No one from the NASCAR community can ever forget the unfortunate turn of events that took place on February 18, 2001. It was a black day for NASCAR, and the date haunts everyone each year. As they say, you may be gone, but your legacy lives on. That’s a line that perfectly fits Dale Earnhardt, who continues to live in the hearts of fans even 25 years after his passing.

The emotional message for Dale Earnhardt

Recently, to promote the latest documentary on Dale Sr, We’ve Lost Dale Earnhardt: 25 Years Later, FOX Sports conducted an interview honoring the legend. Fans shared their most sentimental and emotional recollections of Dale Sr. when they were asked what their favorite memory of him is to this day.

“Dale Earnhardt was larger than life to me. I saw him as an icon, as a person who just had this persona about him that nobody else could really compete with.” A fan said.

And the fan is not wrong. There was a reason he was known as the “Intimidator.” There was no one like Dale Sr. There will be no one like Dale Sr. He was known for his aggressive driving, for which he was even hated a lot back in his era. But the fans never let the hate take over.

As in 2025, Kenny Wallace said in The Skinny with Rico & Ken podcast, “You had two choices with Dale Sr.; you either moved right away or he was going to move you. That’s where he got the nickname ‘the Intimidator.”

News served to you like never before!

Prefer us on Google, To get latest news on feed

Prefer Us on Google

Dale Earnhardt was an icon. As one fan said, “He just had everything that I think most young men wanted in that era.” Though people miss him and his driving skills now, these very skills of his kind of made him a NASCAR villain at the time.

Dale Sr. used to drive Chevy No. 3 for Richard Childress Racing. He was the third child of racing driver Ralph Earnhardt. He began his career in 1975 in the World 600 at Charlotte Motor Speedway. He won his first NASCAR Cup Series race in the 1979 Southeastern 500 at Bristol Motor Speedway. Then, a year later, he won his first championship in 1980.

His NASCAR career has 7 NASCAR championships and 76 wins. He led more than 25,000 laps in 406 races. As another fan said, “The 2001 Daytona 500 was a good race; there was a lot of hype around it.”

In 2001, Dale Earnhardt Sr. was all set to race along with his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr., in the Daytona 500 at Daytona International Speedway. And the hype was obvious. Everyone wanted to see how the Intimidator would drive with his son. It was a rare moment to see the father-son duo together. But what happened next left the NASCAR world mourning to this day.

“I’m watching this race, thinking this is great, and it, it went from great to one of the worst. I could just tell something was wrong. The race went off. The news channel started coming on and saying that Dale had passed. That was tough,” another fan said with a mourning heart.

During the race on the final lap, a fatal accident happened involving Dale Earnhardt, Ken Schrader, and Sterling Marlin. Dale Earnhardt’s car crashed head-on into the retaining wall, which caused a basilar skull fracture that led to his demise.

“That day, a part of me forever died,” the fan said with teary eyes. His demise became a huge wake-up call in NASCAR’s better and improvement in safety protocols and all other motorsports around the world. He was 49 years old at the time of his demise.

“I have never seen my dad cry that much, and that was the day I saw him cry, when Earnhardt died,” another fan revealed about this emotional moment.

NASCAR is not just a mere motorsport. It’s an emotion for the fandoms that follow it. As a fan said, “I never put as much interest in another driver as I did with Dale. I couldn’t invest in another driver that way, because what if he died too? I wouldn’t want to go through that again. ”

The fans get emotionally attached and connected to the entities, so that every victory or downfall becomes a huge part of the fans’ lives. They play a huge role in keeping the sport and spirit alive.

“It’s still sad that it happened, but it’s really brought me and dad closer, because we have this huge Earnhardt collection, and it’s like a thing that me and him can do together,” said the fan. This sentiment is a very intimate and personal experience that everyone goes through when they share the same interest, which deepens their bonds in the best way.

There’s nothing better than a child and father getting close because of a sport, and making their life even better. As the fan’s father was also present in the interview, he added, “About ninety percent of all of it is personally related, because my son and I went and got it together.”

The fans openly expressed how they still have the signed merch by Earnhardt and collections of Dale Earnhardt that they had from such a young age, but now it’s a mere memory. Fans honestly admitted how Dale Earnhardt positively impacted their lives and how many layers it has, and that Dale Sr. might not even be aware of it and never will be.

But regardless of the cycle of life, we celebrate our one and only “The Intimidator,” making sure that his legacy will never fade and will forever live through different generations of NASCAR.

Dale Earnhardt’s brotherhood with Richard Childress

In six moving words, Dale Earnhardt Jr. recently discussed the deep bond between his late father and Richard Childress on the Dale Jr. Download podcast: “Dad and Richard were like brothers.”

Twenty-five years have passed since the Intimidator’s death, but his legacy, which Richard Childress led, is now a living legacy that will never fade.

“The RCR connection is more than just the relationship Dad had with Richard and the success they had on the racetrack.” He continued, “While we do compete on the racetrack, that is so small and singular compared to the history and relationship we have. And the trust would be a bond that would be very, very challenging to break.”

That loyalty was put to the test in 1985 when RCR experienced 11 engine failures. Earnhardt refused, saying, “We started this together; we’re going to finish it together,” when Childress, in distress, urged Sr. to find another team.

Childress later recalled the unforgettable look on Sr.’s face, highlighting a brotherhood rooted in commitment over convenience. This story makes Dale Earnhardt’s legacy even more memorable and respectful, and becomes an inspiration for the upcoming and existing generations of NASCAR.