***NASCAR MBNA America 400 at Dover on NBC Sunday 9/21 at 10am PT / 1pm ET***

NASCAR.com ^ | 9/20/03

[NormsRevenge]

With a brand of racing that is as intimate as it is intense, there's no wonder why people continue to flock to "The Monster Mile." Dover, with seating for more than 140,000, is one of the most popular race destinations in the Northeast and hosts some of the biggest crowds to see a sporting event between New York and North Carolina.

This thread is dedicated to our Armed Forces members and their families worldwide and to the victims of Hurricane Isabel.

God Bless America and God Bless FRee Republic.

[#3Fan]

I said: "Maybe Nascar isn't letting them, I don't know." Let me clarify that by saying that maybe Nascar isn't letting them do their own research so that Nascar can centralize the process themselves, I don't know.

They're probably afraid of the odd chance that a non-perfect wall may go through a car or something and they'd be criticized to high heaven for it. But meanwhile we have Dale Jarrett, Dale Jr, and Nadeau with career-threatening injuries in the last two seasons.

[WestCoastGal]

Is Junior in or out at Talladega?
Doctors have yet to clear Earnhardt after concussion in Dover
Posted: Tuesday September 23, 2003 6:27PM; Updated: Tuesday September 23, 2003 6:27PM





CONCORD, N.C. (AP) -- Dale Earnhardt Jr. is expected to race at Talladega Superspeedway this weekend even though NASCAR has not yet medically cleared him to compete.

Earnhardt suffered a minor concussion and sprained right foot in a wreck Sunday in Dover, Del. He needs a doctor to approve he is fit to drive before he's allowed on the track, and NASCAR spokesman Jim Hunter said Earnhardt had not been cleared as of Tuesday.


"It's our understanding he has seen a doctor and is feeling fine, but we don't expect to make any sort of decisions about him until Wednesday, at the earliest," Hunter said.

NASCAR's policy of medically clearing a driver was put in place partially because of Earnhardt, who admitted last season he thought he was suffering from lingering effects of a concussion in several races.

Since then, NASCAR has required all drivers to receive written medical clearance from a doctor the sanctioning body approves of before the driver can compete.

Earnhardt missed an appearance Tuesday at Lowe's Motor Speedway, where he was scheduled to help track officials promote next month's race.

"We understand he's on crutches, but we were hoping he could still come out," track spokesman Jerry Gappens said. "But he needs to stay home and rest, and hopefully he'll be able to compete this weekend."

Earnhardt is seeking a record fifth consecutive victory this weekend at Talladega. Including the Busch Series event in April, Earnhardt has won five of the last five races he's entered at the 2.66-mile superspeedway.

According to his Web site, he spent Monday at his Dale Earnhardt Inc. race shop making adjustments to the No. 8 Chevrolet that would allow him maximum comfort in the race car.

Earnhardt was injured late in Sunday's race, crashing hard into the wall. He was briefly knocked out and taken to a local hospital for evaluation. He finished 37th in the race, and dropped from second to fourth in the Winston Cup standings.

He was evaluated Monday in North Carolina by neurosurgeon Dr. Jerry Petty, and those results were forwarded to NASCAR.

[tubebender]

Earnhardt suffered a minor concussion

My experience is there is potential for accumulative damage if you reinjure it too soon...

[#3Fan]

Besides my concern for Dale Jr's safety, the first thing that entered my mind when he was being helped from the car was that Talladega was this week. Of all races to miss, he can't miss this one.

[WestCoastGal]

News from DEI website re: Jr.......



http://www.daleearnhardtinc.com/content/news/default.aspx?StoryID=511

[Peace4EarthNow]

Excellent news!

Looking forward to seeing him in 'dega this weekend.

Go #8!!!

[glock rocks]

thanks for the great news WCG! I'm glad to hear Jr's competing this weekend.

earth to Pete, this Bud's fer ewe.

[steveegg]

'Tis good to see Jr is going to run this weekend, and that his foot is doing better. I'll take him to win on Sunday.

[WSGilcrest]

I've been saving my last start with Dale for this race.

