Who believes that the wreck that killed Earnhart was something other then an accident?

Question

Is it just me or does anyone else question the fact that the wreck that killed Earnhart was minor, compared to some of the other wrecks that drivers have walked away from, including Earnhart. And was it ever decided if his seat belt was cut, or broken? I know that this has probably been beaten to death on this site, but this is my first trip here.

Answer 1

Safety has come a long ways since his death.  If he had all the safety equipment and the SAFER barriers back then he would still be alive today.  It was purely an accident.  If you can remember than same kind of wreck killed Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin Jr.  If his seat belt was cut or broken his head would not have snapped forward causing the basil skull fracture.

Answer 2

This was,nt the first time for this type of accident...Adam Petty lost his life in a similar way...Whats kind of weird is that I guess Dale sr. told dale Jr. to wear his hans device before the race...He did but Sr. did not...If he had he would still be with us...

    R.I.P. Dale Sr. we all miss you.........

Answer 3

every wreck has different circumstances a wreck that might look minor maybe major , as for the conspiracy thing thats highly unlikely

Answer 4

i believe it was an accident

Answer 5

A NASCAR conspiracy? Just when i decided to give up drinking.

Answer 6

That crash didnt look minor to me.  Drivers almost always walk away from the spectacular looking crashes because the car continues to move.  The crashes like that one are the deadly ones.  The man basically went from 160ish to zero instantly.  You ever tried that?!

Answer 7

Interesting....so you think he lives out on the island that Aristotle Onassis owned..where JFK and Elvis, among many prominent, famous people who also faked their deathes live?  At the time of the accident, D Waltrip was in the announcers booth...he even said, at that very moment, that this was a serious accident.  Nascar has come a long way for safety in those cars since 2001.  And don't all daddy's tell you to do as you're told, not as you see me do?  Earnhardt Sr. wouldn't even wear a full-face helmet.  It was an accident, dude, let it go.

Answer 8

I believe that if it was cut or broken Theresa and or Dale Junior would have done something about it by now.  I believe it was just a accident.

Answer 9

It was an accident, his necked snapped and was killed instantly.

Answer 10

i beleave it was an accident.  never had no reason not too.

Answer 11

No Conspiracy

Answer 12

No - because if you look at the film of the accident, when it hit the wall hard, that is what killed him - because he was'nt a fan of the hans device. I believe if he had been wearing it, that he would be with us today. The cause of death was the basilar skull fracture - where the head joins the neck - his neck snapped. His car went from 200 mph to a sudden stop when it hit the wall, and the medical examiners said he had abrasions from the seatbelt, so the seatbelt did work. He basically died from a severe case of whiplash.

That is why his death spurrred Nascar to make the Hans devices mandatory and erect safer barriers. There have been similar wrecks since then (not quite as bad - but similar with running into the wall) and there has been minimal injury as a result.

Also, when you see the wrecks when the car flies up in the air and flips (example: the one Ryan Newman had about a year ago) - the G forces are expended and although it looks worse than the wreck Earnhardt had, you are better off if you have a crash like that instead of one where you go from 200 mph to nothing - especially since you have the Hans, the belt and the roll bar to protect you.

Answer 13

It was an accident.

Answer 14

Don't kid yourself.  That was a hard hit, whether it looked like it or not.  He was not wearing all the safety equipment available to him by his own choice.  It is now a requirement.  It was a tragic racing accident.  R.I.P., Dale.

Go Jr.>>>>

seatbelt edit:

President Mike Helton had stated that Earnhardt's lap belt broke, allowing the driver to be thrown forward in the car and leaving him unrestrained during his fatal accident on the last lap of the Daytona 500. Simpson, one of the most respected names in motorsports equipment, and manufacturer of the belt that "broke", today announced that he has a video, filmed by a fan, that shows a rescue worker with a knife entering Earnhardt's car immediately after the accident and that it appears the belt in question was cut.

http://nascar.about.com/library/nascarep...

NASCAR said seatbelt broke...Simpson said seatbelt cut...I guess we'll never really know.

Answer 15

not I

Answer 16

A "minor " wreck it may have seemed but unless you have been in a car going 200 it is really unfair to call any crash minor.Dale was a guy who started racing with my brother at concord speedway in 1969. A malfunction in the safty belt was why the wreck killed him. I have known many who lost their lives and there is no reason for NASCAR to lie to its fans. Rest in peace #3.

Answer 17

give it up it because of people like u the man cant rest in peace I'm getting tired of people trying to solve the terrible accident let it rest

Answer 18

I do . . . now. . .

Answer 19

Here's some food for thought.. during the red flag, Earnhardt could have loosened his seat belt to relax a bit. When the race resumed, he could have left it be. Then comes the accident. Photos of the steering wheel show that it was rather bent, maybe suggesting that he slammed his body against the steering wheel, along with whiplash.

The autopsy showed that he had multiple broken ribs, broken knee cap, various lacerations, etc.. providing support that the belt was indeed faulty and that Earnhardt had hit the steering wheel with tremendous force.

Keep in mind, going from about 175-190 mph to a sudden stop is a heck of a collision. It may not have looked bad, but it was.

Answer 20

it do seem fishy that Teresa had everything dealing with dale srs death sealed and cant be seen by the public who knows but it was a hard wreck you just dont know he went head on anytime u hit a wall head on its gonna hurt how about u bend over an run your head into the wall an see what happens

Answer 21

It was an accident.  Even people in crashes at 60mph have suffered the same injury.

Besides the fact that he wouldn't wear a HANS, Did you know that Dale Sr fixed his own seats for his race cars?  Also, he would only wear a certain type of seat belt.  It was different from the ones recommended by Nascar.  He would only wear that open- faced helmet.  He chose to do all this for comfort in the car.  He knew he was trading safety for comfort.  

I think EMT's and Medics cut the seat belt first thing.  I think it is ingrained in them. I think they cut it as soon as they got to him.  

All in all, the man died doing what he loved.  I think he would have rather died racing, than living and not ever being able to race again.  I'm a Jarrett fan, but I think Dale Sr was the best racer ever.