny what he saw
3:47-3:49 There it is, how quickly he answered that question says it all, he tried to make it as brief as possible because he knew the truth and didn't want to break down🤦🤦🤦
What a horrible position. You can't fault the media, nobody knew but him-- but it wasn't his place to break the news. The family had to deal with it first. Such a terrible day. Poor guy.
Heart wrenching. Can’t these reporters just take the social cues and let the man walk away. I’ve been in similar situations like this, holding back tears and anguish, just to automatically break down crying as soon as no one could see. Brutal. RIP Dale
I was 12 at the time of this race and I remember watching the entire race and remember when they showed how slow the ambulance was moving I had a feeling it wasn't good. I live 15 mins from the track and remember our local news came on at 7pm and showed the announcement by Mike Helton saying they lost him. I was shocked it's still shocking
I have never respected another racer like Ken Schrader. Maybe 1or 2% of people could see what he did and keep composure with a camera stuck in their faces. How he did that is taken for granted among too many. Kudos to him for keeping it together and even more so for not going public with details.
I wont ever forget this i was 11 watching this with my sister and my mom and dad on the way home from church we heard he died on the radio my dad fell appart rough day dale was the man
Ken Schrader definitely seen something that he will never forget. He was in a mode where he wanted to un-see what he had seen. This is why people should appreciate the drivers, not be a constant negative whinger. Racing is dangerous even now and no one knows what the future holds
Oh shut the fuck up with your nonsense. Yeah, dude is trying to breathe with blood all in his lungs and a fractured sternum and he gets the idea to play arts and crafts with some smoke. Wow.
ArmyRob13 Really dude? Next time you wanna say something like that, keep that shit to yourself. You may not believe in a higher power, but that doesn't give you the right to shit on other people's beliefs.
This day and year still haunts me. My cousin too a few days later after this killed himself by carbon monoxide poisoning in his gargage after his girlfriend broke up with him a couple of weeks earlier. i hate 2001 more than any other year in my lifetime memory.
No don't feel that way. It is not any single human's fault what happen that year. Evil was behind what happen that year. It was an attack against God, what is good, what is right and all humanity what happened that year from evil sources.
2001 haunts me in some respects as well, given that, in a span of two months, I had to attend two funerals for schoolmates who lost their lives in very similar types of car accidents; the only major difference is that in the first one (April of 2001), the girl killed, who was one of my then-current schoolmates (Not naming names, BTW) *was* wearing her seatbelt, though the coroner would later say that doing so helped contribute to her fatal injuries. The second crash, which happened in June of 2001, saw one of my *former* schoolmates (and a one-time friend) lose her life when she was ejected from the car she was riding in (She was *NOT* wearing a seatbelt) after the driver fell asleep behind the wheel, then spun, hitting a guardrail on the bridge they were traveling on, then hitting the other guardrail, causing the passenger to be ejected, again the result of not wearing her seatbelt. When the phone rang the day after she died and I got the news of her death, I just broke down crying, and *NOTHING* could provide any solace, at least not much of anything.
Michael Waltrip could have won the Daytona 500 that year not matter if Dale Sr. died or not. Furthermore, the reason why Waltrip didn't learn of Dale's passing yet is because he was too busy crossing the line to score his first Winston Cup victory. It seems to be that his celebration in Victory Lane was only minutes long, since the then-37-year-old couldn't find his car owner anywhere.
If I remember correctly, Ken Schrader went to victory lane and told Michael about what happened shortly after. Everyone else didnt want to ruin his celebration yet as they werent 100% sure yet if Dale would be okay.
I know one thing. Earnhardt had refused one of Fox's in car cameras. And good thing too as from what I have heard, the scene was extremely gruesome. And oh god, I can only imagine the horror if that was displayed on national TV with millions watching
The Anonymous AcclerDew yeah, imagine having it focused on the DEI cars in front but it still showing a good portion of Dale. That would be horrible considering how bad even the pictures look. And having millions of people watch that. My God.
I know this may sound gruesome but i can imagine the scenario after the onboard view the person who controls the camera turns to the inside view at first many fans think it's just a inside view with the Tony Stewart crash but then they look in the rear view mirror and don't see a wreck ok maybe it's just a onboard view from the green flag but they see the dei cars heading into turn 4 Darrell Waltrip gets anxious dales car turns right and hits the wall first earnhardts seatbelt brakes loose and his head hits the 2 inches apart from the middle of the steering wheel a blood falls out of his head and some of it even gets on the camera now it's a bit of red and the inside view Darrel Waltrip says "GOD DAMMIT TAKE THE CAMERAS OFF!" But it's too late the camera control man didn't know it was his death crash he thought it was Tony's wreck dales car comes to a rest you can see smoke coming out of the engine from the window then you can hear Richard say dale you Alright? Then kenny walks up in the rear view mirror then he appears next to the window net you can see his m&ms jacket the red and yellow and a bit of the blue m&m can be seen on his firesuit then he puts his visor up you can already see the horror in his eyes he takes the window net down then call the singal in the rear view mirror you can see ken shooken up and taking his m&ms gloves off then the camera cuts off
Ken not revealing any added details on the sport’s darkest day makes me respect him even more. I don’t think any driver would hold those details, what he saw or heard when walking up to the 3 car, private for as long as he has.
It eventually got him into a position where dale was in the middle of Schrader and Sterling and he cut in front of sterling and thought he had room to get in front of him but didn't. When the car came back up and clipped Schrader's left front, that caused Earnhardt to slam head on into the wall causing the fatal crash.
Has anybody yet to read Michael's book? He said that the doctor who was in charge at the hospital said the HANS device would not have saved Dale. Because eventhough his head, and body would stop moving, his insides would have kept moving. So he still would have suffered the massive head trauma that he did in this crash. Also, the broken seat belt would have rendered that HANS ineffective in this crash as well. This crash was just a really bad set of unfortunate circumstances.
