DAYTONA BEACH, Fla., Feb. 15 -- If there is a genetic code behind mastering Daytona International Speedway, it is surely embedded in the Earnhardt family.
Six years to the day that his father won NASCAR's grandest race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. roared to victory in the Daytona 500 on Sunday, pulling off a masterful pass of Tony Stewart with 19 laps remaining and holding on for the win.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. and his team converge after Earnhardt wins his first Daytona 500 title, 6 years after Dale Earnhardt Sr. won the race and 3 years after his father died in the final turn.
(Doug Murray -- Reuters)
|
| _____ Daytona 500 _____
• Six years to the day that his father won NASCAR's grandest race, Dale Earnhardt Jr. roars to victory in the Daytona 500.
• Gallery
_____ Results _____
1. Dale Earnhardt Jr.
2. Tony Stewart
3. Scott Wimmer
4. Kevin Harvick
5. Jimmie Johnson
6. Joe Nemechek
7. Elliott Sadler
8. Jeff Gordon
9. Matt Kenseth
10. Dale Jarrett
• Full results
_____ News Graphics _____
• The Daytona 500 ushers in a season of change for NASCAR.
• Six young drivers head one of NASCAR's deepest rookie classes.
• A closer look at cars capable of more than 200 miles per hour.
• More information on the 22 tracks on the NASCAR circuit.
_____ Audio _____
• Dale Earnhardt Jr., Elliott Sadler talk about their victories in the 125-mile qualifying races.
• Sadler says he's thrilled to be starting on Daytona's front row.
• Greg Biffle was nervous that his top speed wouldn't hold up.
_____ Live Online _____
• Post's Liz Clarke took questions Friday. Read the transcript.
_____ On Our Site _____
• Daytona 500 lineup
• Nextel Cup schedule
_____ Flashback _____
• Michael Waltrip races past Jimmie Johnson to win the rain-shortened Daytona 500 for the second time in three years.
| | |
|
After taking the checkered flag, Earnhardt circled the track and parked at the start-finish line, where he popped out of the window and pumped his fists at the fans who flocked to the fence, standing three- and four-deep, to snap photographs, bellow and cheer -- both for his achievement and in tribute to his father, who was killed on the last lap of the same race three years ago.
It took Dale Earnhardt 20 attempts to win the Daytona 500 after losing in heart-rending fashion time and again, which included blowing a tire on the last lap and crumpling his car's nose by slamming into a seagull. On Sunday, his namesake claimed the elusive prize on his fifth try.
Earnhardt Jr.'s teammates ran from the pits to smother him in hugs before he climbed back in his Chevrolet, did a celebratory spin on the frontstretch grass and drove on to Victory Lane, where he leapt onto its roof in triumph. As silver confetti rained, a flood of emotion poured over him.
"I've seen it lost so many times by my dad," said Earnhardt, 29. "I was taught so many lessons by this place before I ever got behind the wheel. He was over in the passenger side [Sunday], right with me. I'm sure he was having a blast!"
The victory was so fitting that even Stewart, among NASCAR's fiercest competitors, didn't mind finishing second after leading the most laps (97 of 200).
"Considering what that kid went through here, losing his father at the Daytona 500, it's nice to see him get his victory today," said Stewart, 33. "I would have loved to have won the race, but there just was no holding that kid back today. Today was his day."
Scott Wimmer, a 28-year-old rookie from Wausau, Wis., was third, helped by a two-tire gamble on his last pit stop. Kevin Harvick and Jimmie Johnson rounded out the top five.
President Bush met with drivers before the start of the race and gave the command to start engines. But he had left before its conclusion, flying away on Air Force One, which made a majestic ascent over the backstretch as drivers battled for position at 190 mph.
At 6:42 p.m., smack in the middle of Earnhardt's post-race interview, Bush telephoned with congratulations.
"Yes sir, thank you very much," Earnhardt said into his cell phone, blushing slightly. "It was the most exciting race of my life. . . . Yes sir, I was glad to see you today."
Then he slipped the phone into his pocket, giggling that he'd tried to peek at the number that had popped up on his caller-ID and remember it.
Bush and the crowd of roughly 180,000 were treated to some furious racing, with cars running two- and three-abreast, doing a treacherous tango in the aerodynamic draft. It was inevitable that the high-stakes dicing would come to a nasty end. And 72 laps into the race, it did in the form of a 12-car wreck that snared defending race winner Michael Waltrip and two-time victor Sterling Marlin.
