“Sitting At The Television Looking, Watching It” — Dale Earnhardt’s Longtime Best Friend Recalls The Tragic Day He Passed Away

A tragic day. Dale Earnhardt tragically passed away on February 18, 2001, after being involved in a final-lap collision during the Daytona 500. He crashed into a retaining wall after making contact with Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader, and it truly was one of, if not the , saddest days in NASCAR history. And on a recent episode of Dale Earnhardt Jr.'s Dale Jr. Download podcast, Dale's longtime best friend  Donnie Rives was a guest, and he talked about that horrific day. Donnie has really never done any interviews or media whatsoever, which he explained is mostly because his friend asked him to never write a book, or do any other movies or TV, and tell some of their stories, because he didn't' want that aspect of his life publicized. And that's completely understandable... But Donnie told Jr. he thinks his best friend would be more than okay with the two of them talking in a public setting like this, and it turned out to be a really interesting and meaningful conversation. They of course talked about how Donnie and Dale met and became friends, as well as some of their early years before Dale became "The Intimidator," but they also got deep when Jr. asked Donnie about the day Sr. passed away. Donnie says he was at home watching the race on TV, and he immediately had a gut feeling that his friend was gone: "Sitting at the television looking, watching it. After the wreck, I said, Dale is bad. I said, real bad. I just knew it. In about 30 minutes, I got a call from Daytona that they said he didn't make it. And I already had that feeling. I mean, it just come over me." He added that the one and only thing that brings him comfort and peace is that he knows he will see him again one day: "It's going to happen to everybody. The only way to handle it is, if you know the Lord Jesus Christ is your personal savior. I mean, that's the only thing." I can't even imagine what that was like for the close friends and family of Dale Earnhardt, because I know just how sad it was for his fans and those who loved Dale as a race car driver. It's really special to see Donnie sit down with Dale Jr., the son of his best friend, after all these years and give all of us some insight into Dale Earnhardt the friend and person. Here's that part of the episode: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C90i5C-Pfmz/ Something you can never truly get over, and defines parts of your life forever. Donnie and Dale had a special bond, and it's very apparent when you listen to Donnie talk even now, so many years later. You can watch the entire episode here: https://youtu.be/-YLs7SetJYw?t=1