Something came to mind for me this week. During the trip to the Williamsport meet, I saw ads for the Blaise Alexander dealerships along Interstate 180 in Pennsylvania. The minute I saw the billboards, my brain opened to memories of watching Alexander, a young rising star in the ARCA Racing Series heydey. He drove for underfunded teams, but raced well. Week in week out he was a threat just like Ty Dillon is today in the #41. By 2001, Blaise was trying for NASCAR Busch Grand National Series races, starting 6 races that year, with a best finish of 11th.
2001 for NASCAR did not start off on a great note. On February 18, 7-time Winston Cup champion and 76-time winner Dale Earnhardt Sr was killed in a Lap 199 crash at the Daytona 500. The previous year, up and coming drivers Kenny Irwin Jr. and Adam Petty, the 4th generation of the Petty family, were both killed in practice accidents at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. (This was so bad they ran restrictor plates at New Hampshire, which was a colossal failure.) A lot death in racing was evident clearly in those two years. On October 4, 2001, fate would take its last victim, and arguably the most forgotten.
Kerry Earnhardt is the forgotten Earnhardt driver for sure. The popularity of his brother and father far more than his. Kerry did most of his racing in ARCA or the Busch Series. He won a few races here and there but never got the stardom the rest of his family did. On February 18, it had been hard for the entire family with the death of Dale Sr. Racing unfortunately had to move on and they did. Kerry and Dale Jr. continued racing in their respective series. Kerry was good friends with Blaise, and the two raced hard against each other despite.
On October 4, 2001, NASCAR and ARCA were both present at the Charlotte Motor Speedway. The ARCA race would be the first at the track on Thursday night. The EasyCare 100, a 67-lap shootout for the series was held. Alexander and Earnhardt were clearly the class of the field and were duking it out until Lap 63. On Lap 63, Alexander and Earnhardt clipped coming out of Turn #4 and onto the frontstretch. Both made contact, with Blaise's car going head on straight into a then non-SAFER barrier wall, while Earnhardt's car caught air and flipped upside down. Kerry's car went flying down the track towards Turn 1 in flaming rage of sparks upside down. Alexander meanwhile was still in the tri-oval, his #75 a wreck. Kerry thought about Alexander and wanted to run to the car, but instead was hurried off to the infield care center. After he was checked out and released, Earnhardt tried to run to see Alexander again, but by that point, the ambulance had shut its doors and was on its way to the care center.
Kerry would never get the chance to talk to Alexander. After no response by the body in terms of breathing, they performed lots of CPR on Alexander. Other cardiac measures were handled. However, it was too late. At 10:20 PM on October 4, Blaise Alexander was pronounced dead at the age of 25. Instead of finishing Laps 64 - 67, the race was called, and Earnhardt declared the winner, since he led Lap 63. Blaise never wore the HANS device, but wore the required ARCA neck collar, which was intact upon further inspection. Kerry spent time afterwards in the infield with the family, but soon after, Alexander's family was rushed home to Montoursville, Pennsylvania to be with their mother. On October 10, after the racing weekend was over, Alexander was laid to rest in Montoursville, with a ceremony of 1,000 people near his home. People attending included Felix Sebates and ARCA president Ron Drager. Most importantly, this funeral was attended by Kerry Earnhardt.
On an NASCAR.com article later in the year, Earnhardt admitted it was a year to forget, losing his father and a dear friend in the sport of racing. Both died doing what they love. Kerry continued on driving, soon landing other rides. However, Alexander's memory was soon lost time to time. In a bad coincidence, a year later at Charlotte, driving Eric Martin, driving the same #2 that Kerry did a year prior was killed in a practice crash. His car wrecked and then stopped on the track. Deborah Renshaw who had no spotter in the grandstands, didn't see him and crashed head-on into Martin's car. This killed Martin instantly.
Honestly, I missed that Thursday night race at Charlotte. However, I was watching the TNT broadcast later that weekend. I remember watching the above telecast with Bill Weber explaining the death. I was heartbroken, even though I was only 10 at the time, I had memories of watching Alexander race at different tracks. It hurt watching the race because someone you loved so much is dead, and I was crying for a while. When I saw the Blaise Alexander car dealer signs on Interstate 180, all of those memories immediately came back. Tears welled up in my eyes in the car, and for a few moments, I felt lightheaded. Come this morning I realize its October 2, and realize that the 10th anniversary of Blaise's death nears. I don't remember October 4, 2001 for anything else, but the race.
Unfortunately, the great possible career Blaise Alexander had, was cut short. Alexander had a best ARCA finish of seventh, but never won a race. He finished 11th best in the NASCAR Busch Grand National Series. However, the man who probably could've tacked on future wins and maybe become a star driver, never got to see that day. On this nearing 10th anniversary, I and I hope all NASCAR fans who remember that far take a moment of silence and remember the career that never happened for such a great driver.