Hard to believe its been 20 years. I remember thinking it wasn't that bad. He will be getting out any minute. Then I saw Schrader waving his arms to the EMTs and knew it was bad.
Yeah, Fox and 2 of its commentators tried to block it from the TV viewers. The elder Waltrip saw Schrader panic and immediately broke down in tears realizing what happened. (all off camera, of course) Those at the track, however, had an uneasy feeling and became as pale and quiet as Schrader was when they announced his death on national TV. I'll probably never know how they reacted seeing what was happening in turn 4 as I wasn't there nor did Fox 11 air the race to the very end
Everyone who watched Nascar watched this race, I remember the day clearly and I remember people crying and not understanding why. If only we could take back time and change the outcome.
Was at my moms house on military leave, watched the race and didn’t think much of the crash. Drove 3 hours back to base and went to bed. Woke up next morning turned on ESPN and heard the news. Dale was gone! I was like wtf that wreck didn’t look fatal. My mom was devastated, her and Dale were the same age. She became aware of human mortality that day and was never the same.
2:50 just take a look at the last thing that old legend seen before he left this plane of existence. Make sure u make it nice and big. Pause it and just take in the Florida sun and excitement. Dales dream coming true. His friend who everyone clowned for so long for never winning a single race. Driving HIS equipment. His ride woulda been instantly been a very coveted seat up there with roush and Hendrick at the time after securing Mikey a win. So here’s dale at his most exciting track. Sunny day. Watching the friend he loved and his boy pull this off. It was the best moment imo of his entire life as a father and friend. Followed immediately by leaving this place for the next plane. The road is banked with earth at the bottom and the blue sky up at top, that it’s almost like he was deciding which plane to head to.
i'll never forget this day. i was only 5 and was NOT an earnhardt fan at all. i remember actually cheering when he wrecked. i've hated myself for it ever since. :(
Kenny took a hit exactly like Dale did at a previous Daytona race. Time stamp 17.28. Keep watching and you'll see the replay. ua-cam.com/video/A3ScCH7-Oz0/v-deo.html
The biggest tragedy to come out of that day was not Dale Earnhardt's death. It was the manner in which Earnhardt's fans treated Sterling Marlin and Bill Simpson. Inexcusable.
Rusty was about to make a move and go with Dale, give him a push on the straight away and who knows. I wish Rusty had sped up a little to get Earnhardt turned completely sideways to switch the momentum of Dales car and change history.
I actually remember watching this race a few days later on Fox Sports Net. They had the whole big spiel about how they were going to show the entire race, though it had a fatal crash, etc. Though I agree, it probably won't happen again.
We don't see Dale Sr.., but we see the aftermath of Kenny., looking anxious and distressed., commenting about the rules package, trying to hold it together, no doubt wanting to get away from the interview ., then the question about the wreck and going to Dale’s car .., hard to put on like everything is fine , how trivial those questions must’ve seemed…, having just seen his friend die.
I think he should have let the car spin naturally down on the banking and do a 360 spin when Sterling got into him. He would have either spun down while letting the pack go by finishing 12th on the lead lap or created the second big crash: surviving either moments.
Ian Khan he would’ve still died. When it’s your time to go it’s your time. There is no avoiding it. He would’ve died even if he didn’t qualify for the race.
There’s no way either situation would happen. At a track with less banking like Fontana Michigan etc that’s possible but at a track like Daytona getting sideways at 190 mph going off the banking is only gonna send you right back up the track
Those safe walls would of saved his life... Sad but thank God for Indianapolis Motor Speedway for bringing those into the world. Indianapolis motor speedway has always been the most influential race track in the world, by far the best, all the other tracks should look up to it. If Daytona wasn't a 2nd class track 3 would still be alive. Hopefully every track will be as good as Indianapolis
200 mph... “Inside.. inside... inside....” .. trying to correct, staring at the wall.. black.. Every memory gone; everyone talks about you in the past tense from now on It’s crazy how quick everything can change
From what I can interpret, Ken saw Earnhardt with his head snapped back and his eyes wide open, with the eyeballs rolled back. Seeing a man like that is horrifying, and I feel bad he had to see poor Earnhardt in such a condition.
In another video, there's a similar quote. "President's Day. February 19, 2001. No one is talking about Michael Waltrip's first win after 462. No one is talking about DEI's 1-2 finish. \? No one is talking about the 17-car wreck in lap 173?\ , and no one is talking about the record-breaking 49 lead changes. None of it mattered in the end. Nobody won. Because the sport just lost its greatest driver ever."
This shit destroyed him.. He said a couple years ago that of course he knew dale was dead when he looked in.. But he was so scared to even think those words and make it come true some how... He knew and took him decades to admit it. Hia wife said it ruined him. Poor guy.. Schrader and dale were pretty good buddies
@@TheRealSwampOperator2 Can't imagine what he saw, I've seen the autopsy report and don't even wanna think about what it would have looked like in person.
Schrader revealed 10 years after the fact that he had known Dale was dead right as he checked on him and that the only reason he never shared it then was because he didn’t want to be the one to say, “Dale is dead.”
Darrell Waltrip I think he was first to know you never hear Darrell Waltrip sound like that kept looking towards the racetrack I hope Dale's all right then it went to commercial I was thinking he's all right see wrecks like that all the time president of NASCAR came on we lost Dale I freaked out
It’s the tires You watch the front tires there no steering whatsoever coming off the wall you can see there’s no control over the steering wheel and that’s 1 of the signs you look for as well as the bet coming down as soon as the car does finally stop and none of that happened. But D DubYa could tell that the front tires had no one holding the steering wheel anymore as it slit down the track and into the infield down there.
