[CaSe]

Has Kerry Earnhardt ever spoken about putting Blaise into the wall??

[AlvinKarpis]

Here is a good article I copy and pasted on Kerry Earnhardt's feelings on the incident

As Kerry Earnhardt sped through Turn 3 at Lowe's Motor Speedway on Oct. 4, four laps remained in the EasyCare 100 and the prospect of leading the field to the checkered flag was rapidly becoming reality.


Kerry Earnhardt
Sadly, that checkered flag never waved.

As Earnhardt, the race leader, entered Turn 4, he came upon a much slower lapped machine and jammed on the brakes, allowing his dear friend Blaise Alexander, with whom he'd engaged in a fierce dogfight for the lead all night, to draw up beside him and inch into the lead.


Families: The Earnhardts
Alexander dies in crash
Alexander's dream was winning
Alexander laid to rest
Allison: Another loss
Dale Earnhardt Tribute
Blaise Alexander: Video Tribute
Moments later, Earnhardt saw nothing but black pavement as his Chevrolet skidded down the frontstretch on its roof, the result of collision with Alexander as the two friends entered the first kink of the double-dogleg at LMS.

Alexander slammed the wall head-on in what Michael Waltrip later described as the hardest hit he'd ever seen in person.

Earnhardt was fine. Alexander was dead.

"When he hit, I felt the thump inside my car," said Earnhardt, his voice cracking a bit. "I heard it and felt the concussion from his hit. It was a scary ride for me, but in my mind I was worried about Blaise the whole time. I was worried about him immediately, and how he was doing.

"They wouldn't let me go over to his car. They took me straight to the infield care center and checked me over, and as soon as I got out of there I took off towards Blaise's car.


Kerry Earnhardt's car going sliding on its roof during the Oct. 4 crash in the ARCA EasyCare 100 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
"But before I could get there I saw the ambulance leaving, so I went back to the infield care center trying to check on him. I knew it was real bad."

Bad does not begin to describe how 2001 has unfolded for Earnhardt. His father, seven-time Winston Cup champion Dale Earnhardt, was tragically killed on the final lap of the Feb. 18 Daytona 500.

Just when Kerry Earnhardt had begun to move on from the heartbreaking loss of his father, circumstance dealt him another heavy blow, placing him in the same wreck that claimed a dear friend's life.

"It's sure been a tough year," Earnhardt said. "What we went through in February with Dad was real tough, and just when things were starting to turn around for us ... man. We were running a few ARCA races and were getting pretty successful at that.


Blaise Alexander (75) goes two-wide with Kerry Earnhardt (2) in Turn 4 at Lowe's Motor Speedway.
"And knowing that's what Dad had in mind for me to do, I was real excited and feeling good and happy with the success we were having.

"Then we went to Charlotte, having a real good race. Me and Blaise raced each other the whole race. We always talked and enjoyed racing against each other. Then the accident happened. Blaise was a great friend of mine, we always cut up and picked and joked around with together."

Having raced each other several times in the NASCAR Busch Series, Earnhardt and Alexander had been acquaintances for a while. But this year, as ARCA regulars battling weekly for wins, they had become much closer.

"He was just a real great, outstanding guy, and it's just hard to see how something like this could happen to someone with the talent that Blaise had in racing and his personal life, too. I just can't believe it," Earnhardt said. "It's just not fair."


Dale Earnhardt with Kerry (right)
Having been in a similar situation himself eight months back, Earnhardt knew the grief-stricken Alexander family would need consolation. Therefore, he unselfishly set aside his own deep sorrow and focused his thoughts solely on comforting the Alexanders.

"I spent the rest of the evening with his family in the infield emergency center," Earnhardt said. "I tried to give them all the support I could give, because I knew what it was like going through something like that, being that I went through it with Dad.

"It's so hard to talk about, because it's the first time I've ever been involved in a situation like that. It's hard to deal with, knowing that you were in the accident that took a good friend and a real competitive racer's life. You just don't know what to say or how to say it."

