Advertisement: Since Earnhardt died 20 years ago, NASCAR has added HANS devices for neck support, the Steel Foam and Energy Reduction (SAFER) barrier and more padding and restraint systems in the cockpits. The safety enhancements have led to zero deaths in NASCAR’s top-three series since Earnhardt’s death. Nine drivers passed away between 1989 and 2001. Since 2001, the sport has not been without its horrific crashes. But every time, the driver has walked out unscathed or at least with minor injuries. Newman, driver of the No. 6 car for Roush Fenway Racing, had one of the worst crashes one will ever witness in last year’s Daytona 500 and walked away with a concussion.
One of the biggest names in the world of stock car racing is that of National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing (NASCAR). Headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida, the massive organization is responsible for sanctioning over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states as well as in Canada, Mexico, and Europe every year, making it one of the most popular racing organizations in the world. Drivers at NASCAR events have gone on to become celebrities in the world of racing, and one would fully expect that these are fully seasoned professionals who have worked their way up the ranks in one of the fastest, most dangerous events there is. Yet on occasion there have been some oddities within the world of NASCAR, with one of these certainly being the time an unknown racer managed to slip into one of the organization’s biggest races, only to disappear without a trace or identity.