Cika wannan jumla:
Daytona 500 a Daytona International Speedway a ranar 18 ga Fabrairu, 2001, an kashe Earnhardt a cikin hadarin mota uku a zagaye na karshe na tseren. Ya yi karo da Ken Schrader bayan ya yi tuntuɓe da Sterling Marlin kuma ya buga bangon waje kai tsaye. Ya kasance yana toshe Schrader a waje da Marlin a ciki a lokacin hadarin. Motocin Earnhardt da na Schrader duka sun zame daga asphalt na hanya zuwa cikin ciyawa a cikin filin kawai a cikin juyawa 4. Bayan 'yan mintuna kaɗan, direbansa Michael Waltrip ya lashe tseren, tare da abokin aikinsa da ɗansa Dale Earnhardt Jr. sun gama na biyu. An bayyana mutuwar Earnhardt a hukumance a Cibiyar Kiwon Lafiya ta Halifax da karfe 5:16 na yamma agogon Gabas (22:16 UTC); yana da shekaru 49. Shugaban NASCAR Mike Helton ya tabbatar da mutuwar Earnhardt a cikin wata sanarwa ga manema labarai. Wani bincike da aka gudanar a ranar 19 ga Fabrairu, 2001, ya kammala cewa Earnhardt ya sha wahala mummunan rauni na kwanyar kwanyar. Bayan 'yan kwanaki, a ranar 22 ga Fabrairu, an yi jana'izar jama'a a Cocin Calvary a Charlotte, North Carolina.