And it will never be the same without him.

Earnhardts fatal crash cast an enormous pall over what had been one of the most competitive Daytona 500s in then 43-year history of the Suber Bowl of stock-car races.

Earnhardt, the driver who had come to define NASCAR, died instantly from massive head injuries.

Those left behind were stunned as the word of his death spread. The fans cried, the large American flag in the middle of the speedway's infield was lowered to half-staff.

Nearly two hours after the race, NASCAR president Mike Helton, his voice cracking with emotion, walked into the field media center with the news everyone feared.

"This is undoubtedly one of the toughest announcements I have ever personally had to make" Helton Said. "We've lost Dale Earnhardt."

Days before tha race, Richard Childress, the onwer of Earnhardt's Chevrolet, had made some aerodynamics changes and new restrictions placed on cars by NASCAR and made a prediction. "It's going to be the best Daytona 500 we've ever seen," he said.

Instead, it was the saddest.

Earnhardt was the first driver killed in the Daytona 500, which began in the 1959. Six drivers had died of injuries from wrecks during practice or qualifying races for the 500, but never in the race itself.

Earnhardt was a seven-time Winston Cup champion, and his 76 victories were the most among active drivers.

"It's ironic that people talk about how selfish Dale Earnhardt was on the racetrack. He was a winner and when he buckled that hemet on he was focused on winning. But those of us who knew hom off the track know how unselfish he really was," said Dr.Jerry Punch, a TV commentator and close friend of Earnhardt. That others-first attitude was on display as Earnhardt blocked contenders from advancing on his teammates, rather then trying to win the race himself.

"The irony is that, for the first time on the track, you saw him be very unselfish in the final laps" Punch said. "In my opinion, he had a car that could have made a move. He could have pulled up in front of Sterling Marlin and maybe Kenny Schrader, probably drafted by and won his second Daytona 500. [Instead], Dale Earnhardt lost his life trying to secure a win for his friend Michael Waltrip.

"What Dale did in those final laps is what a father would do for a son, who was runnin right in front of him, or a brother would do for a bother," Punch added. "And Michael Waltrip was like a little brother he never had. [Earnhardt] stayed in the third spot and ran a 180 mph screen. He kept Marlin and Schrader, adn the others who didn't have a chance coming down the stretch, behind him so that his son and his friend could have the opportunity to win.

The crash began when the back left corner of Earnhardt's famed black No. 3 Chevrolet bumped with Sterling Marlin's Dodge. Earnhardt's care fishtailed slightly and briefly slid to its left, down toward the infield, before suddenly swinging back to the right and cutting across traffic at a sharp angle. His car hit the wall headfirst and Ken Schrader's yellow Pontiac crashed into the passenger side.