I saw an article where they interviewed one of the EMTs that got in the car. They said Dale's eyes were open and fixed when they got in there. That is what Schrader saw I think. He knew he was dead.
watching the race live back then one of the thing i remember is kens face after that i told my mom sitting next to me that ken looks like he seen a ghost! Thats when i know it was bad!.
@@suestaley844 He was certainly DOA. I don't think he made it past hitting the wall initially. On the upside, considering he didn't try to maneuver the vehicle after impacting the wall, it means he probably didn't feel it. Was probably just a flash to him. Better than him suffering with a broken neck for 12 hours in the ER suffering a painful death that not even opiates would handle.
Kenny knew Dale was gone the moment he looked in the car, and he knew it when talking to that reporter, but he knew he couldn't be the one to break that news. He didn't want to be that one. For Dale Jr's sake, for Michael Waltrip's sake, he just couldn't bare it and you can see it on his face during the interview. He doesn't want to talk, he doesn't want to answer any questions, he just wants to go talk to Michael and Dale Jr and go-to the Hospital. I watched the race live. I was about 16 years old. I couldn't believe it when they announced on FOX about an hour later that he had died. My friend who was watching the race at his house couldn't believe it when I called him to tell him. Just felt like the world stopped.
+Crisgo3d Yeah man you can tell he doesn't want to talk about it. Also he shows signs of the "100 yard stare" people do when they're at least somewhat traumatized.
+JudgeTread1 this might be alittle tmi but I read an article and yes Schrader was traumatized because when he was going to check on Dale he saw blood coming out of Dale's nose and ears I would be traumatized if i saw that
de'angelo bayley FS1 got rid of in after 2007 and brought it back in 2016. the original poster of the comment commented between 2007 and 2016 when the theme wasnt used
I never watched NASCAR before Earnhardt died, it was actually all the attention surrounding his death that caused me to start paying attention to the sport. Been a fan for almost 20 years now and I regret not seeing a legend while he was still here.
That was the day I stopped watching. Wasn't an Earnhardt fan but that done it for me. I knew nascar would never be the same. He was a great driver and competitor. Tragic loss.
@@Ktaurus26 The racing is arguably better. But it became so corporatized and bland with every track being the same 1.5 mile oval with very few deviations that it got stale. Add in the needlessly complex playoff system, shitty points system that punishes consistency if you aren't winning, and dumb shit like stage racing and it's just not fun anymore. NASCAR became what it was because a blizzard on the east coast, the first ever live showing of the Daytona 500, and a fist fight in the infield at the end of the race spiked interest. They lost that. Dale was just one of the last remaining vestiges of that history, even as he was on the forefront of ushering in the bland corporate future.
I'm not really a big racing fan, but its hard to imagine being in Mr. Schrader's position that day; inheriting such a horrible responsibility without warning, and then having to decide in a very short amount of time how to handle it. I don't think anyone could have done any better.
NASCAR knew about this and you can tell that Ken Schrader knows about it and when they threw that question, he didn't know what to say, he doesn't seem so confident. The commenters didn't want to announce his at that moment because people were to busy celebrating Michael Waltrip's win. They decided to put it later.
NASCAR cannot pronounce someone dead though, in this situation the right thing to do is get medical attention from doctors at the hospital. "Great rule package they got" Dale wasn't wearing a helmet like Ken's, and it should have been a rule, a safety requirement. There were so many bad wrecks before this, even fatalities before this. Why wasn't safety put first already? This could have been prevented. Ken was somehow able to do those interviews. Was asked at one point about Michael Waltrip winning and all he could say was I'd feel a lot better for him if his boss was here to help him. This is a gut wrenching story.
I was 5, I was just getting into NASCAR because my dad loves it, I remember watching this race, and this was the first race I watched from flagtoflag. I remember the wreck happening and my dad being pissed but I wasn't because my favorite Bill Elliott got a good finish. But later, I remember my dad crying that's when I learned of Dale's death, to this day I feel terrible because dad lost his hero, but I remember Jr winning in July, which in my opinion, is the greatest moment in NASCAR History!
Stirling Marlin had alot of death threats after the race. The Earnhardt crew had to make a statement that Stirling Marlin didn't cause the accident. The Subsequent Nascar investigation also cleared Stirling Marlin of any wrongdoing.
Jacob Hammering Hamman Do you not understand racing?? Let alone restrictor plate racing?? Maybe you should get mommy & daddy’s permission next time you get on social media..
I can’t imagine what Kenny was thinking and feeling after going over to Dale’s car and finding him in the condition he was in. He even knew he was gone
I always see comments saying "It didn't even look that bad"...probably because the car didn't do a lot of thrashing around. Which is why it was fatal. Most all of the impact energy went directly straight into that wall and nowhere else. Usually at that angle the back of the car will whip left after initial impact and the car will spin out helping transfer that energy. With Schrader's car in that position, it helped wedge Dale's car in. NO dramatic spinning, flipping, etc...just all force straight flush into the wall at 160 mph, with no safer barrier or hans device. There's another angle on turn 4 somewhere that shows just how fast and violent it really was. RIP.
I've been watching this wreck for 20 years and i still somehow watch it looking for a different outcome.
Hidden Secrets Yeah. I’m just yeah he’ll live but then it sinks in
Now of days he would most likely be fine. Look at Newman's 500 wreck. I thought he was dead and less than 48 hours later he walks out of the hospital.
Me too
Me2
@@TyGuy.3000 look at austin dillon! or that one terrible truck series trash that happened around that time of dale. they both look like they shouldve been dead.
Imagine being Ken and not being able to shed a tear or show emotion Such a badass classy man.
Just seemed totally numb and shell shocked.
I still feel so bad for Kenny for having to have to witness that. Such a nice guy shouldn't have seen so much horror inside there....and he was just trying to help, too....he didn't have to go running over like that to help Dale, but he felt like he needed to...
They may not have been teammates, but they were really close friends.
Ken Shrader was Dale's friend. A friend always checks on a friend when ever they crash together espically that hard.
