“When I go to Daytona, I always look at Turn 4,” racecar owner Richard Childress said. “I think about that every time I pull in there and I say a prayer.”
If Daytona is Nascar’s brightest stage, Turn 4 will forever represent its darkest hour.
Ten years ago Friday, Dale Earnhardt died when his No. 3 Chevrolet crashed into the outside wall of Turn 4 during the final lap of the Daytona 500. The effect of the loss was devastating for a sport that in many ways was epitomized by Earnhardt. He had been part hero and part villain, a throwback and a marketing visionary, a respected voice of the drivers to the almighty Nascar and a driving force behind the growth of the sport in the 1990s.
“I think we’re just beginning to feel the impact of his death,” said Eddie Gossage, the president of Texas Motor Speedway and one of the top promoters in motor sports.
Much has been made of the legacy of Earnhardt’s death. Nascar is a far-safer sport as a result of his crash. Improvements, like the design of the racecars; “soft” walls at tracks; and better seats, belts and head restraints; were all put in after the accident. No driver in the top three levels of Nascar has died in a crash since Earnhardt.
But it is the legacy of his life that is critical to understanding the sport’s current struggles. Known as the Intimidator, Earnhardt was the bully of Nascar, the driver who reveled in angering others with a rub of his bumper and a shove out of the way. He made his share of enemies on the track and in the stands. But it was all good for Nascar.
Kyle Petty, a longtime driver and son of the other seven-time Nascar champion, Richard Petty, saw Earnhardt as the bridge between the gruff old-time racers who built the sport to the slick marketing-focused drivers of today. Earnhardt paved the way for stars like his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., and Gordon to cash in as multimillion-dollar spokesmen for everything from energy drinks to luxury watches.
“Junior looked like he was going to carry on the Earnhardt tradition, be highly successful,” Gossage said. “But that was an unrealistic expectation to pin on anybody.
“Dale Jr. couldn’t maintain that performance level, and I think we’ve begun to see fans that jumped from Dale Sr. to Dale Jr. have begun to lose interest to some degree. And I think that’s part of what we’re dealing with as a sport right now. For 10 years, I think we kind of got a break.”
As Earnhardt Jr. said, “It’s hard to replace a guy like that. If ever — not just 10 years.”
It is a testament to Earnhardt’s lasting impact that 10 years after his death, No. 3 merchandise remains in the top 10 in sales at the official supplier Motorsports Authentics. It is a sacred number now and remains absent from the Cup series. Childress has declined to use it since the crash.
| 
|