By Nathan Inman
Of all the creatures on planet Earth, only humans are aware of their own mortality. It’s often a taboo subject in day-to-day life, but it’s especially sensitive in the world of motorsports. There’s an old adage in life that the good ones are taken way too soon, and the same could be said for motorsports. Two of the greatest racing drivers to have ever lived raced in two very different forms of motorsport — but their fates were all the same.
On March 30, RHBSSI Faculty Fellow Dr. Felipe Tobar and a colleague from the Parks, Recreation and Tourism Department were published in the Routledge Handbook of Dark Events. Their chapter, titled “Death at play: Celebration and memorialisation of motorsport’s dead,” covers the public’s reactions to the deaths of Formula 1 driver Ayrton Senna and NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt.
The chapter focuses on how the drivers are memorialized, both at the racetracks where they lost their lives and back in their respective hometowns. According to Dr. Tobar and Dr. Ramshaw, memorials at racetracks tend to be more somber, recognizing the dangers of motorsports. This contrasts with how the drivers are remembered in their hometowns. Compared with these memorials, others are more celebratory, focusing more on the lives the drivers lived and their identities.
Senna’s life was taken on May 1, 1994, during the San Marino Grand Prix at Imola, Italy. At nearly 200 miles per hour, Senna’s car veered off track and slammed head-on into a concrete barrier. Upon being rushed to the hospital, Senna was declared dead shortly after, at just 34 years old. In just 10 full seasons in Formula 1, Senna had earned 41 race victories and three World Drivers’ Championships. His death remains one of the biggest “what ifs?” in racing history, as Senna likely had several more seasons ahead of him.
According to the chapter, Senna has been memorialized at Imola in various fashions. Notably, on the tenth anniversary of his death, there was a ceremonial lap around the circuit in one of Senna’s Formula 1 cars driven by one of his former teammates. Years later, on the 25th anniversary of Senna’s death, there was “a Catholic Mass at the Tamburello curve at 2 PM (the time and exact location of Senna’s fatal accident).” Additionally, there was an exhibition at the track featuring multiple of Senna’s former race cars. This contrasts with how Senna is remembered in his hometown of São Paulo, Brazil. Shortly after his death, the Brazilian government declared three days of national mourning, and his funeral was attended by more than three million people.
In the years since, Senna has been memorialized in numerous ways throughout São Paulo and the rest of the country. Notably, he has been recognized through the “naming of numerous racetracks, metro lines, bus stations, streets, neighborhoods, bridges and a federal highway.”
Following Senna’s death, in a twist of fate, Earnhardt would go on to win the NASCAR Winston Cup Series race later that day at Talladega. Upon exiting the car in victory lane, Earnhardt opened his post-race interview remembering Senna.
“I want to send our thoughts and prayers to the family of Ayrton Senna and all his fans,” Earnhardt said. “He was a great racer, and it’s a great shame to see him go as he did. You know, it’s tough.”
Less than a decade later, on February 18, 2001, Earnhardt was running third on the final lap of the Daytona 500. With half a lap to go, he sat behind two race cars he owned, including the No. 8 that was piloted by his son, Dale Earnhardt Jr. Attempting to fend off the rest of the pack for his drivers ahead of him, Earnhardt was turned at a high rate of speed into the turn four wall as the field raced towards the checkered flag. Earnhardt’s drivers would finish first and second, as his own car rolled down the banking and came to rest in the infield grass. Much like Senna, Earhardt was rushed to a local hospital and declared dead shortly after. In the moments following his death, NASCAR president Mike Helton made an announcement that brought the nation to a halt.
It was just five words, but they held a weight much heavier: “We have lost Dale Earnhardt.”
In the years since his death, Daytona has constructed a statue of Earnhardt winning the 1998 Daytona 500 near the track’s tour entrance, where fans often leave flowers and other memorabilia. Additionally, on years that align with the anniversary of Earnhardt’s death, fans in the stands hold out three fingers on the third lap of the event.
According to the chapter, the memorials throughout Earnhardt’s hometown of Kannapolis, North Carolina, are much more celebratory. Since 2023, the city has hosted an annual street race named the Earnhardt Outdoors Showdown. The chapter describes this as “hardly solemn,” as the event celebrates the legacy the driver left behind. Much like Daytona, Kannapolis has erected its own statue, but it is very different from the one on display at the speedway. The statue in Earnhardt’s hometown “features a statue of Earnhardt in Wrangler jeans, cowboy boots and a button‑up shirt rather than a racing suit” and is even often a site for wedding ceremonies. This exemplifies that the statue is much more celebratory than it is somber.
These variations in how drivers are memorialized showcase how hometowns mourn differently than a national audience. Regardless, whether the memorials be solemn as they are at the racetracks or celebratory as they are in the drivers’ hometowns, one thing remains certain: the lives and legacies of the drivers will forever be remembered.