Rank	Team Name	Points
1	Bodines Secret Sponsor	7097
2	Rexfords Rollers	7027
3	CatTeam	6917
4	redneks road apples	6821
5	xp38 Racing Team	6794
6	Rainbow Freeping Warriors	6782
7	Dog Breath Racing	6720
8	Thundering Herd Of Turtles	6694
9	Dog Gones Big Wreck	6680
10	bosco24	6653
11	Whos The Man	6623
11	Greshad Racing	6623
13	VastRearWingConspiracy	6598
14	loaf pinchers	6560
15	Siouxland Racing	6519
16	burning08	6387
17	Debris On The Track	6376
18	For Want of a Tire	6345
19	Norms B&G Corps	6266
20	FirewallFoward	6248
21	Scuderia Bubba	6205
22	Joe Car	6108
23	Speed Stars	6093
24	Redneck Racing	5993
25	TEAM BRU	5964
26	Cooters Garage 01	5944
27	Oreo Toombas	5787
28	Sparkomatic	5707
29	hawkk	5377
30	Craven and Brave	5255
31	Team Bonebrake	4986
32	Brickyard Fantasy	4028
33	Team Truth	3999
34	Super Yoopers	3841
35	Turbo Shenny	3799
36	Slewfoot Racin	3782
37	RoughRiders	3767
38	Ford Rockets	3293
39	bcbuster	2861
40	Team AE	2839
41	Palm Bay Roadsters	2596
42	Gant33Lives	2295
43	Racin Rednex	2084
44	Poohbahs Party	1546
45	the_29_chevy_run_good_today	95
46	Winodog Walltaggers	0

[WestCoastGal]

You've definitely got the right driver and team for this race!! Hope to see that 8 out front at the checkered flag! Junior needs to catch up in points now, he lost 2 positions last week.

[#3Fan]

His quotes have looked normal this week so he seems OK. :^) Glad to see a doctor didn't try to make a name for himsel.

[Quilla]

My son (16) left for Talladega yesterday. He has been to the last three races. He was there when Jr. broke Sr.'s record. One of his cousins (25 year old engineer/builder) was so distraught about #3's record being broken, he was reduced to tears. Dale Earnhardt still has many true fans. I'm pulling for Junior since I'm raising his number one fan. ;-)

[#3Fan]

It didn't help that it was his son that broke the record? :^) I like Dale Jr for the same reason I liked Dale Sr, because of the way they approach racing, and everything really. The way they conduct themselves. A lot of people get on Dale Jr for the way he dresses and everything, but if you look at pictures of Dale Sr back in his twenties and early thirties, he was a bit of a wild-hair. lol

[billbears]

A bit of a wild-hair yes, but not a hip hop wanna be. Let him earn the respect his father earned and I'll start to like him. Right now out of the young guns, I've got to lean towards Kenseth and Newman, although if Harvick would calm down a bit he could be one of the good ones. Unfortunately at the moment, Kevin is following in the footsteps of that great mediocrity Jimmy Spencer

[#3Fan]

A bit of a wild-hair yes, but not a hip hop wanna be.

Long-hairs were looked on with the same disdain by the your equivilants in Earnhardt's day. What were they, hippie wanna-bes? Which is worse, a hippie wanna-be, or a hip-hop wanna-be? lol

Let him earn the respect his father earned and I'll start to like him.

I'll ping you when he wins his seventh championship.

Right now out of the young guns, I've got to lean towards Kenseth...

Uh oh, better scratch Kenseth off your list since he was at the party where hip-hop was playing in that Schmiernoff(sp?) commercial.

...and Newman, although if Harvick would calm down a bit he could be one of the good ones. Unfortunately at the moment, Kevin is following in the footsteps of that great mediocrity Jimmy Spencer.

Newman is toughest in the closing laps if he's leading. I said that a few months ago and he proved me right again last week.

[billbears]

Long-hairs were looked on with the same disdain by the your equivilants in Earnhardt's day. What were they, hippie wanna-bes? Which is worse, a hippie wanna-be, or a hip-hop wanna-be? lol

You've got a point there. But I just can't see Dale Sr appearing on the equivalent of MTV Cribs either

I'll ping you when he wins his seventh championship

Not what I mean at all. I think he is earning some of the respect his father had already. But he's following too close to NASCAR rules. His father rebelled against those and drove his own race. Secondly let's be honest. How would Jr do, realistically, if his first few years were not in a DEI car. The original info for those cars came from Richard Childress Racing. You could put a novice in those cars and still have a good finish at a superspeedway. I'm not necessarily kicking him however he's going to have to work harder and better than the other guys before he's going to gain the same amount of respect

[al_c]

if Harvick would calm down a bit he could be one of the good ones.

Remember the early years of the previous Goodwrench driver? Harvick will calm down and he will win some championships.

[#3Fan]

You've got a point there.

I remember my own dad not liking my hair then. lol

But I just can't see Dale Sr appearing on the equivalent of MTV Cribs either

I watched that. My brother taped it and he's a country music fan. If he taped it, it couldn't be that bad. lol I didn't think he was trying to be a rapper or anything, he was just showing the house. Drivers like Dale Jr and Gordon have younger fans, I can see why MTV would want to put them on.

Not what I mean at all. I think he is earning some of the respect his father had already. But he's following too close to NASCAR rules. His father rebelled against those and drove his own race. Secondly let's be honest. How would Jr do, realistically, if his first few years were not in a DEI car.

Look at all the good young guns, they're all in good rides. So it's not like Dale Jr is the only young driver in a good ride. No doubt Dale Sr was the greatest. But Dale Jr is pretty good, as he's proven at mental tracks like Talladega.

