The very best TV announcers are the guys who know when to just shut up and let us witness a spectacular moment without any commentary. So, with that in mind, I'd like to share with you samples from the several hundred thoughtful, intelligent and emotional e-mails I received in response to the column on Dale Earnhardt's death at Daytona.

Thank you for making this column what it was intended to be: a forum to discuss fresh perspectives on sports.

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I'm a relatively new NASCAR fan, but I think that came to an end on Sunday. Never have I felt so badly about watching a sporting event. It's very unsettling to have witnessed someone die in an auto accident. This death cannot be rationalized away. It's not an inevitable part of the sport; observers who shrug their shoulders and say, "that's racing" are needlessly cavalier and utterly insensitive to those who have not developed their narrow mindset. I don't have much faith in NASCAR to make an about-face. I'm not making a conscious decision to stop watching NASCAR, but I'm sure that as the weeks go by, I will gradually be tuning out. The bad taste in my mouth and the sinking feeling in my stomach are almost as irreversible as the damage done to the No. 3 car, and the man inside it.
-- Erik

If something can't be done to end the loss of life, the sport needs to be shut down. I just hope that the fans, drivers, and personnel of NASCAR stop thinking about their wallets long enough to save a few more young lives.
-- Nathan

To say this is a tragedy is not saying enough. Something must be done, and it must be done now. How many more people have to die "doing what they love" before someone does something?
-- Jessica

David, you whiny jackass. Maybe you would like to see tanks racing around NASCAR tracks at speeds approaching 25 or 30 MPH? That would insure driver safety. Obviously you don't get racing. IT IS INHERENTLY DANGEROUS. They race because it's their passion in life. They actually are doing something with their life, not sitting on their fat a-- writing obvious things like the sport should be safer. You state that NASCAR should "hit the brakes, slow the cars down." This may be the most stupid thing I've ever read. Maybe NASCAR should post speed limits around the tracks, set them at about 55 MPH -- that would be VERY exciting. Hey, using this logic then maybe we should change the NFL to TOUCH football!!!! Please stop your whining, and "JUST SHUT UP!!!"
-- Richard

Dale was 49 and had many wrecks, because of the safety of those he did not die sooner. So back off with the crap about NASCAR needing to improve safety.
-- Robert

Jumping on a bandwagon to sell a few newspapers is cowardice. If you truly believe that NASCAR is a money-hungry entity as you have portrayed them, then what makes you any different? You're writing a story about something you don't know anything about, and a story about somebody you probably never even met, hoping to make some money. Make a decision, David. Coward or Man? Raping Earnhardt's Death or Appreciating His Belief? It's that simple. Make the choice. Make it now. Or do nothing, and sit there being just another journalist out to make a buck in the cheapest way possible ... off of somebody else's tragedy.
-- Hoss

Winston Cup cars are woefully inadequate when it comes to head-on collisions. These cars need to be totally redesigned to effectively dissipate energy. The technology and knowhow exists. I think unfortunately NASCAR knows this will cost lots of money to revamp the cars and/or walls. But didn't they just sign a kabillion dollar TV contract?
-- Chris

We don't allow pit bull or cockfights and we cannot allow racing to be a blood sport.
-- Ed

These are our heroes, friends, and family members dying for greed. It is a sad day for America when ratings become more important than lives.
-- Chris

When is the last time you drove 500 miles -- going 200 mph -- with 40 other vehicles side-by-side? It is an accident waiting to happen. How many more drivers will die just to make racing more exciting? How many more will perish before someone does something?
-- Dan

I also think in some ways the fans have to take some responsibility and stop wanting to see wrecks.
-- Phyllis

Dale E. was a fantastic driver but if he would have been racing like he should this would not have happened. He was playing blocker and he paid for it. Maybe NASCAR should look at punishing the drivers that make dumb moves at 180+ mph.
-- Dan

The loss of Dale Earnhardt was preventable and therefore borders on criminal negligence.
-- Roger

I question my future involvement as a fan of this sport. Sponsors, drivers, team owners all need to step forward and demand action, boycott if necessary until changes are made. Do not run another race until changes are made.
-- Eric

I have been a NASCAR fan for 35 years and I don't need the crashes, fires, cars flying through the air (as promoted by Fox) -- just good competition. It would not bother me one whit if the cars were slowed down 25 mph, as long as they were competitive.
-- Chip

The car frames (designed on computers) are built stronger and stiffer, with the result that more energy is directly transferred to the driver. In fact, NASCAR rules create an incentive to build the cars stronger, as cars that can be repaired after a crash can continue to collect points. It's counterintuitive, but stronger cars, don't necessarily make safer cars.
-- Ken

You have no damn idea what the hell you are talking about. NASCAR is not to blame for the death of a motor sports hero, all the drivers know the risk. Sure, our sport has been rocked by the deaths of four of our drivers in the last year, but like many other pro sports, the risk for injury and even death exists each and every day. Maybe you should commit yourself to covering croquet.
-- Mark

Isn't it ironic that the core of problem lies in the fact that the word cor-poration and cor-oner can always be linked together when profits are given a provisional starting spot at the head of any cor-porate board room. The checkered flag should be redesigned to reflect the true motivation of the sanctioning body: green and white checkers with black dollar signs!
-- Chris

While Dale's death is truly saddening for his family and his fans; I think it is also a call to action for NASCAR. Four drivers having lost their lives in the last year is an ominous sign that must be addressed. NASCAR must step to the forefront, analyze the current state of racing, and make educated changes that will prolong drivers' lives and the future of NASCAR altogether.
-- Shad

If the solutions are out there then why are we waiting? How many drivers is it going to take?
-- Rob

It's time to get rid of the Speed Racer villain mentality by stiffly fining and suspending any driver who initiates contact with another driver for any reason and to any degree. Safety is not the enemy of enthusiasm.
-- Rigoe

I hope NASCAR reads your article and takes it to heart. This is the only sport where people die every year, but nobody seems to care.The drivers race to feel alive. I watch the races because of the same feelings that drove the Romans to the Coliseum in droves. I want to watch people risk their lives. I want to live vicariously through them. You want to have racing where they drive slow and nobody gets hurt and everybody hugs at the end of the race? Go form your own league, see how many spectators you draw.
-- N.C.

Having the wearing of the HANS device as an 'option' in NASCAR is wrong -- it needs to be applied, ask Dale Earnhardt.
-- Dan

WHY DO YOU GUYS SCREAM WHEN SOMEONE DIES IN A HAZARDOUS SPORT? NOT TO SAY THAT IT IS OK TO HAVE SOMEONE DIE, BUT THATS PART OF THE GAME.
-- Jim

You're as big a moron as those weeping idiots! It's kind of a Darwin thing. The inept will eliminate themselves. If the drivers don't like it, no one is holding a gun to their heads. It isn't like it is anything important.
-- J.

It pains me to say this, but Earnhardt's death, if anything, will bring more viewers. NASCAR is not going to do anything that could possibly turn me off. I'm potential advertising revenue. I'm potential merchandise sales. Dale Earnhardt is dead. More racers will die. NASCAR will keep on growing, regardless. It's a business, and business must be preserved.
-- Barry

I'm pissed off that because no one has the courage to mandate common sense safety changes, I'll never see Adam Petty and Kenny Irwin jockeying to win on the last lap, with Dale Earnhardt breathing down their necks, threatening to steal another win.
-- Jay

David Fleming, a senior writer for The Magazine, shares his perspective each week on ESPNMAG.com. E-mail flemfile@aol.com.