Dale Earnhardt

Drivers were indeed encouraged, with 41 out of 43 drivers wearing them at the Pepsi 400 by Meijer at Michigan International Speedway on August 19, 2001 two days before NASCAR's report came out. Paul metropolitan area). Consonant with its report, NASCAR declined at the time to require drivers to wear the uncomfortable head and neck restraints, NASCAR president Mike Helton saying "We are still not going to react for the sake of reacting." However, it did state that it "encouraged their use". In recent years, new immigrants have added new religions to Minnesota, and there are now Islamic mosques, Buddhist temples, and Hindu mandirs in the state (many in the Minneapolis-St. NASCAR however, did not respond. Nearly 35% of Minnesotans identify themselves as Lutherans. When the greatly anticipated official NASCAR report[2] (http://www.nascar.com/SPECIAL/er/download/), which had cost over a million dollars, was published on August 21, 2001, however, it cited collision with another car, the speed and angle of impact, and separation of the seat belt as factors in the fatality. After NASCAR's report, Simpson retired, citing the stress as "too much." The Simpson company attorneys asked NASCAR to unequivocally assert that. The largest Protestant denomination in the state is Lutheranism and the largest religious body in the state is the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America.

On the same day as Myers' report was made public, NASCAR announced its own investigation, after having remained silent for six weeks since the accident. 64% of Minnesotans are Protestant (mostly mainline Protestant), although there are also a large number of Roman Catholics (about 25% of the population). I've been living in daily hell.". The population distribution by age is (Northeast Midwest Institute):. Simpson's founder, Bill Simpson, called the report "the best news I've heard in seven weeks. More recent immigrant communities include the third-largest Hmong population in the United States (from the Laos/Cambodia/Vietnam region) and the largest urban center of Hmong population in the world, and a large presence of people from Somalia. Steve Olvey, medical director of Championship Auto Racing Teams for 22 years, and Wayne State University crash expert John Melvin also agreed with Myers' report. More than 8 out of 10 whites in Minnesota are of German or Scandinavian descent.

Dr. Minnesotans traditionally count themselves as of Nordic descent (approximately 1.5 million people, 30% of the population, claim Danish, Finnish, Norwegian or Swedish ancestry), though more families originated in Germany (approximately 2 million people, 40% of the population). Philip Villanueva, a University of Miami neurosurgeon who had previously analyzed the crash for the Sentinel before the autopsy records were available, said he had reached the same conclusion, but had wanted to examine the autopsy photos to be certain. The racial makeup of the state is:. Dr. Most of the state's population is centered in the Twin Cities metropolitan area. On April 10, 2001, Myers published his report rejecting NASCAR's explanation, finding that Earnhardt's death was in fact the result of his inadequately restrained head and neck snapping forward, independently of the broken seat belt (making the question of proper or improper installation moot). 5.3% of the people who live in Minnesota are foreign-born (compared to 11.1% for the nation).

Barry Myers, a Duke University expert on crash injuries, to independently study Earnhardt's death. The state population, as of 2003, was 5,059,375 (1.75% of the total national population), with a growth rate of 12.4% in the last 10 years (compared to 13.1% for the nation). After a short court battle, it was mutually agreed to appoint Dr. Paul, Bloomington, and Edina). The Orlando Sentinel attempted to acquire Earnhardt's autopsy records and photos for study, autopsy records being normally public documents in Florida, but Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, (along with public opinion) prevailed upon a judge to seal the records. The "retail capital" of the state is probably the Twin Cities suburb of Roseville, which recorded $14,870 per capita (though it is easily outstripped in total revenue by Minneapolis, St. On the other hand, NASCAR also did not wish to be seen as negligent in not requiring adequate head and neck restraint for drivers in the wake of five fatal accidents in the past 11 months, including popular drivers Kenny Irwin, Jr., Tony Roper, and Adam Petty, grandson of NASCAR's most legendary driver, Richard Petty. Census Bureau).