The original info for those cars came from Richard Childress Racing. You could put a novice in those cars and still have a good finish at a superspeedway.

Then what's wrong with Park and Green?

I'm not necessarily kicking him however he's going to have to work harder and better than the other guys before he's going to gain the same amount of respect.

Nah, you're one of those people that would be impossible to please. Dale Earnhardt was a great driver and Dale Jr isn't going to be the very same man Dale Sr was. You're looking for a driver that listens to Brooks and Dunn and spends all his leisure time hunting and fishing. Dale Jr has had great success in racing but you can't see that because you and he don't hold the same interests outside of racing. The first race I watched Dale Jr run was a Busch race before he was a Busch driver. He took a no-name car and was charging to the front before mechanical trouble. Since then he's won two Busch championships, won in his 12th start, won his first Winston, won 4 straight Talladegas (again why hasn't Michael or Green or Park done the same?), and has run second in points most of the year ahead of drivers like Gordon and Labonte. Pretty good in today's competition where the cars are more even.

By the way, I hate that rap and hip-hop too, or whatever it is. But I remember how my music was hated when I was younger too. I don't think you can judge a person by that.

[#3Fan]

But he's following too close to NASCAR rules. His father rebelled against those and drove his own race.

What rules is he supposed to rebel against? What rules did Dale Sr rebel against?

[WestCoastGal]

Headlines

• Mayfield, Stewart fined $5,000 for language

• Gibbs, Home Depot extend deal through 2009




Dale Earnhardt Jr. in his no. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet hits the wall in Turn 2 late in Sunday's MBNA America 400 at Dover. Credit: AP

Junior's crash may have been hardest to date
By Marty Smith, Turner Sports Interactive September 26, 2003
2:25 PM EDT (1825 GMT)




TALLADEGA, Ala. -- Though Dale Earnhardt Jr's late-race accident last weekend at Dover International Speedway wasn't overly spectacular in appearance, the data from the crash could prove otherwise.

Earnhardt said Friday at Talladega Superspeedway that, though he was unsure of specifics, the crash may have been the worst recorded to date by black box technology.

"I heard some hearsay -- they said that Kyle Petty's (wreck) at Bristol was the hardest they'd ever recorded with the black box, and they said it was more than that," said Earnhardt, Jr. of his accident.

"The wreck didn't look like, didn't feel like it was a hard, hard hit. But when my foot slammed into that brake pedal -- I've never felt pain like that in my life. It was awful."


Dale Earnhardt Jr. Credit: Autostock
NASCAR research and development director Gary Nelson, who spearheads the study of such accidents and their respective data, said determining the impact of one hit against another is difficult, due to the vast amount of variables involved in each crash.

"To Dale Jr. it probably was the hardest hit of the season," Nelson said. "We're not going to get into specifics about hard hits, because there are so many different complex criteria to use, to judge hits by."

Jerry Nadeau's accident at Richmond International Raceway in May, which sidelined him for the remainder of the season, was rumored to have registered a force of 160 times the force of gravity.

Earnhardt said the slight concussion he suffered last weekend resulted in far fewer aftereffects than he experienced following last season's well-publicized accident in Fontana, Calif., which hampered him for months.

"I had a little bit a concussion and was unconscious for a little bit, but it wasn't as bad as California," Earnhardt said. "I had a gauge to go off of, as far as exactly how bad my concussion was, unfortunately, being that accident."

Earnhardt said it took about 24 hours after the accident before he felt normal again, and that the injuries to his right foot -- "a bunch of torn tendons" -- were quite burdensome and may linger awhile.

"It's hard to explain what it feels like. It's no fun," he said. "Like I say, I blacked out in the car. But my foot hurts bad. After I hit the wall I was still conscious. I put the net down and took my helmet off.

"Then I felt how bad my foot was hurting. It was so much pain, you've got to be unconscious. You're body just shuts off, I don't know. I was just a little dizzy, that was it."

In his career, Earnhardt said there have been six or seven instances where he's hit the wall hard enough to make him dizzy. He's more concerned with the foot, which requires immobilization to fully heal.

"The biggest problem was the foot getting better," Earnhardt said. "They said it probably wasn't going to get better for a long time, but they've done everything they can to get the swelling to go down so I can walk on it. It's getting better every day."

Despite his injuries, Earnhardt is still a favorite to win the EA Sports 500 Sunday. He has won a record four straight races at the 2.66-mile track.

"You can drive with that type of injury, that's no problem at all," he said. "It just sucked real bad to not be able to walk for a couple days. It's more painful, I think, to walk on the crutches than it is to walk on the foot.

"So I just laid around a couple days, iced it 24 hours a day. I got to where I could hobbled over to the shop, and now I feel pretty good. It's kind of a non-issue.

"I feel real confident coming in that we can get five in a row."