Dale Earnhardt's endurance racing career

[@ZedNinetySix_]

Even at 49 he had a huge endurance future ahead of him... With adaptation so quick like this, would be an endurance racing legend too... So sad he passed so soon❤

[@XCougar85X]

If only he adapted to safety standards better he would likeley still be around to day.

[@noahletwinski6955]

It was technically his own fault for not wanting the HANS device installed around his neck.

[@madmike3476]

@@noahletwinski6955 He still died because the seatbelt failed not because he wasnt wearing a hans device or the fact that he was wearing a open face helmet. Hans device and modern helmet would have helped, but we all saw Dale go threw way worse wrecks at Daytona then the one that took him.

[@speedhunter7156]

Dale sr was one of those driver's I could see take a lemans victory and maybe be the third Corvette car at lemans even to this day running a C8

[@stijnpaspont]

Dale at Le Mans would have been quite the sight. His performance in the corvette leads me to believe he really would have been like Jacky Ickx and Vic Elford, the kind of guys that can race and win in anything

[@fatpatlives1998]

@@stijnpaspont big E could drive a horse and carriage....dude was a racer

[@sandasturner9529]

Spot on.

[@patrickracer43]

I doubt Dale would be driving a C8 as he was 49 when he drove the C5, and if he survived he would currently be 71 years old (he was 49 when he died and it's been 22 years since his passing) but I truly think he could have gotten a win in the Rolex 24 at Daytona to win all but three races at Daytona (those three being the Goody's Dash Series, ARCA and the Craftsman Truck Series, and obviously excluding the bike races)

[@speedhunter7156]

@@patrickracer43 now i said running doesn't mean driving he was ment to actually run vettes starting in the 2001 Lemans 24

[@willypro4949]

What a lot of people don't put into consideration is that Dale Sr raced on dirt which provided plenty of experience with unstable/tricky road conditions which probably helped him a lot in his 24hr campaign

[@pepperjackttv]

This race perhaps proved that Dale Sr had the rare talent to be able to race anything

[@انا_ابراهيم_البناوي]

Dale is a legend he took the car and drove it like he was driving it all his life his passing was a big blow to everyone RIP legend

[@carcrushingamerica6948]

Raise Hell, Praise Dale.

[@dalelumina3]

dale sr is the one nascar driver i always wanted to see racing in le mans for the chevy team. disheartened it never happened and will never be so

[@stijnpaspont]

it really is one of the biggest "what if's" in motorsport. a real shame

[@hatred9427]

​@@stijnpaspontWhat is most incredible about Earnhardt is that, unlike a lot of other people in sports, he still had a bright racing career at 49. He's truly the Ayrton Senna of Stock Car Racing, and will forever be missed.

[@buckcarothers7717]

Over 20 years after his passing and it stil hurts 💔 the Intimidator was one of a kind RIP DALE we miss u !!!!

[@BigDumbMeRC]

I was extremely lucky to be there. One of my greatest memories, 5 years old sitting on the roof of my dads truck watching history.

[@TexasWarbird]

Could you image how intmidating it mustive been to have been competing on that track to have Dale Earnhardt in your review mirror on the Daytona 500 portions of the track.

[@effisjens1776]

What could have been... Imagine the sights of a black #3 C5R and maybe later C6R comming down the Mulsanne at night if that faithfull day never happened.

[@Jfunkey]

I'm very thankful to have found out that Junior still owns the car to this day. There's an NBC interview of him talking about this race and apparently the C5.R is one of his favorite cars in his collection.

[@misfortuneteller24]

22 years later and it still stings that he's not here.

[@kpegc]

According to Autosport, Dale was originally going to make his Rolex 24 debut a year earlier in 2000. He would have still driven a Corvette C5.R, but GM was entertaining the idea of having him share a car with fellow NASCAR Winston Cup aces Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart. Being that Dale Jr. was fresh off back to back Busch Series titles, it may not have been out of the question for him to join a three as part of an all NASCAR lineup. Roush Racing tried a similar approach in 1986 with Ricky Rudd, Bill Elliott, Ken Schrader, and Kyle Petty all sharing a Mustang IMSA GTO. Unfortunately, a crash ended their race early despite a fine qualification result of 4th in class. The 2000 Rolex 24 deal fell through, but one was put together in time for next year where he would share a Corvette with Jr and Corvette Racing regulars Kelly Collins and Andy Pilgrim. Toward the end of his life, the Intimidator took great interest in sportscar racing and even wanted to do Le Mans one day, as well as expand his DEI NASCAR team to the NASCAR owned Rolex Sports Car Series. Considering his 2001 Rolex 24 performance and his overall road course prowess, I truly think those ventures would have been a success. Here's the archived link to the Autosport story in question: web.archive.org/web/20001018182051/www1.autosport.com/

[@acecombat2shill]

if only he decided on the HANS device on that fateful afternoon

[@tim.noonan]

He was never going to adopt it. Seems like 3 resisted every change that NASCAR ever introduced, and still dominated in spite of every last one.

[@rahkinrah1963]

He was the last hold out...

[@kenta326]

Imagine.... All black #3 C5R

[@RedneckSwede]

This makes me so sad to see. Dale sr had more hidden talents than most people would have even thought. Including me. He showed such a great enthusiasm towards endurance racing and would have honestly focused more on that as a new career. We can only imagine him and his son on top off a podium together at Le Mans.