Certainly, being held responsible for the death of NASCAR's most popular driver was not a desirable prospect for Simpson. average of $9,190 (U.S. The manufacturers of seat belts for NASCAR, Simpson Race Products of Charlotte, North Carolina, maintained that the belt had failed because it had been installed in an unapproved fashion in order to increase Earnhardt's comfort, an allegation that had been supported by some who were familiar with the situation. Retail sales per capita were $10,260 in 1997, higher than the U.S. Steve Bohannon said he thought the faulty belt had allowed Earnhardt's chin to strike the steering wheel, killing him. The Gross State Product was just under $173 billion in 1999 (Northeast Midwest Institute), with approximately $17.5 billion in exports in 2000. Daytona International Speedway physician Dr. Minnesota businesses and individuals paid an average of 11.8% of their income in state and local taxes in 1998, down from 12.7% in 1996 (Minnesota Department of Revenue).

At a news conference five days after the fatal crash, NASCAR officials announced that a seat belt had broken in Earnhardt's car. The state does not charge sales tax on clothing, services (massages, haircuts, auto work, etc), or non-prepared food items. The Fox television commentators' call of the final lap of the 2001 Golden Corral 500, with Harvick defeating Jeff Gordon by .006 seconds, and the images of Earnhardt's longtime fueler, Danny "Chocolate" Myers crying after the victory, are among of the most memorable moments in recent motorsports history, In 2004, his life story was made into a television movie by ESPN titled, 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story. It has an income and sales tax, as well as levying taxes on a common range of goods such as tobacco, gasoline, and alcohol. Three weeks after Earnhardt's death, young California driver Kevin Harvick, hired to replace him in the now-renumbered and repainted #29 GM Goodwrench Service Plus Chevrolet, scored a win at Atlanta. Minnesota is regarded as a high-tax state by some. The winner of that race, Michael Waltrip, was one of Dale's closest friends, and drove for DEI. However, water- and rail-borne traffic has been declining steadily over the years.

finished second when his father died at the 2001 Daytona 500. The state has been a major influence in the area of transportation, moving products along the Mississippi River, in and out of the inland seaport of Duluth, along railroads that criss-cross the state, via highways with trucking and busing companies, and through the air with a major airline hub. Dale Jr. As of January 2005, the state is the country's fourth-largest wind energy producer after California, Texas, and Iowa, with 615 megawatts installed and 213 MW planned [1] (http://www.awea.org/projects/). are both NASCAR drivers. Many farmers also now operate wind turbines to produce electricity, particularly in the windy southwest region. Kerry and Dale Jr. If production capacity meets the need, 2% biodiesel will be required in diesel fuel in 2005.

(both from his second marriage to Brenda Gee), and daughter Taylor (from his third marriage). state with such a mandate). At the time of his death he was survived by his third wife Teresa and four children: Son Kerry (from his first marriage to Latane Brown), Kelley, Dale Jr. A fair amount of ethanol alcohol fuel is produced in the state, and a 10% mix of ethanol into consumer gasoline has been mandated since 1997 (as of 2004, Minnesota is the only U.S. In contrast with his image as a hardnosed competitor on the track, off the track he was known to his friends as someone who was charitable and generous, but kept that side of himself private from the rest of the world. Additionally, northern Minnesota is a source for iron ore and wood products, though these are both declining industries. He enjoyed the company of his family, being in the outdoors, hunting and fishing, and actively working his farm in Kannapolis, riding a tractor instead of a racecar. A large proportion of the state's economy is still agricultural, even though only a small percentage of the population (around 2%) consider themselves to be farmers.

Earnhardt kept his private life generally private. The largest shopping mall in the United States, the Mall of America, is located in Bloomington. It is remarkable that his son, Dale Jr., is still officially marked as "Earnhardt Jr." on the ticker, even though there is no longer a need to distinguish between father and son on the racetrack. The city of Rochester is the headquarters of the Mayo Clinic, and has a significant manufacturing presence in International Business Machines. Earnhardt's death drew a considerable reaction from the nation, NASCAR, and of course grief-stricken fans. and Honeywell. People either loved him or hated him, but he was arguably one of the most popular drivers in the sport. Bancorp, Thrivent Financial for Lutherans (formerly Lutheran Brotherhood), Medtronic, Cray Computers, Imation, and a regional headquarters of Wells Fargo & Co., Caterpillar_Inc.