Every time I see that interview of him you can just see the pain of knowing inside him. Can't imagine going through that.
I also feel bad for Sterling Marlin. It was just a racing accident but Dale fans gave him hell for that wreck. Dale knew what he was doing and the risk he was taking climbing in that car and doing what he did by blocking the other drivers. I wasn't a Dale fan but you damn sure had to respect the man and he died doing what he loved and made it where his cars finished 1 and 2.
"I didn't know (he was dead)... but I would have bet." "I saw a friend in trouble." "What I saw in that car, that sticks with you."
you can tell schrader just saw death.
Yeah nobody knows exactly what happened inside that car in those last moments. People originally just thought it was a heart attack but after autopsy it was hell, seatbelts broke and he faceplanted into the wheel causing a basial skull fracture with brain splatter and guts and shit, blood everywhere. Kenny schrader saw that and knew but never said anything until the autopsy. What he saw still haunts him to this day
@@thatloserkyle Who the hell thought it was a heart attack? It was pretty clear from moment one what happened and sure as hell wasn’t a heart attack.
@@BANGITSME87 well you never know in these situations bro. There were likely multiple things that ultimately contributed to his death but even with autopsy its hard to tell
@@thatloserkyle if you have the stomach you can find pictures. It's not of Dale in the car, he'd been removed, but it was after and the pictures show some things that wouldn't be right for me to describe here. It gives a pretty good idea of what most likely happened
@@BANGITSME87 people did bro I have resources. But I mean they thought the ultimate cause was cardiac issues heart failure until the autopsy proved otherwise. Not saying everybody did but some
Ken Schrader is a class act...
What do you mean?
@@tropicalramen7835 he retained his composure after all those things
@@tropicalramen7835 he was going to check on Dale, thinking Big E would be mad for ruining the 1-2-3 finish but he saw the condition and called for emergency help
Plus he's never spoke or described what he saw in the car.
You can clearly tell that Ken was traumatized by what he saw in Earnhardt's car. He immediately didn't want to think or talk about it. His brain had gone into defense mode and tried to block the images. That's exactly what happens when you've seen some horrific shit.
Yea he already knew. You could see it on his face.
DeadlyDanDaMan no, looks like any driver after crashing at the Daytona 500 that they know they have a chance to win it.
The Donner Party would have said "Supper's Ready. Last one, here, is a rattled cage!"
J M Kyle bush is a little sore loser and little bitch
@ If you had watched Ken Schrader's interviews before, you would know that he knew something was terribly wrong. He even said it afterwards that he knew Earnhardt was dead as soon as he pulled the net down. After this interview he immediately went to Victory Lane to tell Michael Waltrip that Earnhardt was dead. While nothing definitive was ever released, the rumor is when they found Earnhardt in his car, his eyes were open and he had blood and other fluids coming out of his mouth, ears, and nose. Ken Schrader was the first person to see that.
I knew something was wrong almost immediately after the wreck, especially the concern Darell Waltrip had for Earnhardt despite his brother winning the 500. Then seeing Ken Shrader's interview and how shuck up he was told me he was mostly likely dead. Then as I turned the channel to watch the NBA game on NBC they broke in and said Dale Earnhardt had passed away.
i kinda think ken knew in that interview that h was alreday dead to be honest
Nicky D I'm sure. He went and saw him, probably bleeding out of his head and unresponsive. Not good
I was 12 and I'll never forget the look on my Dad's face in response to Darrell's concern. I didn't know it at the time, but he did.
@@winstonsmith11 I was 7 and even at that age. Like you said the way waltrip acted and my dad reacting to waltrip. I knew something was wrong. My dad waited what had to be hours. Comes in my room and tells me. I cried my eyes out like I’m sure other people did. Dale was my true childhood hero. My parents would say what are you gonna be? When you grow up. I would reply Dale Earnhardt.
It didnt even look bad. But dw been in a million too. He knew that particular one was worse than it looked. It alarmed me to hear dw so sidetracked from mikeys win.
Then schradera interview. He knew when he looked in there he was dead
And said as much a couple years ago... Ken shcrader has been traumatized for life for looking into that car.. His wife said that much
Just in Darrell’s voice you could tell he knew deep down that was the last moment of Dale’s life on Earth... RIP Dale
RIP Earnhardt, and I certainly feel bad that Schrader had to endure that. But the guy that I feel the most sorry for in all of this... is Sterling Marlin. Not many people acknowledged it, but he endured constant ridicule from fans, and even received death threats. It took Dale Jr publicly absolving him to make it stop. Really set his career back for good. Such a good man. Deserved better.
Sterling was one of the best in his day. I've honestly believed that the 2002 incident where he got out of his car helped fans move forward a bit and change their perception. Yes, I know the tire rub was there, but it was at least an interesting coincidence.
The real reason why he died was because of a basilar skull fracture. The cause was not wearing the HANS device. And if Dale wore it, he would most likely still be alive.
Poor ol' Schrader, he knew.
I thought very highly of Kenny for coming to help Dale and summoning help. He's a hero.
He's such a good guy he came out to our dirt track in Wichita KS in 2006 got to meet him talked for about 5 minutes but after that I sat in the stands and thought for a bit I just met the man that was first to see Dale after the crash sent chills down my neck feel so bad for Kenny what he saw
3:47-3:49 There it is, how quickly he answered that question says it all, he tried to make it as brief as possible because he knew the truth and didn't want to break down🤦🤦🤦
What a horrible position. You can't fault the media, nobody knew but him-- but it wasn't his place to break the news. The family had to deal with it first. Such a terrible day. Poor guy.
It's strange watching this. You actually witness the moment that a man dies. Horrible.
