Martha Earnhardt remembers her son, Dale Earnhardt.

My favorite image is actually a video of Martha Earnhardt talking about her son, Dale Earnhardt, at the 10-year anniversary of his death on the last lap of the 2001 <a class="taxInlineTagLink" id="EVSPR000046" title="Daytona 500" href="/topic/sports/auto-racing/daytona-500-EVSPR000046.topic">Daytona 500</a>. Here is a frame grab from the video that we used in the paper.<br>
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The reason I remember this moment most in 2011 is because of the tear-jerking reaction from his mother as she told me she was watching the race on TV and that she knew Dale was gone when the TV network went to commercial immediately following and didn't come back to show the wreck. She followed by saying that she thought it must be his (Dale's) time to go to the Lord. Unforgettable.<br>
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I was actually at that same house (Martha's home) on the day after Dale Earnhardts fatal wreck in 2001. I flew to Kannapolis immediately after the Daytona 500, and reporter Rich McKay and I went to her house to get reaction. We were both dressed in full suits and ties and were very respectful, but Dales mom, Martha, just looked so sad sitting in the living room, and the family declined to comment. We both left, and that was the last I'd seen of her. 10 years later, and I still remember the address. Reporter George Diaz and I detoured from covering the Sprint Cup Media Tour in Charlotte and drove, unannounced, to Martha's house on a whim to see if she would talk to us about the anniversary. She not only agreed to talk to us but greeted us warmly into her living room where she let us interview her for 45 minutes! I'll never forget that interview and the most memorable moment I've ever photographed: Dale Earnhardt's fatal wreck on the last lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001.<br>
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-- Stephen M. Dowell, Orlando Sentinel Photographer

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( STEPHEN M DOWELL, ORLANDO SENTINEL PHOTOGRAPHER / December 16, 2011 )

My favorite image is actually a video of Martha Earnhardt talking about her son, Dale Earnhardt, at the 10-year anniversary of his death on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Here is a frame grab from the video that we used in the paper.

The reason I remember this moment most in 2011 is because of the tear-jerking reaction from his mother as she told me she was watching the race on TV and that she knew Dale was gone when the TV network went to commercial immediately following and didn't come back to show the wreck. She followed by saying that she thought it must be his (Dale's) time to go to the Lord. Unforgettable.

I was actually at that same house (Martha's home) on the day after Dale Earnhardts fatal wreck in 2001. I flew to Kannapolis immediately after the Daytona 500, and reporter Rich McKay and I went to her house to get reaction. We were both dressed in full suits and ties and were very respectful, but Dales mom, Martha, just looked so sad sitting in the living room, and the family declined to comment. We both left, and that was the last I'd seen of her. 10 years later, and I still remember the address. Reporter George Diaz and I detoured from covering the Sprint Cup Media Tour in Charlotte and drove, unannounced, to Martha's house on a whim to see if she would talk to us about the anniversary. She not only agreed to talk to us but greeted us warmly into her living room where she let us interview her for 45 minutes! I'll never forget that interview and the most memorable moment I've ever photographed: Dale Earnhardt's fatal wreck on the last lap of the Daytona 500 in 2001.

-- Stephen M. Dowell, Orlando Sentinel Photographer

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