Snowstorms just pushed back the start of the 2026 NASCAR Cup Series season. However, they are not enough to push back the bubbling excitement for the first point race of the season, the prestigious Daytona 500. But before we dive into the 68th iteration of the Great American Race, a good look back at the 39th version won’t be a bad idea, to magnify the excitement. That was when Dale Earnhardt executed one of his jaw-dropping feats.
Dale Earnhardt wheeled a battered car
“Memorable Moments of the Daytona 500 #14: “Dale Earnhardt appeared out of the 1997 Daytona 500 following a flip. But as he was getting in the ambulance, Earnhardt looked at the car and thought it might start. It did. And he finished the race,” journalist Bob Pockrass wrote in a recent FOX Sports piece.
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It was still a year before the Intimidator’s long-awaited Daytona 500 victory. And yet his fans were on the edge of their seats anyway. At the 1997 Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt tangled with race-winner Jeff Gordon, Dale Jarrett, and Ernie Irvan while battling for second place on lap 189. Contact with Gordon Earnhardt and his Monte Carlo resulted in a spinning roll. The impact with Irvan’s car returned Earnhardt’s car to an upright position, although it spun in a frenzy into the grass infield.
The crowds cheered for an untouched Dale Earnhardt who climbed out of his battered No. 3 Chevrolet car. Just as he was about to board the ambulance, however, the legend had a change of mind. After his team worked on the vehicle and taped it up, he hopped right back on. Earnhardt tore through Turns 3 and 4, helmetless, in a return to the pits that would allow him to finish the race.
“When I stopped, I looked at it and got in the ambulance and looked back over there, and I said ‘man, the wheels ain’t knocked off that car yet,’ ” Dale Earnhardt said after the jaw-dropping feat in 1997. “I went back over there and looked at the wheels, and I told the guy in the car to fire it up. It fired up, and I said, ‘Get out. Unhook me, I’ve got to go.’ We took off after ’em. You’ve got to get all the laps you can. That’s what we’re running for the championship for.”
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Dale Earnhardt wanted to change the narrative after a series of failed Daytona 500 attempts. In 1986, he ceded the race to Geoff Bodine on a faulty fuel gamble. Then, in 1990, a cut tire burst his first-place bubble and allowed Derrike Cope to clinch a Cinderella victory. Several other instances saw Earnhardt losing to rivals like Dale Jarrett and Sterling Marlin. So in 1997, he wanted to at least finish the race.
The Intimidator’s fascinating memories never disappoint. That is why NASCAR Studios’ latest effort is thrilling for fans.
A tribute to the bygone legend
Daytona 500 is the race where Dale Earnhardt created his best memories. But it is also the event where the legend lost his life in February 2001. His death was more than a tragedy, as it was a rupture in the heart of the sport. And NASCAR Studios and FOX Sports’ new original documentary, ‘We’ve Lost Dale Earnhardt: 25 Years Later’, explores that fateful day and its impact beyond.
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It will premiere on Thursday, February 12, at 10 p.m. ET following the NASCAR Cup Series America 250 Duels on FS1. The documentary features exclusive first-person accounts, rare home video, archival broadcast footage, and cinematic storytelling. It revisits the death of seven-time NASCAR champion Dale Earnhardt and dissects the wide-ranging impact it had on the sport.
“FOX Sports’ partnership with NASCAR allows us to tell the stories that define the heart of the sport, and through this film, we are honored to spotlight Dale Earnhardt, one of the most iconic and influential figures in NASCAR and carry his legacy forward,” said Barry Nugent, Vice President, Development & Original Programming, FOX Sports. “This documentary explores the man behind the wheel and goes beyond a single day in history to delve into how one moment forever changed the sport and continues to impact drivers competing today.”
25 years after his tragic passing, Dale Earnhardt is very much alive in fans’ hearts. Here’s to remembering one of NASCAR’s greatest legends and his feats.
Read the full article here