Dale Earnhardt in NASCAR was a very polarizing figure. (formerly Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Co.), Northwest Airlines, Target Corporation, U.S. Although Earnhardt eventually formed his own racing outfit--Dale Earnhardt Incorporated (DEI)--his loyalty to and friendship with Richard Childress kept aligned with RCR as a driver. The Twin Cities are home to a diverse range of major businesses, including 3M Co. The sinister looking all-black Goodwrench Chevrolet became the best-known car driven by Earnhardt. In general, salaries are lowest in more rural areas, particularly in the northwest portion of the state. Earnhardt drove a Chevrolet model, that moved through the decades as a Lumina and later a Monte Carlo. The county averages range from $17,369 (Todd County) to $42,313 (Hennepin County, a portion of the Metro area).

The #3 was sponsored by Wrangler Jeans, and later by Goodwrench. Census Bureau). While Earnhardt and Childress decided to split after the 1981 season (Earnhardt drove for Walter Moore, and Childress hired Ricky Rudd), they returned for 1984, and created one of the most successful teams in motorsports. The average household income in 1999 was approximately $48,000, ranking eighth in the nation (U.S. That partnership won 69 of Earnhardt's 76 races. Per capita personal income in 2003 was $34,031, 10^th in the nation. Earnhardt never liked Stacy, and when independent driver Richard Childress was given an offer to retire and let Earnhardt take over his #3 car, complete with Earnhardt's Wrangler Jeans sponsorship, Childress gave up his ride to field cars for Earnhardt. The Bureau of Economic Analysis estimates that Minnesota's total state product in 2003 was $211 billion.

Stacy. The average annual precipitation is 28.32 inches (719 mm), with a snowfall figure of 49.6 inches (126 cm). D. The average temperature in January (the coldest month) is 11.2 °F (−11.5 °C), and the average in the warmest month of July is 73.1 °F (22.8 °C); averages are cooler in the north and warmer in the south. In 1981, after a successful two and a half year stint with car owner Rod Osterlund, winning the 1980 championship, Osterlund sold his team to J. A record high of 114 °F (45.5 °C) was reached in both 1917 and 1936. As of 2005, no other Nextel Cup race car has used this number, and NASCAR has considered officially retiring it. Additionally, as part of the Great Plains region, the state also experiences warm summers.

Dale drove the #3 car for most of his career, spanning the late 1970s until his unfortunate passing in 2001. Surprisingly, due to the flows of the jet stream, parts of Alaska often see relatively warm temperatures when Minnesota is experiencing extreme cold. Although he had won at Daytona many times in many different races--including six Budweiser Shootouts, two Pepsi 400s, twelve Gatorade Twin 125s (including ten in a row from 1990 through 1999) and six IROC races--it took him until 1998 to win the Daytona 500, on his twentieth try. The state is famously cold in the winters, with a record low of −60 °F (−51 °C) measured at Tower, MN on February 2, 1996. He won 76 points races overall, fourth on the alltime list. Temperatures can reach extremes in Minnesota. Earnhardt himself had 10 wins at Talladega alone. The biggest event in the last century occurred near Morris in 1975 and rated between 4.6 and 4.8 in magnitude.

Restrictor plates are used at two superspeedways, Daytona and Talladega, where drafting also plays a large role in who wins — subsequently Dale Earnhardt and the teams he had worked with all do very well at those tracks. Aside from a few very minor earthquakes, Minnesota is one of the most geologically-stable regions in the country. Earnhardt discovered "side-drafting." Earnhardt was also known for his dominance at restrictor plate racing. The state's average elevation is 1,200 feet (366 m), with a high point at Eagle Mountain (2,301 ft or 701 m) and a low at the surface of Lake Superior (602 ft or 183 m). In addition to a hard-charging racing style, Earnhardt was known for being excellent at drafting, the phenomenon where two cars lined up together go faster than one car alone. Cloud, Mankato, Rochester (home of the world-famous Mayo Clinic), and Bloomington (home to the Mall of America). During his career, Earnhardt won the NASCAR Championship seven times, tying the record of the legendary Richard Petty. Additionally, his prize winnings totaled more than $41 million. Other prominent cities include Duluth, St.