Earlier this week, Earnhardt went to Montoursville, Pa., to pay his last respects at Alexander's viewing and funeral, marking yet another trying time in the 31-year-old's hellish year.


Dale Earnhardt was killed on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.
"I met his mom and sisters and brothers and spent a little time with them there," Earnhardt said. "Then we had the funeral Tuesday, and when we came back home it was just a real hard time for me. It still is."

Prior to this article, Earnhardt hadn't discussed his feelings on the past week with anyone, but said he might seek out Ken Schrader this weekend at Martinsville, Va., for a discussion.

Schrader was in the wreck that claimed Dale Earnhardt's life, so he could likely provide valuable insight into the whirlwind of emotions Kerry Earnhardt is dealing with.

"I'm still going through times when I just sit there and think about things and try to figure it all out, figure out why it happened," Earnhardt said. "I know he's in a better place, Blaise was doing what he loved doing. I know he was happy, we were battling for the lead in a race when it all took place.


Blaise Alexander
"I know in his mind he knew he was gonna take the lead at that time. It's just hard for me to figure out exactly why someone of that talent and with that personality would have to have that happen to them."

While Earnhardt is admittedly discouraged by the happenings of the past year, they haven't deterred his aspirations of becoming a Winston Cup driver.

He plans to compete in the NASCAR Busch Series races at Phoenix and Homestead, Fla., later this year, and will also run the ARCA finale at Atlanta, all in hopes of landing a full-time Busch Series ride in 2002.

"This stuff is not going to keep me from racing," Earnhardt said. "I love racing so much. It's in my family and in my blood. But I'll still have (the wreck) in my mind when I go to Phoenix and Homestead and Atlanta. That's something that will always be in my mind now. What happened at Charlotte will always be there."


Kerry Earnhardt started a Winston Cup event in 2000 for Marcis Racing.
Earnhardt's recovery begins this weekend at Martinsville, where he will fill in for Kenny Wallace, who is unable to practice the No. 1 Chevrolet in Happy Hour due to his commitments in the No. 48 Busch Series machine.

Earnhardt lost his father to racing. He lost one of his dearest confidants to racing. Still, he races on.

"It's still there. I still think about it every day," said Earnhardt about the accident that claimed Alexander's life. "I think back to the events that took place and try to prepare myself for that situation if I'm ever in it again.

"It was just a racing incident where four cars were in the same place at the same time. I don't know what you could do to prevent something like that, because it's gonna happen. It happens every weekend. The only way you can stop it is not racing, and I don't see that in my future. I've got to keep racing."

[condor5]

Originally Posted by mansonsturtle ↗

Found this while searching for and reading backstories on all your awesome posts...Original site is in Portuguese.

is this for real?

[The Dark]

Originally Posted by condor5 ↗

is this for real?

From memory it seems it was a white helmeted head, we sort of came to a consensus it wasn't Koinigg because the pictures of his car seem to show he had a dark helmet (maybe black?).

Not sure who it is, may not even be a motorsport fatality... plenty of motorcyclists end up that way when they collide with trees or vehicles or steel railings.

I doubt that many/any pictures of his corpse exist frankly, it's been nearly 40 years, it's unlikely new info will fall out into the public domain.

[The Dark]

Salt Walther has been prominent in this thread very recently, unfortunately its been announced that he has taken the final checkered flag.

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...r-passes-away/

[AlvinKarpis]

Originally Posted by The Dark ↗

Salt Walther has been prominent in this thread very recently, unfortunately its been announced that he has taken the final checkered flag.

http://auto-racing.speedtv.com/artic...r-passes-away/

Oh man thats horrible

Damn it

RIP Salt

[AlvinKarpis]

Here is a video slideshow I put together with the rarest Gordon Smiley photos, most are from the AP Wire service

[AlvinKarpis]

Track worker is cut in half

Thats the only info I had in an old folder

All I can say is im too lazy to research it, but had to upload it

Brutal

[The Myth]

HOLY FUCK! wtf was a marshal doing on the outside of a turn and not behind any sort of barrier?, brutal way to go.

[CaSe]

Was he really bisected?