Kenny was traumatized by what he saw its been 17 years later and it shows
That day I cry my eyes out still to this day when I talk about him I get tears in my eyes he was my hero
Heart wrenching. Can’t these reporters just take the social cues and let the man walk away. I’ve been in similar situations like this, holding back tears and anguish, just to automatically break down crying as soon as no one could see. Brutal.
RIP Dale
Chris Myers never ages but I remember this vividly tuned into victory lane at 9pm and was stunned
I was 12 at the time of this race and I remember watching the entire race and remember when they showed how slow the ambulance was moving I had a feeling it wasn't good. I live 15 mins from the track and remember our local news came on at 7pm and showed the announcement by Mike Helton saying they lost him. I was shocked it's still shocking
I have never respected another racer like Ken Schrader. Maybe 1or 2% of people could see what he did and keep composure with a camera stuck in their faces. How he did that is taken for granted among too many. Kudos to him for keeping it together and even more so for not going public with details.
I wont ever forget this i was 11 watching this with my sister and my mom and dad on the way home from church we heard he died on the radio my dad fell appart rough day dale was the man
Ken Schrader definitely seen something that he will never forget. He was in a mode where he wanted to un-see what he had seen. This is why people should appreciate the drivers, not be a constant negative whinger. Racing is dangerous even now and no one knows what the future holds
Look around the 1:00 mark. There's a backwards "3" in the cloud...
Maybe that's a sign that he's heading up to heaven...
Oh shut the fuck up with your nonsense. Yeah, dude is trying to breathe with blood all in his lungs and a fractured sternum and he gets the idea to play arts and crafts with some smoke. Wow.
ArmyRob13 Really dude? Next time you wanna say something like that, keep that shit to yourself. You may not believe in a higher power, but that doesn't give you the right to shit on other people's beliefs.
Or an "E"... either way, symbolic
Adam Barnett lol you are such a pathetic loser
ken schrader knew it was bad
More like Schrader knew he was dead.
3:35 in retrospect, you can feel the pain in Ken's voice.
This day and year still haunts me. My cousin too a few days later after this killed himself by carbon monoxide poisoning in his gargage after his girlfriend broke up with him a couple of weeks earlier. i hate 2001 more than any other year in my lifetime memory.
No don't feel that way. It is not any single human's fault what happen that year. Evil was behind what happen that year. It was an attack against God, what is good, what is right and all humanity what happened that year from evil sources.
2001 haunts me in some respects as well, given that, in a span of two months, I had to attend two funerals for schoolmates who lost their lives in very similar types of car accidents; the only major difference is that in the first one (April of 2001), the girl killed, who was one of my then-current schoolmates (Not naming names, BTW) *was* wearing her seatbelt, though the coroner would later say that doing so helped contribute to her fatal injuries. The second crash, which happened in June of 2001, saw one of my *former* schoolmates (and a one-time friend) lose her life when she was ejected from the car she was riding in (She was *NOT* wearing a seatbelt) after the driver fell asleep behind the wheel, then spun, hitting a guardrail on the bridge they were traveling on, then hitting the other guardrail, causing the passenger to be ejected, again the result of not wearing her seatbelt. When the phone rang the day after she died and I got the news of her death, I just broke down crying, and *NOTHING* could provide any solace, at least not much of anything.
that year was awful first dale then the 9/11 terror attacks my brother got diabetes that year fucking sucked
I hate 2001 cuz that's when my sister was born, and she always drinks all the fucking Doctor Pepper.
Bill Presley Glad I was born in 2003
Ken schrader one of the most classy guys
You can just tell by his face by what he saw
Michael Waltrip could have won the Daytona 500 that year not matter if Dale Sr. died or not. Furthermore, the reason why Waltrip didn't learn of Dale's passing yet is because he was too busy crossing the line to score his first Winston Cup victory. It seems to be that his celebration in Victory Lane was only minutes long, since the then-37-year-old couldn't find his car owner anywhere.
If I remember correctly, Ken Schrader went to victory lane and told Michael about what happened shortly after. Everyone else didnt want to ruin his celebration yet as they werent 100% sure yet if Dale would be okay.
Ryan Spangler I remember when JR won the next time at Daytona, him and Michael celebrated.
@@SpanglerGaming yep, his wife told him he was dead as soon as the celebrating was over.
I know one thing. Earnhardt had refused one of Fox's in car cameras. And good thing too as from what I have heard, the scene was extremely gruesome. And oh god, I can only imagine the horror if that was displayed on national TV with millions watching
The Anonymous AcclerDew yeah, imagine having it focused on the DEI cars in front but it still showing a good portion of Dale. That would be horrible considering how bad even the pictures look. And having millions of people watch that. My God.
I know this may sound gruesome but i can imagine the scenario after the onboard view the person who controls the camera turns to the inside view at first many fans think it's just a inside view with the Tony Stewart crash but then they look in the rear view mirror and don't see a wreck ok maybe it's just a onboard view from the green flag but they see the dei cars heading into turn 4 Darrell Waltrip gets anxious dales car turns right and hits the wall first earnhardts seatbelt brakes loose and his head hits the 2 inches apart from the middle of the steering wheel a blood falls out of his head and some of it even gets on the camera now it's a bit of red and the inside view Darrel Waltrip says "GOD DAMMIT TAKE THE CAMERAS OFF!" But it's too late the camera control man didn't know it was his death crash he thought it was Tony's wreck dales car comes to a rest you can see smoke coming out of the engine from the window then you can hear Richard say dale you Alright? Then kenny walks up in the rear view mirror then he appears next to the window net you can see his m&ms jacket the red and yellow and a bit of the blue m&m can be seen on his firesuit then he puts his visor up you can already see the horror in his eyes he takes the window net down then call the singal in the rear view mirror you can see ken shooken up and taking his m&ms gloves off then the camera cuts off
Ken not revealing any added details on the sport’s darkest day makes me respect him even more. I don’t think any driver would hold those details, what he saw or heard when walking up to the 3 car, private for as long as he has.
