![]() As kindhearted as Earnhardt could be, when it came to reaching out to his racing colleagues in times of tragedy, he was notorious for not handling hospital visits well, let alone funerals. Throughout the 2000 season, Petty had watched Earnhardt do everything to dodge him, from about-face turns exiting drivers' meetings to hiding behind a stack of tires in the garage, all to keep from having one very tough conversation.Įarnhardt, the toughest man in motorsports, had been avoiding Petty since the death of Petty's 19-year-old son, Adam, at New Hampshire Motor Speedway in May 2000. ![]() "Before he could say anything or avoid me, I jumped right in, 'How's it going, man? How you like driving these things?'" "I ran up to him and just gave him nowhere to go," Petty recalls now. That's when he spotted Earnhardt, who was on the same driving and sleep schedule. ![]() ![]() 4, Petty had just finished a driving shift and was walking toward the infield motorcoach lot to grab some sleep before his next stint behind the wheel. This is Part II of a four-part series on the life, death and safety legacy of Dale Earnhardt, 20 years after his fatal crash at the 2001 Daytona 500.ĭAYTONA SPEEDWEEKS 2001 opened with Kyle Petty trapping Dale Earnhardt, who had been ducking his fellow driver for nearly nine months, to have a long-overdue conversation during the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona sports car endurance race.Īround 2:30 a.m.
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