Racing great Dale Earnhardt, age 49, was tragically killed in a crash during his final lap of the Daytona 500 on Sunday.

On NASCAR’S most celebrated day, Daytona lost one of its most prized racers, Dale Earnhardt, at the age of 49. He left behind four children, the youngest 12 years old, a loving wife, and a multitude of fans who over the years came to know him as the “Intimidator.”

The day had been unusual. With only 25 laps left, there was a huge pileup that claimed 19 cars and made for great TV pictures. However, there were no fatalities and the race continued as usual.

In comparison, Earnhardt’s crash looked minor, involving only three cars and hardly any action like the previous one.

Apparently Earnhardt had been trying to block other vehicles from catching up to his son and fellow racer Michael Waltrip when he lost control of his vehicle and slammed headfirst into a cement wall. He never regained consciousness and was pronounced dead shortly after 5:00 p.m.

“It is symbolic, the last turn of the last lap at Daytona,” said sophomore Charles Telep.

That is all it took to end the life of a man who had spent the last 22 years of his life driving in the Daytona 500.

“I was pretty shocked when they said he dies from that; in my mind [the crash] didn’t look half bad,” commented sophomore Mike Kirschke. “There are plenty of others that I would have figured people dying in, and that wasn’t one of them.”

Earnhardt had an illustrious career. He finished on top of the Winston Cup standings seven times, tying him for the NASCAR record with Richard Petty.

Of his 22 full seasons on the NASCAR circuit he finished in the top ten of the Winston Cup points standings 20 times.

Earnhardt had 427 top ten finishes over his career, racking up 67 total victories.

Over the course of his 22-year career in NASCAR, Earnhardt earned 41,411,551 dollars in prize money - the highest earnings by any NASCAR driver.