It eventually got him into a position where dale was in the middle of Schrader and Sterling and he cut in front of sterling and thought he had room to get in front of him but didn't. When the car came back up and clipped Schrader's left front, that caused Earnhardt to slam head on into the wall causing the fatal crash.
Earnhardt 12th
That was his last position in a race
One of the saddest days of my life, it's up there with my 1st dog and my grandparents passing away
Has anybody yet to read Michael's book? He said that the doctor who was in charge at the hospital said the HANS device would not have saved Dale. Because eventhough his head, and body would stop moving, his insides would have kept moving. So he still would have suffered the massive head trauma that he did in this crash. Also, the broken seat belt would have rendered that HANS ineffective in this crash as well. This crash was just a really bad set of unfortunate circumstances.
Hard to believe its been 20 years. I remember thinking it wasn't that bad. He will be getting out any minute. Then I saw Schrader waving his arms to the EMTs and knew it was bad.
That wasn't shown on live tv
Yeah, Fox and 2 of its commentators tried to block it from the TV viewers. The elder Waltrip saw Schrader panic and immediately broke down in tears realizing what happened. (all off camera, of course) Those at the track, however, had an uneasy feeling and became as pale and quiet as Schrader was when they announced his death on national TV. I'll probably never know how they reacted seeing what was happening in turn 4 as I wasn't there nor did Fox 11 air the race to the very end
Everyone who watched Nascar watched this race, I remember the day clearly and I remember people crying and not understanding why. If only we could take back time and change the outcome.
Zion the Lion If he didn't die we would have less safety.
You can just see the fear in Kens eyes, the reporters were rushing him and he just didnt wanna talk about it.
Was at my moms house on military leave, watched the race and didn’t think much of the crash. Drove 3 hours back to base and went to bed. Woke up next morning turned on ESPN and heard the news. Dale was gone! I was like wtf that wreck didn’t look fatal. My mom was devastated, her and Dale were the same age. She became aware of human mortality that day and was never the same.
jr has gotten much stronger since his father was killed
I speculate he saw it all .
He had Dale in front of him the whole time.
The right side window was knocked out on impact .
So much respect for Ken! imagine what he seen in the intimidators cars
You could tell Kenny just wanted to say shut the hell up and leave me alone by the tone of his voice
If you look close you see him lurch forward and hit the wheel. Rest in Peace Dale.
This was the darkest day in NASCAR history.
Ive watched the end of the race many times over the last decade or so. I didn't realize until now that Ken Squire was on air this day.
2:50 just take a look at the last thing that old legend seen before he left this plane of existence. Make sure u make it nice and big. Pause it and just take in the Florida sun and excitement. Dales dream coming true. His friend who everyone clowned for so long for never winning a single race. Driving HIS equipment. His ride woulda been instantly been a very coveted seat up there with roush and Hendrick at the time after securing Mikey a win. So here’s dale at his most exciting track. Sunny day. Watching the friend he loved and his boy pull this off. It was the best moment imo of his entire life as a father and friend. Followed immediately by leaving this place for the next plane. The road is banked with earth at the bottom and the blue sky up at top, that it’s almost like he was deciding which plane to head to.
I often wonder what exactly Schrader saw when he looked in Earnhardt's car.
i'll never forget this day. i was only 5 and was NOT an earnhardt fan at all. i remember actually cheering when he wrecked. i've hated myself for it ever since. :(
Kenny took a hit exactly like Dale did at a previous Daytona race.
Time stamp 17.28. Keep watching and you'll see the replay.
ua-cam.com/video/A3ScCH7-Oz0/v-deo.html
The sport hasn't been the same since. Life misses him
The biggest tragedy to come out of that day was not Dale Earnhardt's death. It was the manner in which Earnhardt's fans treated Sterling Marlin and Bill Simpson. Inexcusable.
Ya id like to know more. I wonder if Dale would have Sterling on podcast. Dale came down onto him it was total racing accident.
2:20 you can see earnhardts arm in the window but barely
Yeah
Rusty was about to make a move and go with Dale, give him a push on the straight away and who knows.
I wish Rusty had sped up a little to get Earnhardt turned completely sideways to switch the momentum of Dales car and change history.
What it looked like to me also
Earnhardt doesn’t look happy on that picture scanner.
I actually remember watching this race a few days later on Fox Sports Net. They had the whole big spiel about how they were going to show the entire race, though it had a fatal crash, etc.
Though I agree, it probably won't happen again.
Sterling still watches the race and said he hasn’t got over it even today.
We don't see Dale Sr.., but we see the aftermath of Kenny., looking anxious and distressed., commenting about the rules package, trying to hold it together, no doubt wanting to get away from the interview ., then the question about the wreck and going to Dale’s car .., hard to put on like everything is fine , how trivial those questions must’ve seemed…, having just seen his friend die.
This happened on my 16 birthday. I knew it was bad when the Ambulance was driving slow. Sr was the best!
Sad to see that ambulance driving away, way too slow. All involved in his care knew there was no saving him.
I think he should have let the car spin naturally down on the banking and do a 360 spin when Sterling got into him. He would have either spun down while letting the pack go by finishing 12th on the lead lap or created the second big crash: surviving either moments.
Ian Khan he would’ve still died. When it’s your time to go it’s your time. There is no avoiding it. He would’ve died even if he didn’t qualify for the race.
There’s no way either situation would happen. At a track with less banking like Fontana Michigan etc that’s possible but at a track like Daytona getting sideways at 190 mph going off the banking is only gonna send you right back up the track
Those safe walls would of saved his life... Sad but thank God for Indianapolis Motor Speedway for bringing those into the world. Indianapolis motor speedway has always been the most influential race track in the world, by far the best, all the other tracks should look up to it. If Daytona wasn't a 2nd class track 3 would still be alive. Hopefully every track will be as good as Indianapolis
200 mph...
