Everything was great in the world of NASCAR until the afternoon of the 2001 Daytona 500. It was on that day that Earnhardt died in a head-on collision with the wall---on the last turn of the last lap. Earnhardt was so close to finishing out the race with a top-five finish. Instead, NASCAR lost one of the greatest drivers in history.

Earnhardt’s death on the racetrack can be compared to Brett Favre passing away playing football or Ken Griffey Jr. being killed in an accident on the baseball field. Those guys are legends in their respective sports, and they seem invincible in the eyes of the fans. Everyone knows that accidents do occur and professional athletes get killed playing sports. We just never expect it to happen to a guy like Earnhardt. We never expect it to happen to a legend. Considering his career statistics and the way he raced and intimidated drivers on the track, Earnhardt seemed invincible. Until that fateful afternoon, he was.

Every NASCAR fan mourned the loss of a legend that day and in the days following. Earnhardt was the face of a sport that had become immensely popular across the nation. Everybody knew who he was, but nobody knew what direction the sport would take following his death. But Earnhardt’s legacy carried on through Dale Earnhardt, Inc. (DEI), the organization that he had started up in 1980. What many people failed to notice the day Earnhardt died was that Michael Waltrip, in his first start with DEI, won his first career race. It doesn’t happen too often that a driver pushing the age of 40 wins their first race in their first start with a new organization, and that win just happens to be at the Daytona 500. The following race took place at Rockingham, North Carolina. Everybody still had heavy hearts about the loss of Earnhardt. But those thoughts took a brief hiatus when Steve Park, driving for Dale Earnhardt, Inc., took home the checkered flag. It all seemed too much like fate to be a coincidence. While NASCAR was going through a period of great sadness, Waltrip and Park’s back-to-back victories managed to become a huge feel-good story. Two races later, at Atlanta Motor Speedway, Kevin Harvick, the driver tabbed to replace Earnhardt at Richard Childress Racing, scored a victory in just his third career start. Third, ironically the same number that Earnhardt had sported since 1984. Harvick barely edging out Jeff Gordon to win at Atlanta became as much of a feel-good story as DEI’s back-to-back victories. But the ultimate feel-good story came later that year, at the Pepsi 400 at Daytona, when Dale Earnhardt Jr. overcame the grief of losing his father and scored a victory at the same place where his father had lost his life. Earnhardt and second-place finisher Michael Waltrip celebrated together in the infield under the lights, and that was arguably the greatest moment in the history of the sport.

In the same year that Earnhardt died, the organization that he had created rose to national prominence. On the brink of Earnhardt’s death, DEI managed to score three monumental victories. Dale Earnhardt Jr. became the most popular driver in the sport, and DEI became the most popular organization in the sport. The 2001 season was the most depressing season in NASCAR history, but unlike some sad stories, this one ended on a high note.

Throughout the years, Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s popularity became even more immense. Remarkably, Earnhardt Jr.’s popularity soared past his father’s own popularity. He was the most recognizable driver in the sport. But Earnhardt wanted a championship more than he wanted popularity. And the sad fact was, DEI’s success was dwindling downward. Earnhardt was up-and-down for years, and his shaky relationship with his step mom caused problems within the organization. In 2007, Earnhardt failed to land a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup for the second time between 2005-2007. His teammate, sophomore driver Martin Truex Jr., did manage to land a spot in the Chase. It was in that summer that Earnhardt decided a change was necessary and left the organization his father had founded a long time ago. It was a sad moment for NASCAR fans everywhere. But ultimately, Earnhardt had to do it in order to achieve his goal of winning a title.

Earnhardt landed at Hendrick Motorsports in the No. 88 car. While Earnhardt soared as high as second in the point standings and recorded a spot in the Chase for the Sprint Cup, his former organization was left to dwindle and die.

In 2008, DEI has fielded four teams and none of those four teams have scored a win. Martin Truex Jr. currently sits 15th in the point standings, a disappointment compared to his 2007 season. Mark Martin has been solid in the No. 8 car that Earnhardt left, but he hasn’t raced fulltime. Paul Menard and Regan Smith, driving the Nos. 15 and 01, respectively, have been mediocre at best. It gets worse, though. Martin, following in Earnhardt’s footsteps, is going to race for Hendrick Motorsports next season. Menard is bolting to Yates Racing. Truex is entering his contract year in 2009, and if the performance at DEI doesn’t improve, he’ll surely walk out the door, as well.

Let’s take a look at the 2009 roster for DEI: Martin Truex Jr. will for sure be in the No. 1 Bass Pro Shops Chevrolet. That is the only hope for DEI next year, as Truex is a top-notch driver, and the No. 1 car is the only one with guaranteed primary sponsorship. Aric Almirola, who is currently splitting time with Mark Martin, will drive the No. 8 fulltime. There’s a good chance that the inexperienced Almirola will experience growing pains next season, and it gets worse considering the team has no sponsorship lined up. Regan Smith may not return to the 01 car, and that’s another team that has no primary sponsorship. With Menard leaving the No. 15 and taking his sponsor, Menards, with him, there’s another team at DEI without sponsorship. Without a qualified driver, it’s hard to attract sponsors. And without sponsors, it’s hard to acquire a solid driver. It’s the vicious cycle of marketing and money that NASCAR has become. DEI has four cars, one primary sponsor, and two guaranteed drivers lined up for next year. That’s not pretty.

If Martin Truex Jr. somehow wins the championship next year, Almirola turns out to be a top twenty-five driver, and the organization acquires two solid drivers for the 15 and 01 cars, then DEI still has some life in them. But if Truex leaves, Almirola fails to do anything, and the organization can’t even get a hold of any sponsors for the other two cars, then it will be the end of one of the most recognizable organizations in NASCAR.

DEI has come a long way since the end of the 2000 season. They lost the founder and owner of the organization at the beginning of 2001. But the teams stayed on their feet, and by the end of the year, DEI”s success was a great story. Earnhardt Jr. is what kept DEI alive ever since that year, though. He had a few spectacular seasons, and he won a lot of races. But DEI just kept declining, and Earnhardt decided to go somewhere where he could win a championship. When Earnhardt left, fellow driver Tony Stewart claimed that “the organization would become a museum.” That comment might have been a little premature, but it’s looking like it will come true. Having the sport’s most popular driver racing for them kept DEI afloat. Losing him sunk them to the bottom. Losing both Truex and Martin would blow up their ship. Unfortunately, NASCAR has changed drastically since the death of Earnhardt. So has the organization that he founded. Without Earnhardt Jr. around, there’s not a quick fix for DEI. It’s sad to say, but the end came for Earnhardt and the end is coming for his organization, as well.