On the afternoon of February 18, 2001, American auto racing driver and team owner Dale Earnhardt was killed instantly due to a basilar skull fracture in a final-lap collision in the 2001 Daytona 500, in which he crashed into a retaining wall after making contact with Sterling Marlin and Ken Schrader. He was pronounced dead at Daytona Medical Center a short time later.Earnhardt's death was officially pronounced at the nearby Halifax Medical Center at 5:16 p.m. EST (22:16 UTC). At the time of the crash, he was 49 years old. His funeral was held four days later at the Calvary Church in Charlotte, North Carolina. Earnhardt was the fourth NASCAR driver killed by a basilar skull fracture during an eight-month span, following Adam Petty in May 2000, Kenny Irwin Jr. in July 2000, and Tony Roper in October 2000. Earnhardt's death, seen on a live television broadcast with more than 17 million viewers, was highly publicized and resulted in various safety improvements in NASCAR auto racing.After Earnhardt's death, NASCAR began an intensive focus on safetymandating the use of head-and-neck restraints, installing SAFER barriers at oval tracks, setting rigorous new inspection rules for seats and seat-belts, and developing a roof-hatch escape system and the Car of Tomorrowwhich eventually led to the development of a next-generation race car built with extra driver safety in mind. Since Earnhardt's death, no driver has died during competition in a race of NASCAR's three major series.

The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. The privately owned company was founded by Bill France Sr. in 1948, and his son, Jim France, has been the CEO since August 6, 2018. The company is headquartered in Daytona Beach, Florida. Each year, NASCAR sanctions over 1,500 races at over 100 tracks in 48 US states as well as in Canada, Mexico, and Europe.