Oh, and I forgot to add - because of Dale's death, many safety features were added to the cars that may not have been otherwise, or at a much slower pace. The HANS device, had Dale worn one, might have helped save his life.

Also, from what I understand, Dale always wore an open faced helmet - he refused any other type. His head injury was caused by his chin hitting the steering well, causing the fracture. Since then, I can think of only one driver that I have ever seen with an open helmet since.

I actually cried when Dale died. I was watching that race (BTW - really poor taste to show the death photo, IMO).

The reasons it was shocking, was (1) yeah he did drive 150 mph for a living, but he had escaped wrecks that looked much, much worse. (2) He was Dale-freaking-Earnhardt. He was the first to market himself the way he did, he was a rebel, a strong personality, the elder statesman of NASCAR. He was THE Man in the sport. Love him or hate him, he had stature. I watched his funeral and balled my eyes out. I surprised myself at the reaction. It still makes me sad from time to time.

The pp is correct - NASCAR has never "retired" a number. Richard Childress (the #3 car owner) does purchase the number so that no one else can use it.

No, it IS Sterling Martin. Yes, he was quite hated for a while by ignorant people.