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ALSO SEE
Earnhardt Hall induction no sooner than 2006
Dale Earnhardt memorial transcript
Arute: Earnhardt paid his dues before stardom
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Friday, February 23, 2001
Racing family must deal with death
By Jim Jenks
Special to ESPN.com
I am the patriarch of a family of racing fans.
|  | | Dale Earnhardt hugs Kyle Petty before his last race. |
A racing family that loved the entertainment and loyalties that NASCAR Winston Cup Series racing created. Every week, whether we were able to watch the race or not, it was my responsibility to let all the family members know how their favorite drivers finished.
My wife has been loyal to Kyle Petty for more than a decade. My two boys were racing fans from the first time they watched a race. They were four and two years old at the time.
The oldest, now 7, would cry when Jeff Gordon didn't win the race. Fortunately, that did not happen too often early in both of their careers.
The youngest started as a fan of Kyle Petty with his mother, but quickly lost patience with No. 44. He is competitive to say the least and couldn't stand losing to his older brother every week. He took care of that by switching his allegiance to Dale Earnhardt, one of his father's favorites.
Sunday was filled with hope and anticipation of a new season and the sheer excitement of the Daytona 500.
Gordon and Earnhardt ran up front most of the day and the boys could not be moved from their spots on the couch. It could have easily been a scene from a Norman Rockwell -- sitting on their knees, elbows propped on the arms of the couch, hands on chins riveted to the action on a 29-inch screen. Nothing was going to pry them way.
Excitement turned to anxiety and then to disaster.
Earnhardt was involved in what seemed to be a typical race accident. Sure, he hit the wall hard, but it didn't look as bad as it turned out to be. Despite the last-lap wreck, we cheered for Michael Waltrip and his first-career victory. We cheered for Dale Jr., who ran second. We even cheered for Earnhardt, who ran the perfect interference, sacrificing his position for the two cars he owned. It was a great finish to a great race.
In years of covering as a journalist and watching NASCAR racing, the silence and lack of information that follow an accident mean only one thing -- someone has died. The longer the wait for information, the worse the news will be. If everything is OK, the news is instantaneous. The cameras are there. There is movement, the window net is down. That did not happen yesterday.
After an hour of waiting for word, I said quietly to my wife, "He is dead."
It was confirmed shortly thereafter.
For the second time in less than a year, I was having to explain a racing death to my children. Why someone they knew and loved through television would not be back next week. First it was Adam Petty, Kyle's son, now it was Dale Earnhardt. We were happy Sunday to see Kyle behind the wheel of his late son's No. 45, but as parents we could only guess what he was feeling after losing Adam to an accident at New Hampshire last season.
While I was trying to explain how these things happen, memories of where my life intersected with Earnhardt's came rushing forth. The emotions went from shock to sadness and then to anger.
Should my children be watching a sport in which their heroes might not return alive? Accidents can happen, that is for sure, but they are happening far too frequently. This might be the first positive argument for video games. At least in NASCAR 2001, no matter how bad the accident, the cars and drivers return to the track.
NASCAR is proud of its safety record; how many times was it said yesterday that these were the safest cars in racing. Are they trying to convince themselves?
In the early 90s, NASCAR lost popular drivers Davey Allison and Alan Kulwicki to freak air accidents, and that was painful. But something has happened ... death has returned to the track. Neil Bonnett, Adam Petty, Kenny Irwin and Earnhardt, arguably the most popular driver in Winston Cup history. The pain is different. It is not supposed to happen on the track. It is not supposed to happen in front of me and it definitely should not happen in front of my children. Movies and games are one thing -- they are make-believe.
This is reality.
I am the patriarch of a family of racing fans and I have a decision to make.
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