For his aggressive driving style, Earnhardt quickly won the nickname "The Intimidator." He is generally credited with authorship of the quotation "second place is the first loser." His aggressiveness was always businesslike and in the service of competitive success, however; he was never vindictive or purposelessly aggressive on the track. Together (and with surrounding suburbs), they are known as the Twin Cities. Dale Earnhardt began with his racing career two years later, and by 1979 he had won the Winston Cup Rookie of the Year award. Paul, which sits on the Mississippi River next to Minnesota's largest city, Minneapolis. His father, Ralph, died of a heart attack while working on his race car in 1973. The capital is St. Earnhardt grew up in a racing family. Traversing the state from southwest to northeast goes through the three different ecological regions.

He died in a racing accident in turn four on the final lap of the 2001 Daytona 500. Minnesota sits at a convergence point between three of the great biomes of North America: the Great Plains of the west, the Eastern Deciduous Forest, and the Northern Boreal Forest of Canada. He was born in Kannapolis, North Carolina. Minnesota is the northernmost of the 48 contiguous states (Alaska reaches significantly farther north), reaching to 49° 23' 04" north latitude, due to a small piece of the state known as the Northwest Angle. Ralph Dale Earnhardt, Sr. (April 29, 1951 – February 18, 2001) was an American NASCAR driver. In addition, Minnesota shares a water boundary with Michigan. The belt separation was not the cause of Earnhardt's death. The state is bordered on the north by Canada (Manitoba and Ontario), on the east by Wisconsin and Lake Superior, on the south by Iowa, and on the west by North Dakota and South Dakota.

The separation of the left lap belt was not a result of design or manufacturing defect, but caused by improper installation. Although the high-grade iron ore was mostly mined out during World War II, taconite is still mined across the Iron Range. The belts, as installed, did not conform to manufacturer installation requirements. It is called the Iron Range because when discovered, it had some of the largest deposits of iron ore in the country. The belts met the NASCAR rule book requirements. This is a range of low mountains that run across the northern part of the state. The belts were of high quality in workmanship and there were no design or manufacturing defects. After its rivers and lakes, Minnesota's most prominent physical feature is the Iron Range.

Minnesota is home to many areas of park land, to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness (BWCA), as well as a number of state and county parks, most notably Itasca State Park, the official source of the Mississippi River. The Minnesota portion of Lake Superior is the largest body of water in the state. In addition, the Iron Range and other low mountains are found in the northeastern part of the state. However, the extreme southeastern portion of the state is part of the Driftless Area, which was not glaciated, and it is here that Lake Pepin and the rugged high bluffs of the Mississippi River are found.

Much of the state is flat, having been eroded during repeated glacial periods (most recently the Wisconsin Glacier). It is famous for its lakes, having in excess of 15,000, depending on the source of the count. Minnesota covers 79,610 square miles (2.25% of the United States). See: List of Minnesota counties.

External links: Hyperlinked state constitution (http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/cco/rules/mncon/preamble.htm), full text of state constitution (http://www.house.leg.state.mn.us/cco/rules/mncon/mncon.htm). See also: List of political parties in Minnesota. Some actions in the Twin Cities metropolitan area are coordinated by the Metropolitan Council, and many lakes and rivers are overseen by watershed districts and soil and water conservation districts. In addition to the standard city and county levels of government found in the United States, Minnesota also has other entities that provide governmental oversight and planning.

Supreme Court in Washington, D.C.. Appeals beyond this level go to the U.S. Louis, Missouri. Minnesota is part of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals, which is based in St.

Paul, or Duluth. Federal cases are heard in the federal district courts in Minneapolis, St. The state has two special courts created by state law as executive-branch agencies:. Minnesota's court system has three levels:.

