Dale Earnhardt Jr Once had his All-Star Win Marred by a Tragedy in 2000

NASCAR has been running the All-Star race since 1985, and it is still running annually to this day. However, the 2000 edition at the Charlotte Motor Speedway was a bittersweet affair. Dale Earnhardt Jr. triumphed in the race, but there was a fair bit of action unfolding away from the racetrack. Outside the Charlotte Motor Speedway, an 80-foot pedestrian bridge lying 15 feet above the highway collapsed.

The worst part was that thousands of fans who were leaving the track occupied the bridge. According to reports, there was a clean break in the middle, splitting the bridge in two. This resulted in the helpless fans sliding down and trampling over each other in their panic. Owing to this, over 100 people were injured in the chaos, and there was a massive fallout from the incident.

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What happened after the NASCAR race at the Charlotte Motor Speedway after the victory of Dale Earnhardt Jr?

They built the bridge in 1995 with the aim of easing pedestrian traffic to and from the racetrack. It was also worth mentioning that the track was right next to US Highway 29, with a major parking lot on the other side. So the bridge was useful in letting fans reach the track from the parking lot, without crossing the highway. Coming to the incident itself, during the 2000 All-Star Race, Dale Earnhardt Jr snatched victory.

Barely a few minutes later, the bridge collapsed with an initial loud crack. Then, it was followed by another loud crack, and then the bridge gave way. According to a spectator, it felt like an earthquake, and everyone on the bridge disappeared quickly. The mildly injured fan noted that there was a massive crowd, and then they decamped. The good news was that medical services responded promptly, but the bad news was that they were not enough.

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It was fortunate that there were no cars on the highway when the bridge collapsed. Of course, this meant that the track authorities were sweating bullets. This was because there was a previous incident that was fatal for some spectators. Their fear was that this latest incident would force the track’s closure.