Earnhardt Jr. enjoying ride
No regrets as he looks at Daytona in rear-view mirror
DAYTONA BEACH — Dale Earnhardt Jr. doesn’t want tomiss a thing.
It’s easy for all of it to become a blur. It’s the nature of his business anyway. He’s made a living going crazy-fast, upward of 200 miles an hour in places like Daytona and Talladega, chasing speed just like his daddy.
Dale Earnhardt Sr. died on the last lap of the 2001 Daytona 500, protecting track position for his friend, Michael Waltrip. Junior will carry that tragic memory with him for life, but it will not define his legacy.
He’s built his own life along NASCAR’s assorted roadways. It’s been a good life. He has 26 Cup victories in 19 seasons. Junior has won17 times here, countingXfinity Series and non-points races, reflecting his super-speedway restrictor-prowess.
Everyone else will have to play follow-the-leader as Earnhardt races for the final time as a Cup regular in the Coke Zero 400 on Saturday night. He won the pole Friday afternoon, beating outHendrick Motorsports teammate Chase Elliott.
“I look at it as a good opportunity to get a win,” he said. “There’s a lot of things to do before we see the checkered flag.”
Earnhardt is entering a nebulous retirement phase of his life, accelerated by concussion issues that have come into play in recent years. He will drive at least two Xfinity races next year and has not dismissed the possibility of racing again in aCup car nowand then.
Everything is TBA. In the meantime, it’s good to live in the moment.
“I just don’t want to miss anything,” he said. “I don’t want to miss amoment that I should take in. I don’twant to miss an opportunity to let people know how much they mean to me.”
Right back at you, Junior. Earnhardt has been voted NASCAR’s most popular driver 14 consecutive seasons. They’ll probably keep voting for him even as he shifts into a part-time racer.
The sport is going to miss him, big-time. Stalwarts Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart have retired in recent years. Danica Patrick still attracts eyeballs, but it’s all about marketing and not performance.
Earnhardt, 42, is 22nd in points and needs a victory to bump himself into the 16-driver playoffs format. This place is as good as any to get the mojo going. After all, he’s learned fromthe best. His father won three times at Daytona, including a sentimental runinthe1998 Daytona 500, a race he won for the first time that year.
“I watched Dad,” he said. “I didn’t know what I was seeing when Iwaswatching him. But once I got out on the track and I started doing things with my car, I realized what Iwas seeing all of those years, and why things were happening the way they were. I started to understand why. How does a side draft feel if you have never been out there? Why do they do that? Why do they side-draft and sling away? Why is happening?”
There will be some questions waiting for Junior as he walks away. Will he join NBC’s broadcast crew, pairing upwith his former crew chief, Steve Letarte? How many more times will he step into a Cup car? Will the concussion question come into play again?
Earnhardt seems to be in a good place, not overly concerned with the answers at the moment.
“I’m not having any anxiety about the end coming; I feel pretty good about that,” Earnhardt said. “I feel pretty good about my decision. I haven’t had any secondguesses or regrets about that.
“This whole thing — this decision to retire— wasn’t a spur of the moment. It was sort of building inside me because of the things that we’ve been through over the years. What I mean is that I’m quite comfortable with it, more than anyone else.”
If Junior is good with it, so should everyone else.
Just make sure not to miss a thing along the final nostalgic ride.