[@rayray3866]

This was an amazing video, I’m a huge Dale Earnhardt fan and I can tell you definitely did your homework!

[@StraightTruckinSnowman]

Dale Earnhardt will always be my favorite racecar driver of all time hands down the greatest stock car driver the man got it done in everything he raced. Jr has carried on the legacy incredibly well.

[@Nitro55555]

Was introduced to your videos in the WECcord server, and I have enjoyed every one of them! Even as Earnhardt aged, I still profoundly believe that his passing was the biggest loss in Sports.. ever. Sad that he never got a chance to race the Corvettes again, or properly build a race team before his widow torpedoed it.

[@berserkfuryyy6798]

I never knew this about one of my favorite drivers of all times! You earned this and a sub!

[@321-Gone]

Every time I see Dale's half helmet and no hans devise I get a sick feeling. Sure would have been fun to see him still around. Same goes for Davy Alison.

[@PaperBanjo64]

Davey Allison died in a helicopter crash.

[@haryosoo]

He seemed to bevery comfortable driving that C5R from the onboard cam, just like a dad taking his son for school

[@iBeerus-]

what a production. i had no idea dale had an endurance race but its so cool to hear how well he did. raise hell, praise dale

[@potatogirlcultist19]

I think the reason why NASCAR drivers always seem to do so well in everything is because A: A lot of them start on dirt tracks which give them an instinct for controlling oversteer and B: The extremely heavy NASCAR vehicles are more akin to a lorry than an Indycar or LMP1, which means that most cars they drive will be a lot easier and respond much better than a non modified NASCAR ever will.

[@loutenant9480]

Well it was not his last race finished, he also finished gatorade 125 duel, budweiser shootout and IROC race before Daytona 500.

[@lewiskemp5893]

I stayed up and watched the whole race. I remember Sr driving in the rain

[@acerusea5156]

Immediately liked due to Ace Combat soundtrack

[@berserkfuryyy6798]

Dale Sr looks even more intimidating in that Vette!

[@Panthercholo]

Andy Pilgrim, dude. Not Scott Pilgrim!

[@presinald]

yeah that was a bit funny lol I thought what are the odds

[@gorjlg]

Vs. the world

[@salvananez]

Dude went on challenging Dale's ex gfs

[@dougneon9550]

Dale seemed kinda bored after spanking the Daytona 500 but his son entering into NASCAR and this seemed like things that reignited his fire

[@_wyans]

Obviously it was a shame to lose him regardless, but his endurance racing career is one of the biggest what-ifs in Motorsport despite its obscurity

[@sametozkan9175]

He could have been driven 24 hours of Le Mans alongside Dale Jr. and Neil Bonnett.

[@kpegc]

He did indeed want to go there one day. He also wanted to bring DEI to the Rolex Sports Car Series and even hire sports car legend and Corvette factory driver Ron Fellows to his Winston Cup team. I think there's a very good chance he could have started a endurance racing legacy as well had he lived.

[@saad_ghannam]

You should post this on r/IMSARacing

[@matthewdaniels7462]

Thank you .

[@kallecarlund]

just as a correction, its Andy Pilgrim btw.

[@patrickracer43]

I think the only two events at Daytona in car racing that Dale Earnhardt Sr never won was the Truck Series race and the Rolex 24 Edit: I also find it interesting that Dale Earnhardt Jr chose to run a closed face helmet as he drove his #8 Dale Earnhardt Incorporated Budweiser Chevrolet wearing an open faced helmet

[@MrJohansen]

I could be mistaken, but I'm pretty sure Dale Jr only ran an open raced helmet for his rookie season in 2000 and then switched to his signature black full head helmet the next year

[@patrickracer43]

@@MrJohansen he ran the open faced helmet in 01, as he had a baseball design on it for the July race

[@marty_debiru]

I always had the slight clue that Dale and his son would had made a fantastic endurance team, even as large and famous as their NASCAR legacy.

[@tripledotter9520]

IMSA would have suited Big E well and DEI would have been there for the long haul.

[@justinburton918]

Dale finished the IROC race.

[@metallicarabbit]

this made me shed a tear for what could have been, Dale was always a talent behind the wheel, after he died, NASCAR was no longer fun to watch for me and i move on to Le mans and rally.

[@DavidCaudry]

86 cars, WOW

[@brianmessemer2973]

For the algorithm 🍻

[@taylorhorner1065]

All Hail the Algorithm

[@Marc-zi4vg]

essenially if Dale didnt died, it becomes a what if..of Dale Earnhardt Sr vs Jan Magnussen battling who is Mr Corvette

[@versedi]

Just thanks to feed the YT algorithm :P Wait I should do some shit take to spark discussion. Why it's called Indycar?

[@Nitro55555]

Because they’re in de car.

[@dalelumina3]

indy is short for indianapolis

[@noellundstrom7447]

Keep on making videos, you've got a really cool channel! If you want some unsolicited advice from an idiot like me I think you should stick with a thumbnail design similar in style to your renault group M rally video and your video about the race of a thousand years in Adelaide. It is much more clickable and you can clickbait better! What other video ideas do you have? I would love to hear

[@stijnpaspont]

Thanks. Lets just say ive got a wide range of motorsport related ideas yet to cover. In terms of thumbnails i'm still finding my way around them. I do like the adelaide and ivory coast style thumbnail. They fit cause they're about a single event and it works as a sort of movie poster. But i feel like for the career videos its important to have the driver i'm covering in the thumbnail