The Minnesota Senate is controlled by the DFL by five seats and there is one Independence Party state senator, former Republican Sheila Kiscaden (IP-Rochester) who seats with the DFL. In the November 2004 election, the Republican Party retained control of the Minnesota House of Representatives by a single seat, having lost a total of 13 seats. The state has 67 districts, each covering about 60,000 people. Each district has one senator and two representatives (each district being divided into A and B subsections). Senators serve for four years, and representatives serve for two years. The Minnesota State Legislature is a bicameral body consisting of the Senate and House of Representatives.

The full list of governors, and the dates they took office, is available at List of Governors of Minnesota. He has a cabinet consisting of the leaders of various government agencies in the state. The governor and lieutenant governor each have four-year terms. The executive branch is headed by the Governor of Minnesota, currently Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, who started his term on January 6, 2003.

Like the national government of the United States, power is divided into three main branches: Executive, Legislative, and Judicial. Political conservatism is less strongly linked to church attendance in Minnesota than in other parts of the country, perhaps a reflection of the strong mainline Protestant and Roman Catholic following. state. presidential election, the highest of any U.S.

77.3% of Minnesotans voted in the 2004 U.S. Minnesota politics include such oddities as Professional wrestler turned Governors and protestors turned crowd-surfing mayors. Minnesota is known for active yet quirky politics, with populism being a long-standing force among all of the political parties that call the state home. Environmentalism is shared by most state residents in one form or another, vegans and hunters alike.

Families frequently own or share cabins on central and northern tracts of land in forests and adjoining lakes, and weekend trips out to these properties are common. Unique activities include ice fishing, which was popular with the early Scandinavian immigrants. Outdoor activities are major parts of the lives of many Minnesotans, including hunting and fishing. Many modern immigrants are attracted by the state's historically strong commitments toward education and social services.

Mexicans are a growing force, as they are across the U.S. Some Chinese and Japanese have had long presences in the state as well. Modern immigrants have come from all over the world in recent decades, with Hmong, Somali, Vietnamese, Indians, Middle Easterners, and the former Soviet bloc all being well-represented. The Métis people, a mixed French and Native American culture, were a presence in the early state and territorial days, but largely moved north into Canada.

Native Americans have a moderate presence in Minnesota, and some tribes operate casinos which have been said to be among the most profitable in the country. The earliest European exploration and settlement was by the French, and settlement from Scandinavian countries along with Germany followed. However, many cultures are slowly mixing together in the state today. Stereotypical Minnesotans are known for various attributes, including Lutheranism, "Minnesota nice", "hot dish", and sing-songy Scandinavian accents. The eastern half of the territory of Minnesota became the country's 32nd state—after California—on May 11, 1858.

Minnesota Territory was carved out of Iowa Territory on March 3, 1849, but it was not coextensive with the present state, since the area included what later became the territory of Dakota (which later still became the states of North Dakota and South Dakota). Parts were also considered to be in the Northwest Territory. Much of the state was purchased from France as part of the Louisiana Purchase, although the exact definition of that land was not assessed for many years afterward. It is now a historic site.

military presences in the state. Fort Snelling, located at the confluence of the Minnesota River and the Mississippi River, was one of the earliest U.S. Croix River, though many histories focus on the military settlement that took place farther west. Some say that the earliest European settlement was in the area of the current city of Stillwater, on the St.

The evidence for this is largely based on the controversial Kensington Runestone, which most historians consider to be an elaborate hoax. According to local tradition, the first European visitors were Swedish and Norwegian Vikings in the 14th century. In this time, the economy originally consisted of hunter-gatherer activities, which changed over time as Europeans settled in the area and further exploited the state's natural resources. The area now known as Minnesota was originally inhabited by Native Americans, in particular the Ojibwe (Chippewa, Anishinaabe) and Dakota, although the Winnebago also had a presence in the southeastern part of the state.

