Let's settle it

[floid2000]

Whether you loved or hated Earnhart you have an opinion about his crash .

[Ax Slinger]

"Sterling Marlin murdered him"? That ain't even funny...

[massifheed]

Quite right Tim, but I imagine that Floid was trying to capture the diverse range of opinion about the cause of the crash, everyone has their own idea of what happened, and I have herad worse said about Sterling.

[Joe Fan]

I remain skeptical about any conclusions that have been already drawned up by the media or from fans. I don't know if it is even possible to determine exactly what killed Earnhardt with great certainty because there may have been several contributing factors that ultimately was responsible for his death. And the sad part about it, is that there may not be a viable solution to prevent the same from happening again to someone else in the same situation unless there is ground breaking technology developed like soft walls.

However, one thing that has continued to puzzle me is the lenghty fracture that was found on the top of Dale's skull. To me, this indicates that his head hit something, most likely the steering wheel. Judging from how well drivers appear to be strapped into their seats, this kind of fracture doesn't seem possible unless his belts or seat gave in during the impact. It is not uncommon for seat belts and seats themselves to give in during a crash in our passenger cars so why should we believe that professional racing equipment won't fail in 180mph impacts?

However, if I remember correctly, the physician who produced the first autopsy report felt that the basilar skull fracture is what killed him. So now, what causes basilar skull fractures? Well, we have been led to believe by HANS device proponents that it is the violent whipping forward motion of the head that is what causes these fractures. However, not all experts agree. Some experts claim that these fractures can only be caused by a blunt force to the head. So is really knows for sure? In a morbid kind of way, we really won't know for sure until a driver is killed due to a basilar skull fracture while wearing a HANS-type device. Since most drivers are wearing the device, we should probably find out the answer in the next 5-10 years. If drivers stop dieing while wearing the device, then it should be quite obvious. I for one, hold out hope that such a simple device can be the savior need here but my intuition tells me that it won't.

[gomick]

just think hitting wall at that speed caused dales death, like it did adam petty and kenny irwin.......dont think a full face helmet would have made a difference, but i wouldnt recommmend anyone using them

[floid2000]

I just put up the pole. I don't think for a minute that Sterling Marlin would hurt a fly.

[floid2000]

Thanks for participating in my pole. It was my first and won't be my last. I appologize if I offended anyone .That was never my intention

[43Fan]

You all forget about the neck surgery Dale had about 2 or 3 years ago,,Guess nascar has forgot about it too......

[floid2000]

I had forgotten about that. I wonder if it had any bearing on the outcome. Thanks 43

[Lee]

You know, what I am about to say might not set well with some, some might laugh at what I am about to say, but this is my actual feeling about this issue. After hearing all sides of this issue, he was killed because of the type of helmut he wore, his belts were improperly mounted, he wasn't wearing a HANS device, the cars are too unsafe, etc. I have resided myself to the idea that regardless of what precautions could have been made, regardless of any circumstance, whatever, nothing would have made a difference. I truly believe that the reason that Dale Earnhardt died in that accident was due to the fact that it was Dale's time. A force more powerful than any of us, more powerful than NASCAR, more powerful than Bill Simpson, more powerful than anybody decided that it was Dale's time to come home. I believe that God, himself reached down, and took Dale Earnhardt home! Not trying to push religion on anybody, just think it was Dale's time, and nothing would have changed the outcome.

[floid2000]

I'm with you Lee. Earnharts death was due to many differant circumstances coming together. Just wasn't Dales day