Dale Earnhardt

Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. (April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001) was an American NASCAR driver. He was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina, right outside of Charlotte, to Ralph Lee Earnhardt and Martha Coleman. He died in a racing accident in turn four on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Controversy over cause of death

At a news conference five days after the fatal crash, NASCAR officials announced that a seat belt had broken in Earnhardt's car. Daytona International Speedway physician Dr. Steve Bohannon said he thought the faulty belt had allowed Earnhardt's chin to strike the steering wheel, killing him. The manufacturers of seat belts for NASCAR, Simpson Race Products of Charlotte, North Carolina, maintained that the belt had failed because it had been installed in an unapproved fashion in order to increase Earnhardt's comfort, an allegation that had been supported by some who were familiar with the situation. Certainly, being held responsible for the death of NASCAR's most popular driver was not a desirable prospect for Simpson. On the other hand, NASCAR also did not wish to be seen as negligent in not requiring adequate head and neck restraint for drivers in the wake of five fatal accidents in the past 11 months, including popular drivers Kenny Irwin, Jr., Tony Roper, and Adam Petty, grandson of NASCAR's most legendary driver, Richard Petty. As well, they did soon made it a requirement to wear full faced helmets (although Earnhardt had been one of the very few to still use an open face helmet).

Related Topics:
Daytona International Speedway - Steve Bohannon - Simpson Race Products - Charlotte, North Carolina - Head and neck restraint - Kenny Irwin, Jr. - Tony Roper - Adam Petty - Richard Petty

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The Orlando Sentinel attempted to acquire Earnhardt's autopsy records and photos for study, autopsy records being normally public documents in Florida, but Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, (along with public opinion) prevailed upon a judge to seal the records. After a short court battle, it was mutually agreed to appoint Dr. Barry Myers, a Duke University expert on crash injuries, to independently study Earnhardt's death. On April 10, 2001, Myers published his report rejecting NASCAR's explanation, finding that Earnhardt's death was in fact the result of his inadequately restrained head and neck snapping forward, independently of the broken seat belt (making the question of proper or improper installation moot).

Related Topics:
Orlando Sentinel - Barry Myers - Duke University - April 10 - 2001 - Moot

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:"If the outboard lap belt had remained intact throughout the crash, Mr. Earnhardt's head would still likely have experienced similar inertial forces and similar contact forces with the steering wheel. As such, the restraint failure does not appear to have played a role in Mr. Earnhardt's fatal injury."http://www.orlandosentinel.com/orl-dalereporttext041001,0,6293625.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

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Dr. Philip Villanueva, a University of Miami neurosurgeon who had previously analyzed the crash for the Sentinel before the autopsy records were available, said he had reached the same conclusion, but had wanted to examine the autopsy photos to be certain. Dr. Steve Olvey, medical director of Championship Auto Racing Teams for 22 years, and Wayne State University crash expert John Melvin also agreed with Myers' report. Simpson's founder, Bill Simpson, called the report "the best news I've heard in seven weeks. I've been living in daily hell."

Related Topics:
Philip Villanueva - University of Miami - Neurosurgeon - Steve Olvey - Championship Auto Racing Teams - Wayne State University - John Melvin - Bill Simpson

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On the same day as Myers' report was made public, NASCAR announced its own investigation, after having remained silent for six weeks since the accident. However, when the greatly anticipated official NASCAR reporthttp://www.nascar.com/SPECIAL/er/download/, which had cost over a million dollars, was published on August 21, 2001, it cited collision with another car, the speed and angle of impact, and separation of the seat belt as factors in the fatality. After NASCAR's report, Simpson retired, citing the stress as "too much." The Simpson company attorneys asked NASCAR to unequivocally assert that

Related Topics:
August 21 - 2001

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• The belts were of high quality in workmanship and there were no design or manufacturing defects.
• The belts met the NASCAR rule book requirements.
• The belts, as installed, did not conform to manufacturer installation requirements.
• The separation of the left lap belt was not a result of design or manufacturing defect, but caused by improper installation.
• The belt separation was not the cause of Earnhardt's death.

NASCAR however, did not respond.

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Consonant with its report, NASCAR declined at the time to require drivers to wear the uncomfortable head and neck restraints, NASCAR president Mike Helton saying "We are still not going to react for the sake of reacting." However, it did state that it "encouraged their use". Drivers were indeed encouraged, with 41 out of 43 drivers wearing them at the Pepsi 400 by Meijer at Michigan International Speedway on August 19, 2001 two days before NASCAR's report came out.

Related Topics:
Head and neck restraints - Mike Helton - Pepsi 400 by Meijer - Michigan International Speedway - August 19 - 2001

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In the end, there was no controversy as all competitors and the sport's insiders knew the truth. Before Earnhardt's death, driver's Kenny Irwin, Adam Petty and Tony Roper had all died of basilar skull fracture due to a blunt impact with the wall delivered at a critical angle. Impacts and angles that were nearly identical to Earnhardt's accident. In 1999 NASCAR had mandated new rules for the car's chassis which ultimately lessened the amount of energy the car absorbed and increased the amount of energy the driver absorbed in an impact with the wall. As well, leading experts all knew that this fact, coupled with the lack of soft walls or head and neck restraints were a recipe for disaster. All of these were concerns that NASCAR knew about prior to Earnhardt's accident. Unfortunately, it took the death of the sport's greatest star before NASCAR would finally react. And when they finally did react, they deflected the blame upon other's (Simpson) in an attempt to lessen the damage that their own reputation was taking for allowing such a dangerous, yet preventable, situation to continue.

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