Return to Transcripts main page

CNN Sunday Morning

NASCAR Cranks Up this Afternoon

Aired February 17, 2002 - 08:48   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: You know, they call this the Super Bowl of auto racing. Now you gearheads don't need to be reminded of this. It is the Daytona 500. It's a pretty dangerous sport, to say the least. NASCAR cranks up the 500 in Florida this afternoon. It's the beginning of the NASCAR season. It's interesting that the -- in NASCAR, the big event is the first event.

This action is from the Busch race yesterday at Daytona. They have this thing called speed week there, which you're probably familiar with. Rookie racer Jimmy Johnson is on the poll for today's 500, but the sentimental favorite, of course, is Dale Earnhardt Jr. Don't need to remind you that his father was killed at Daytona last year.

JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: Following the death of Dale Earnhardt and three other NASCAR drivers during the six-month period, there's a new emphasis on safety this racing season. CNN's John Zarrella has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): On the last lap, the last turn, Dale Earnhardt's black number three car slammed into the concrete wall. The accident was bad. But that Earnhardt wouldn't walk away from it, was a shock.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is undoubtedly one of the toughest announcements that I've ever personally had to make. But after the accident, (UNINTELLIGIBLE) team of the Daytona 500, we've lost Dale Earnhardt.

ZARRELLA: Racing fans, a profoundly loyal group, were visibly shaken. Impromptu memorials...

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Amen. Amen.

ZARRELLA: ... and planned candlelight vigils marked his passing. Earnhardt was the fourth NASCAR driver to die in a six-month period. But Earnhardt's death changed thinking. Improving driver safety immediately took a fast track.

JEFF BURTON, DRIVER: No question, that was a -- that was a ball rolling, you know, slowly. And then after what happened last year with Earnhardt, that ball got going at a much higher rate. ZARRELLA: An investigation conducted by experts commissioned by NASCAR concluded that Earnhardt's lap belt separated during the wall impact. But it's unclear why. It's also left to speculation whether that contributed to his death, which the experts concluded was a blow to the head which resulted in a skull fracture.

Since last year's tragic end to the Daytona 500, NASCAR has made it a requirement that drivers use one of two available head and neck restraint systems. And there's a new high-tech seat, hardened and contoured to the body.

MICHAEL WALTRIP, 2001 DAYTONA 500 WINNER: Just making the seats tougher. They're a lot stronger now than they used to be. They don't give as much. So if you hit something, it keeps you right in place.

ZARRELLA: The drivers say they feel safer now. But action only came at a terrible high price.

BILL ELLIOTT, DRIVER: Dale would have wanted us to go on. I mean that's a part of what we do. I mean whatever happens to me, whether, you know, I retire or something happens to me, I want everybody to go on. That's a part of what we've got to do.

ZARRELLA: In Daytona, a recently unveiled bronze statue of Dale Earnhardt will be a lasting reminder of that price racing and its fans have paid.

John Zarrella, CNN, Daytona Beach, Florida.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com