“I’m glad it was you”: When Dale Jr. read a letter he wrote to Ken Schrader for witnessing Dale Earnhardt’s ‘darkest moment’

Retired NASCAR Cup Series driver Ken Schrader has never shared publicly what he saw when he peered into the cockpit of Dale Earnhardt's battered #3 car following a last-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500 that tragically took the seven-time champion's life. It's a secret Schrader continues to carry 23 years later out of respect for the late Earnhardt's family and fans.

Dale Earnhardt Jr., 26-time Cup Series winner and son of the late Earnhardt, brought Schrader on to the "Dale Jr. Download" as a guest back in 2019. Towards the end of the interview, Earnhardt told Schrader that when he knew he had him booked for the show, he took it upon himself to write some notes and wanted to address "the elephant in the room" that he was the first person to attend to his dad's car moments after his fatal crash.

"I wanted to say something about it," Earnhardt told Schrader. "We can't do this podcast, we can't have this conversation and ignore it, right? So I wrote something and I wanted to read it to you if I could." (13:30 onwards)

Visibly emotional, Schrader smiled and told Earnhardt not to "mess" him up when reading the letter. Earnhardt responded by telling Schrader he didn't have to say anything and began to read the letter to him, which said:

"You're one of only a few to see the darkest moment for my dad that you have intimate knowledge of those moments. You are a keeper of that delicate information. It makes me feel close to you, Kenny. I feel pain for you to have to carry that memory, but you carry it for me, you carry it for Kelley, dad's family, you carry it for anyone who's ever cheered for him. It's a secret that you'll keep until your last breath. Kenny, I know you might sometimes wish you weren't the one, but I'm glad it was you." (13:55 onwards)

Earnhardt finished by saying he appreciates Schrader and the friend he's been to him.

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Dale Earnhardt Jr. won the first race at Daytona after his father's tragic death

Six months after Dale Earnhardt's death in a last-lap crash in the 2001 Daytona 500, Dale Earnhardt Jr. took the checkered flag in the Pepsi 400 at the Daytona International Speedway, the first race at the track since one of the sport's darkest days.

Earnhardt led the final five laps en route to victory behind the wheel of the #8 Dale Earnhardt Inc. Chevrolet, a team owned by his late father. His teammate, Michael Waltrip, ran runner-up. In his post-race interview, Earnhardt said his dad was in his presence as he drove to victory.

"He was with me tonight," Earnhardt said. "I don't know how I did it, but he was there and Michael helped me. I guess we're even now." (2:06:39 onwards)

Waltrip won the 2001 Daytona 500 with Earnhardt Jr. placing second. Earnhardt Sr. was running third at the time when he crashed in turn four and impacted the wall, which tragically claimed his life. It was Waltrip's first career victory in his 463rd start.