Main article: History of Minnesota. Other nicknames for the state include Land of 10,000 Lakes and the North Star State. The USS Minnesota was named in honor of this state, as was the SS Gopher State. The state is a major food producer for the country, and has a number of natural resources that have been greatly exploited in the last two centuries.

More than half of the state's residents live there. The most significant metropolitan area is known as the Twin Cities, combining the state's most populous cities, Minneapolis and the capital of Saint Paul, along with multiple "rings" of suburbs. Minnesota is the largest state by area in the Midwestern United States and is in the subregion known as the Upper Midwest. The state's name is abbreviated MN or Minn..

Its name is from the Dakota people's name for the Minnesota River, mini sota, variously translated "smoky-white water" or "sky-tinted water". Minnesota is the 32nd state of the United States, having joined the Union on May 11, 1858. Steve Zahn. Dave Winfield.

Roy Wilkins. DeWitt Wallace. Jesse Ventura. Cheryl Tiegs.

Lea Thompson. Taylor. Glen A. Harold Stassen.

Kevin Sorbo. Seann William Scott. Charles Schulz. Winona Ryder.

Marion Ross. The Replacements. Prince. Carl Pohlad.

Mondale. Walter F. Paul Molitor. Kevin McHale.

McCarthy. Eugene J. Roger Maris. John Madden.

Lipps Inc. Charles Lindbergh. Sinclair Lewis. Tom Lehman.

Jessica Lange. Peter Krause. Craig Kilborn. Kellogg.

Frank B. Garrison Keillor. Jimmy Jam & Terry Lewis. Hüsker Dü.

Humphrey. Hubert H. Josh Hartnett. Terry Gilliam.

Judy Garland. Al Franken. Scott Fitzgerald. F.

Tammy Faye. Bob Dylan. Morris Day. Rachel Leigh Cook.

Joel and Ethan Coen. Warren Burger. Herb Brooks. Jessica Biel.

Ann Bancroft. Richard Dean Anderson. Louie Anderson. Loni Anderson.

Eddie Albert. Father Jacques Marquette. Joseph Nicollet. Henry Schoolcraft.

Zebulon Pike. Daniel Greysolon, Sieur du Lhut. Father Louis Hennepin. Michel Aco.

Nicknames – "Gopher State," "North Star State," "Land of 10,000 Lakes". State tree – Norway Pine. State song – "Hail! Minnesota". State picture – Grace.

State mushroom – Morel (sponge mushroom; honeycomb morel). State muffin – Blueberry (adopted as part of a school project on how a bill becomes law). State motto – L'Étoile du Nord (“Star of the North”). Territory Motto (actual) – Quo sursum velo videre (“I cover to see what is above” is the closest translation).

Territory Motto (intended) – Quae sursum volo videre (“I wish to see what is beyond”). State grain – Wild rice. State gemstone – Lake Superior Agate. State flower – Pink and White Showy Lady Slipper.

State fish – Walleye. State drink – Milk. State butterfly – Monarch. State bird – Loon.

65+ - 594,266 (12.1%). 35-64 - 1,894,747 (38.6%). 19-34 - 1,068,850 (21.7%). 0-18 - 1,361,616 (27.7%).

1.4% mixed race. 1.1% American Indian. 2.9% Asian. 2.9% Hispanic.

3.5% Black. 88.2% White. It has five judges appointed by the governor to six-year terms, following approval from the state Senate. The Workers' Compensation Court of Appeals deals with cases involving worker injuries referred to it on appeal, or transferred from district court.

It has three judges appointed by the governor to six-year terms, following approval from the state Senate. The Tax Court deals with non-criminal tax cases across the state. The court automatically reviews first-degree murder convictions, and settles disputes over legislative elections. The seven justices on the Supreme Court hear appeals from the Court of Appeals, the Tax Court, and the Worker's Compensation Court.

Minnesota Supreme Court. There are 16 judges, who divide into three-judge panels to hear appeals in courts across the state. This body hears appeals on cases tried in the trial courts. Minnesota Court of Appeals.

Most state cases start in the trial courts. The state is split into 10 judicial districts, with 257 judges. Trial courts.