2001 Daytona 500: Tragedy over triumph

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The 43rd annual Daytona 500 would not be remembered for Michael Waltrip's stunning victory, 49 lead changes or an 18-car pileup that left Tony Stewart momentarily airborne.

	Michael Waltrip celebrates his first Winston Cup victory. Credit: ASP

Instead, the race was overshadowed by the death of Dale Earnhardt, who was fatally injured at nearly the same time the two cars he owned -- driven by Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. -- were crossing the finish line 1-2.

"Undoubtedly this is one of the toughest announcements I've personally had to make," NASCAR president Mike Helton said later, once the news was official. "After the accident in Turn 4 at the end of the Daytona 500, we've lost Dale Earnhardt."

For Waltrip, the victory was bittersweet. Ready to celebrate ending a personal 463-race winless streak, Waltrip's first task in Victory Lane was to search out his new boss -- Earnhardt -- and thank him for resuscitating his career.

Instead of a receiving a slap on the back for a job well done, Waltrip's joy quickly turned to sorrow once he heard the news.

2001 Daytona 500 Top 10  1. Michael Waltrip  2. Dale Earnhardt Jr.  3. Rusty Wallace  4. Ricky Rudd  5. Bill Elliott  6. Mike Wallace  7. Sterling Marlin  8. Bobby Hamilton  9. Jeremy Mayfield  10. Stacy Compton    KNOW YOUR NASCAR  •  More NASCAR History

"This is not anything personal to you all," he said, "but the only person who won this race was Dale Earnhardt. I was just so looking forward to doing well for him and then he wasn't there ... and I didn't know that he was hurt."

At first glance, Earnhardt's last-lap wreck didn't appear that serious.

Coming out of Turn 3, Rusty Wallace sneaked between Sterling Marlin and Kenny Schrader to Earnhardt's rear bumper. Marlin got a bit loose and subsequently tapped Earnhardt in the left rear quarter panel, sending him up the track and into the Turn 4 wall at approximately a 45-degree angle.

Schrader, unable to maneuver around Earnhardt, plowed into the side of his Chevrolet.

The two slid down the track and into the infield grass. Schrader quickly jumped out. Earnhardt did not.

"I don't know for sure what happened," Schrader said. "We all spread out going down the back straightaway. I knew that was going to happen. I was just hoping we'd get someone to go with us.

"They spread out, so I just hung with the guys on the outside. I guess someone got into Dale because Dale got into me and then we went up (the track). We hit pretty hard, and Dale hit harder."

Waltrip was one of the drivers who escaped a huge accident on lap 175 which wiped out many of the top cars and forced the race to be red-flagged to clean up the debris.

Robby Gordon appeared to tag Ward Burton coming into the backstretch, who spun into Tony Stewart. Stewart's car became airborne, landed on the top of the car driven by Bobby Labonte, triggering an accident that involved 18 cars -- more than half the field that was running at the time.

Stewart was treated for a concussion and released from the hospital.

	Dale Earnhardt

"This is the Daytona 500," said driver John Andretti, knocked out of the race in the wreck. "We were getting close to the end of it, and everyone wants to win."

There were concerns before the race that, with such close racing, an accident was inevitable.

"Accidents are inevitable," Andretti said, "when drivers are reaching to their limits."

"I'm sorry, but that's not racing," Dale Jarrett said. "It may be a great show out there [in the grandstand], but from a driver's perspective, that's not it."

Kurt Busch finished 41st in his Daytona debut while Casey Atwood was 20th.

This is one in a series of articles counting down to the 2003 Daytona 500.