Daytona Countdown: '01

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Michael Waltrip's victory in the 43rd Daytona 500 on Feb. 18, 2001, was the first Cup points race victory of his career, but the day is remembered for the death of Dale Earnhardt.

Earnhardt 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.

NASCAR ACCELERATION •   Know Your NASCAR •   Tickets for Daytona •   2004 Daytona 500 highlights •   Get TrackPass for 2005! ALSO IN 2001 ... •   Wikipedia, a Wiki free content encyclopedia, goes online (Jan. 15)  •   Former president of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Slobodan Milosevic surrenders to police special forces, to be tried on charges of war crimes (April 1)  •   Comedy sci-fi author Douglas Adams of "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" fame, dies from a heart attack at age 49 (May 11)  •   The first Harry Potter film, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," is released, grossing $975.8 million, becoming the second-highest grossing film around the world of all time (Nov. 16)  •   Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection five days after Dynegy canceled an $8.4 billion buyout bid. At the time, this was the largest bankruptcy in U.S. history (Dec. 2)  Courtesy: Wikipedia

"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."

On Oct. 23, Apple announced the iPod, a digital audio player, with a retail price of $399 for a unit with a five-gigabyte hard drive. On Nov. 15, Microsoft released the X Box games console for $299. Three days later, Nintendo released its GameCube console gaming system for $199.95.

With his first-place check for $1,331,185, Waltrip could have purchased 3,336 iPods, 4,452 X Boxes or 6,655 GameCubes.

Apple released Mac OS X in 2001, while Microsoft put Windows XP on the market. On Nov. 22, Pope John Paul II sent the first papal e-mail from a laptop in his office.

Arthur C. Clarke and Stanley Kubrick began writing a science fiction movie script in 1964 -- and four years later, accepted Oscars for 2001: A Space Odyssey. On Jan. 1, a black monolith measuring approximately 9 feet tall appeared in a Seattle park as a tribute to the 1968 movie.

The Apollo 13 caspule was named Odyssey. It's now housed at the Kansas Cosmosphere and Space Center in Hutchinson. Leslie Neilsen starred in 2001: A Space Travesty. It would take light 10 billion years to traverse the known universe.

After Congress certified George W. Bush's Electoral College victory over Al Gore on Jan. 6, Bush became the 43rd President of the United States on Jan. 20.

On Feb. 19, a museum to the bombing victims was dedicated at the Oklahoma City National Memorial. Timothy McVeigh was executed on June 11.

On Sept. 11, 2,996 people were killed when terrorists took control of four passenger jets. The total included 319 firefighters and 50 law enforcement personnel.

Two jets crashed into New York's World Trade Center, knocking down both towers, another into the Pentagon and one was brought down in rural Pennsylvania, apparently by passengers who fought back against their attackers.

After an unprecedented total ban of air travel in American skies after the attacks on Sept. 11, some commercial flights were allowed to resume on Sept. 13. Four days later, the New York Stock Exchange reopened. The attacks caused more than $20 billion in property damage to buildings in New York and Washington.

On Oct. 7, the United States attacked Afghanistan. Three days later, President Bush presented a list of the 22 most wanted terrorists, which included Osama bin Laden, who remains at large.

On Feb. 5, Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman announced their separation. The Mir space station separated upon re-entry on March 23, landing in the Pacific Ocean.

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