“Inside.. inside... inside....”
.. trying to correct, staring at the wall.. black..
Every memory gone; everyone talks about you in the past tense from now on
It’s crazy how quick everything can change
The only way that this whole entire race will show again is if NASCAR has their own network.
i bet they wouldnt on there own network terera dales wife would sue
@JJHBPD420, are you talking about that cloud ?? That is kinda weird.
ken is the man for that interview. he knew it was bad
Mind if I use this in a tribute?
Schraeder knew Dale was dead and didn’t say anything.
Kenny has sad he had no intuition that Earnhardt whould be dead. He was totally shocked by what he saw. Probably traumatized for life.
Ken Schrader clearly didn't want to talk to those reporters and they kept pressing in any way
2001 rip Dale
2002 rip GM
2:56 I know this is about Dale, but look at Jeremy Mayfield save it as well from nearly getting turned by the 28
Both Kenny and Darrell knew right there and then.
From what I can interpret, Ken saw Earnhardt with his head snapped back and his eyes wide open, with the eyeballs rolled back.
Seeing a man like that is horrifying, and I feel bad he had to see poor Earnhardt in such a condition.
As soon as he said I'm not a Dr I remember thinking we may be in trouble here
"I'm fine" knowing what we know now he was panicking. So damn sad...
EmpLemon said it best: This should’ve been one of the happiest moments in NASCAR history, but it instead became the sport’s darkest day.
That documentary video was so damn good
His SpongeBob Poops are Funny But His Dale Earnhardt Video Was a Serious Documentary
In another video, there's a similar quote.
"President's Day. February 19, 2001. No one is talking about Michael Waltrip's first win after 462. No one is talking about DEI's 1-2 finish. \? No one is talking about the 17-car wreck in lap 173?\ , and no one is talking about the record-breaking 49 lead changes. None of it mattered in the end. Nobody won. Because the sport just lost its greatest driver ever."
@@S.K.R.E.Inc. Black Flags Matter
Oscar Jimenez Jr. FU
“I’m... fine.” Feel bad for Ken. But what a class act. Kept his cool under tremendous trauma.
Yeah, I always liked Kenny. He tried to keep it classy.
This shit destroyed him.. He said a couple years ago that of course he knew dale was dead when he looked in.. But he was so scared to even think those words and make it come true some how... He knew and took him decades to admit it. Hia wife said it ruined him. Poor guy.. Schrader and dale were pretty good buddies
@@TheRealSwampOperator2 Can't imagine what he saw, I've seen the autopsy report and don't even wanna think about what it would have looked like in person.
Ken Schrader knew what was up. He was doing his best not to break down in that interview.
I know I would’ve broke down right then and there poor guy he probably is still traumatized
Looking in that car, seeing his best buddy gone, had to tear him apart.
Schrader revealed 10 years after the fact that he had known Dale was dead right as he checked on him and that the only reason he never shared it then was because he didn’t want to be the one to say, “Dale is dead.”
@@trevenchristensen585marlin is traumitized for life he watches it every month the last ten laps dale jr talked about it
You know he saw Dale slumped over and his heart sank😭
notice the look on schrader's face, in his expressions. that lifeless look on his face. he knew earnhardt was dead when he looked in his car.
Darrell Waltrip I think he was first to know you never hear Darrell Waltrip sound like that kept looking towards the racetrack I hope Dale's all right then it went to commercial I was thinking he's all right see wrecks like that all the time president of NASCAR came on we lost Dale I freaked out
It’s the tires
You watch the front tires there no steering whatsoever coming off the wall you can see there’s no control over the steering wheel and that’s 1 of the signs you look for as well as the bet coming down as soon as the car does finally stop and none of that happened.
But D DubYa could tell that the front tires had no one holding the steering wheel anymore as it slit down the track and into the infield down there.
I saw an article where they interviewed one of the EMTs that got in the car. They said Dale's eyes were open and fixed when they got in there. That is what Schrader saw I think. He knew he was dead.
watching the race live back then one of the thing i remember is kens face after that i told my mom sitting next to me that ken looks like he seen a ghost! Thats when i know it was bad!.
@@suestaley844 He was certainly DOA. I don't think he made it past hitting the wall initially. On the upside, considering he didn't try to maneuver the vehicle after impacting the wall, it means he probably didn't feel it. Was probably just a flash to him. Better than him suffering with a broken neck for 12 hours in the ER suffering a painful death that not even opiates would handle.
The onboard is chilling. He is watching his friend and his son drive away to victory while he sees his final moments
20 years later. Only driver left in 2021 is Kurt Busch.
Not unless you count Kevin Harvick
@@kilpatrickja but did Harvick ever run a cup race with Dale? He was In the Busch series waiting to come up
Newman at Phoenix 2000
No it’s Kurt Busch and Ryan Newman
Newman wasn't at the 500 either, nor was he in most of the Fox half of the season
I felt bad for Schrader. He and Dale were always real close to each other.
Me too Andrew. He immediately knew that Dale was dead when he checked on him.
Kenny knew he just couldn't say anything, feel so bad for that guy having to carry that weight
God, you can hear Schrader trying to hold back tears in the post race interview because he knew Dale was gone..
Kenny knew Dale was gone the moment he looked in the car, and he knew it when talking to that reporter, but he knew he couldn't be the one to break that news. He didn't want to be that one. For Dale Jr's sake, for Michael Waltrip's sake, he just couldn't bare it and you can see it on his face during the interview. He doesn't want to talk, he doesn't want to answer any questions, he just wants to go talk to Michael and Dale Jr and go-to the Hospital. I watched the race live. I was about 16 years old. I couldn't believe it when they announced on FOX about an hour later that he had died. My friend who was watching the race at his house couldn't believe it when I called him to tell him. Just felt like the world stopped.
