PHOTOS: Remembering Dale Earnhardt's final Daytona 500

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Photos: Remembering Dale Earnhardt's final Daytona 500

Dale Earnhardt, "The Intimidator," was killed on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500.

Dale Earnhardt, whose aggressive driving style led to controversy and earned him the nickname "The Intimidator," died on Feb. 18, 2001, as a result of a last-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500. His death was the catalyst for a number of changes in NASCAR.

A relaxed Dale Earnhardt Sr. walks down pit row whit his wife, Teresa, and shaking the hand of a Daytona Beach police officer just prior to the start of the 2001 Daytona 500.

For a good portion of the 43rd running of the Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt showed promise, leading the race and maintaining a front-running position for most of the event. As the laps wound down, DEI drivers Dale Earnhardt Jr. (foreground) and Michael Waltrip were leading Earnhardt.

Late in the race, a multi-car wreck eliminated several cars in spectacular fashion, including Tony Stewart (20), who found his car tumbling wildly down the backstretch. Getting by were Dale Earnhardt (3), Ron Hornaday (14) and Mark Martin (6).

Dale Earnhardt (right) and Ken Schrader run side-by-side on the next-to-last lap.

Heading into Turn 3 on the last lap, Dale Earnhardt's car turned sharply up the track toward the outside retaining wall. Ken Schrader's No. 36 Pontiac hits Earnhardt's car just behind the right door at nearly 160 miles per hour. The impact causes Earnhardt's window to pop out and car to snap.

Both cars hit the wall nose-first. The right-rear wheel assembly on Dale Earnhardt's car breaks off the car on impact. The hood pins are severed and the hood opens, slamming back against the windshield.

Dale Earnhardt and Ken Schrader come to a rest on the infield grass and medical crews converge on the crash scene. Earnhardt is extricated from the car and taken by ambulance to Halifax Medical Center. Schrader walked off unscathed. Hours later, NASCAR President Mike Helton made the formal announcement "... After the accident in Turn 4 at the end of the Daytona 500, uh, we've lost Dale Earnhardt."

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Dale Earnhardt, whose aggressive driving style led to controversy and earned him the nickname "The Intimidator," died on Feb. 18, 2001, as a result of a last-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500. His death was the catalyst for a number of changes in NASCAR.

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