Dale 'The Intimidator' Earnhardt: Pt 3

In 1993, Earnhardt was back to his winning ways. He started off strong, nearly winning the elusive Daytona 500. He wound up, however, finishing 2cnd behind Dale Jarrett, when Jarrett passed him on the final lap. Earnhardt seemed unbeatable for the rest of '93 season though, winning 6 races and capturing his 6th Winston Cup championship.

In 1994 Earnhardt scored an amazing 7th Winston Cup championship, tying Richard Petty for the most Winston Cup wins. During the season Earnhardt won 4 wins and was in a close struggle with Ernie Irvan in the points race. But when Irvan had a life threatening wreck in Michigan and could not finish the season, Earnhardt took the championship in stellar fashion winning the Cup by 400 points over Mark Martin. Earnhardt would remain a dominant figure in NASCAR, but this would be his final championship season.

The '95 season would start with Earnhardt, once again, missing the mark at Daytona. He came in second behind Sterling Marlin. Dale had a strong season, however, with 5 wins, including his first road course victory at Sears Point, and a win in the Brickyard 400 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. He would say of the victory later that it was the biggest of his career. But at the end of the season he was edged out by Jeff Gordon by a mere 34 points.

The '96 season began the exact same way the previous '93 season had. Earnhardt dominated the pre-season speedweeks but still could not shake his 'Daytona Curse'. As in '93 Dale finished 2cnd behind Dale Jarrett. Never deterred though, Earnhardt scored back to back wins at Rockingham and Atlanta. But in late July at Talladega, while leading in the points, Earnhardt was involved in what many thought was a fatal crash. Ernie Irvan in the #28 lost control of his car causing a heart-stopping wreck that put Earnhardt in the wall at 200 mile per hour. As if that weren't enough, after smashing into the wall, the #3 car slid out into the middle of the track and into oncoming traffic.

Earnhardt's car was struck in the roof and windshield by other drivers unable to stop or avoid him in time. The wreck led NASCAR to create the 'Earnhardt Bar', a metallic brace located in the center of the windshield to reinforce the roof in case of a similar wreck. By the time med-crews arrived at the scene, Earnhardt was getting out of the car. Once out, he smiled and waved to the crowd. Earnhardt had suffered a broken collarbone, sternum, and shoulder blade, the stubborn and always tough Earnhardt refused to leave the track on a stretcher.

Many thought this horrific crash would end the season for Earnhardt. But the Intimidator wasn't going anywhere without a fight.

By Jim Serf