Ken Schrader is such a great man. Great friend he has raced with for 20 years and he held it in. Barely. You could tell he was having trouble.
“Inside, inside, inside” last words he heard
Poor Kenny knew he was dead. Real shame.
You can tell in Scharder's voice. he knew it was the worst.
+Crisgo3d Yeah man you can tell he doesn't want to talk about it. Also he shows signs of the "100 yard stare" people do when they're at least somewhat traumatized.
+JudgeTread1 this might be alittle tmi but I read an article and yes Schrader was traumatized because when he was going to check on Dale he saw blood coming out of Dale's nose and ears I would be traumatized if i saw that
+Federated Auto Parts Cup Series doubt he saw blood out his ears since the helmet covers them
its called blood dripping down his head/face
+Federated Auto Parts Cup Series fair enough.
Am I the only one who misses the Fox theme song in the last 30 seconds of this video?
RIP, Dale.
FS1 stil uses it
de'angelo bayley FS1 got rid of in after 2007 and brought it back in 2016. the original poster of the comment commented between 2007 and 2016 when the theme wasnt used
I never watched NASCAR before Earnhardt died, it was actually all the attention surrounding his death that caused me to start paying attention to the sport. Been a fan for almost 20 years now and I regret not seeing a legend while he was still here.
That was the day I stopped watching. Wasn't an Earnhardt fan but that done it for me. I knew nascar would never be the same. He was a great driver and competitor. Tragic loss.
I was a dale fan (at only like 6 years old I’ll admit) but I quit watching then too
Same here
@@michaelclark9136 NASCAR has gotten better.
@@Ktaurus26 The racing is arguably better. But it became so corporatized and bland with every track being the same 1.5 mile oval with very few deviations that it got stale. Add in the needlessly complex playoff system, shitty points system that punishes consistency if you aren't winning, and dumb shit like stage racing and it's just not fun anymore.
NASCAR became what it was because a blizzard on the east coast, the first ever live showing of the Daytona 500, and a fist fight in the infield at the end of the race spiked interest. They lost that. Dale was just one of the last remaining vestiges of that history, even as he was on the forefront of ushering in the bland corporate future.
Kenny is usually a happy-go-lucky guy, seeing him being stoic in that interview hurts
I feel for him holding in what he knew in front of those cameras
I remember watching this race at 13 years old. When Schrader said that he "wasn't a doctor" I realized we probably lost Earnhardt.
I'm not really a big racing fan, but its hard to imagine being in Mr. Schrader's position that day; inheriting such a horrible responsibility without warning, and then having to decide in a very short amount of time how to handle it. I don't think anyone could have done any better.
earnhardt died doing what he loved, RIP SENIOR 1951-2001
He loved getting run into a cement wall at 200 MPH?
@@harrycarrey1225 He ment racing.
Bleeding to death after breaking a bunch of bones?
@Shay True Blue Aussie They're dark humor puns.
@@Toxic2T but it wasn’t funny
NASCAR knew about this and you can tell that Ken Schrader knows about it and when they threw that question, he didn't know what to say, he doesn't seem so confident. The commenters didn't want to announce his at that moment because people were to busy celebrating Michael Waltrip's win. They decided to put it later.
+Ax44248 M You spelled Ken Schrader's last name incorrectly. It's S-C-H-R-"A"-D-E-R, not S-C-H-R-E-D-E-R. Although, I do forgive ya.
+Paul T. Backes LOL, I always had a difficult time to spell his last name.
FordFanatic Productions LOL Ken "Shredder" :P
i think nascar even knew he was gone right away too and didnt say it right away for some reason
NASCAR cannot pronounce someone dead though, in this situation the right thing to do is get medical attention from doctors at the hospital. "Great rule package they got" Dale wasn't wearing a helmet like Ken's, and it should have been a rule, a safety requirement. There were so many bad wrecks before this, even fatalities before this. Why wasn't safety put first already? This could have been prevented.
Ken was somehow able to do those interviews. Was asked at one point about Michael Waltrip winning and all he could say was I'd feel a lot better for him if his boss was here to help him.
This is a gut wrenching story.
I was 5, I was just getting into NASCAR because my dad loves it, I remember watching this race, and this was the first race I watched from flagtoflag. I remember the wreck happening and my dad being pissed but I wasn't because my favorite Bill Elliott got a good finish. But later, I remember my dad crying that's when I learned of Dale's death, to this day I feel terrible because dad lost his hero, but I remember Jr winning in July, which in my opinion, is the greatest moment in NASCAR History!
Stirling Marlin had alot of death threats after the race. The Earnhardt crew had to make a statement that Stirling Marlin didn't cause the accident.
The Subsequent Nascar investigation also cleared Stirling Marlin of any wrongdoing.
Stirling caused his car to turn.
Jacob Hammering Hamman
Do you not understand racing?? Let alone restrictor plate racing?? Maybe you should get mommy & daddy’s permission next time you get on social media..
Jacob Hammering Hamman
Ohhh wow! Lookie! A Cheeto dusted keyboard warrior.
2:57 It is clear that Earnhart's car came down into Stirling's car. He was already loose and uncontrollable.
Randy Bobandy fuck u
I can’t imagine what Kenny was thinking and feeling after going over to Dale’s car and finding him in the condition he was in. He even knew he was gone
I always see comments saying "It didn't even look that bad"...probably because the car didn't do a lot of thrashing around. Which is why it was fatal. Most all of the impact energy went directly straight into that wall and nowhere else. Usually at that angle the back of the car will whip left after initial impact and the car will spin out helping transfer that energy. With Schrader's car in that position, it helped wedge Dale's car in. NO dramatic spinning, flipping, etc...just all force straight flush into the wall at 160 mph, with no safer barrier or hans device. There's another angle on turn 4 somewhere that shows just how fast and violent it really was. RIP.
180. Into a concrete wall is devastating
Thanks for explaining. That's terrible