NASCAR: Five Most Heartbreaking Earnhardt Losses

Randy Sartin-USA TODAY Sports

There’s an old saying in racing, “Second place is the first loser.” Many years ago after a midget race, my father was standing next to future IRL Series driver, Davey Hamilton. A fan walked up to Hamilton and congratulated him on his second-place finish, Hamilton thanked the fan then turned to my father and said, “Second place (censored) sucks.”

For drivers, most days second place does “suck”. I have been around and watched stock car racing my entire life and not once have I ever heard a driver say that they were looking to finish second. There are some days where a second place finish or a top-five finish or even a top-10 finish almost feels like a win.

Almost but not quite.

Auto racing is a sport where drivers, teams and race fans have to learn to accept losing. Unlike other sports where competition is one on one between two teams, there are up to 42 other drivers and teams in NASCAR events. Winning is not easy and when a driver has the opportunity to pull into victory lane, racing provides fans the greatest exhilaration in all of sport in my view. On the other hand when winning is within reach and is suddenly taken away, there is no bigger heartbreak.

That being said, not all losses are equal.

The following are five of the most excruciating losses that I have experienced in my 30 plus years as a race fan. The painful memories associated with these races are just as vivid as the memories of winning, maybe more so. Are there any races for you that you will never get over as long as you live?