Yesterday was the 3 year anniversary of the day the racing world lost Dale Earnhardt aka "The Intimidator" Not since "King" Richard Petty, did Nascar have such a powerful voice, a strong leader, and a more respected name. He spoke, they listened. He was not conceited, he wasnt arrogant. Yes he was VERY competitive. He was the MASTER of drafting. If you were lucky enough to be his 'drafting partner', then you knew you were on his good side lol. I found out about Dale's wreck in that fateful Daytona 500 and was CHEERING!(Love to hate him...that was a common motto about Dale). Then as I was talking on my phone to my friend Reese in Kentucky(Who is the biggest Earnhardt/Earnhardt Jr fan that I know!), my mom walked in and told me that Dale was pronounced dead. The hardest thing I had to do was interrupt Reese who was still cheering that Micheal Waltrip got his first win, and how proud team owner Dale Earnhardt must be, only to break her heart to tell her Dale died. She was sobbing a storm...and I went into tears as well. Knowing that Rockingham was the next race, and the black 3 wouldnt be taking the green flag, made me MORE upset. He didnt retire. He wasnt sitting out due to injury only to return next weekend at Las Vegas. He was dead. No one seemed able to accept that we lost him. The remainder of the year, on the races, the channels all had a silent Lap 3 in honor of Dale. When I became a Nascar fan in 1992, I chose Dale as my Cup driver and Bobby Labonte as my Busch driver. In 1993, I decided to change to Ricky Rudd and Sterling Marlin. (Sterling by the way won the 1994 and 1995 Daytona 500s...last driver to win back to back 500s thank you very much! *smiles*),and when Bobby Labonte moved to WC, I picked him. I couldnt turn my back on my Busch driver as he made the jump to Cup! In 1993, the Nascar world lost a bright young star, Davey Allison, the son of Nascar legend Bobby Allison. The Nascar world has its share of famous names: Petty,Earnhardt,Allison,Yarbourough,etc. I clearly remember the pre race bit they did on Davey prior to the race following his death. They showed clips of his career, as they played the song "I see your smile" by Gloria Estefan. To this day I cant hear that song without thinking of Davey. Ernie Irvan's near death scenario in 1995 was a major scare. In a practice wreck at Michigan on that summer day, Ernie's car slammed hard into the wall and Ernie was clinging to life by a thread...I was so upset. I didnt want the Nascar world to lose "Swervin' Irvan". Id be crushed. Given a 10% chance of living, Ernie slowly pulled through, to the disbelief of many doctors and members of the racing community. He even launched a comeback tour where he was able to win on the track that nearly took his life away from him. Kenny Irwin...oh God this is a sappy one here. Break out the tissues. I didnt mind him. I didnt like him. I didnt not like him. Basically, I held no opinion on Kenny. But that July afternoon in 2001, I was sittin' in the recliner, chilling out with a glass of ice water and snacking on pretzels.(Dont ask how I remember that)and was watching ESPN to get an update on the Nascar practice session. Then they came back from commercial, only to tell me that Kenny Irwin died in a practice wreck. Then as I was sobbing about that, the phone rang. Oh no...that summer we dreaded the phone. My granny was really sick and wasnt expected to make it till the end of the summer. It was "the call. My Uncle Steve was calling to say she died. As they interviewed Rusty Wallace on TV about Kenny Irwin, I was sobbing about both losses. But we expected Granny to go...we didnt expect Kenny. For weeks, I was so scared. If Kenny suddenly died, then ANYONE can go at anytime. I wasnt prepared. I was worried. I had panic attacks now and then. Thankfully I got over it and I felt better