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Today In Nascar History
February 17, 2001
The greatest driver in NASCAR history died on this date. It forever changed the face of racing and it will never be the same.
A track must be at least 1 mile in length in order to be considered a superspeedway.
Waltrip became just the eighth driver to win multiple Daytona 500s. He joined Richard Petty (7), Cale Yarborough (4), Bobby Allison (3), Jarrett (3) and Bill Elliott, Gordon and Sterling Marlin (2 each). . . .
from Melinda
I've been a longtime fan of NASCAR, but new to your newsletter. I really
enjoy it, and I wonder if I could get you to research a little something
for me.
Many years ago as a gift from a dear friend, I received a cold-cast bronze of "Meerkats". On the bottom, it is signed by Charles Earnhardt and it says "made exclusively for the Smithsonian Institution." It was created in 1988 at the Aus-Ben Studios in Boone North Carolina.
Of course my question is--is this a relative to the late Dale Earnhardt? If so, how may I contact Mr. Charles Earnhardt to let him know how much I cherish this gift?
I thank you for whatever direction you might be able to send me
Sincerely,
Melinda Parry
Ok guys, put on your thinking caps……help Melinda here!
from Jeff
Momma,
Me again. Tim and other fans should do some research and see who really
controls the the big 3. They should find out where alot of the techology
is coming from along with the millions of dollars pumped in from the overseas
investors. The big 3 would go broke if it wasn't for foriegn investors.
The technoligy would be way behind if not for the foreign designers and
engineers. Not that our workers are not up to the
standards, just that that the foreign technology is a little ahead
for ours. I just wish people would wake up and figure out that the
USA is behind in some fields. You only have to watch the news to realize
we have fallen behind in our technology, and our children are behind in
their education. Maybe all manufactures could learn from each other.
Momma I am not saying we are experiencing serious problems from our lagging
behind, we just could learn from other people and countries. What
is wrong with bringing in new teams that others could learn from? I am
a true AMERICAN, that supports his family by a manufacturer that is very
much AMERICAN now. You and others may disagree, but my Pay check is good
in any AMERICAN bank. Wake up AMERICA we are no longer just owned
by our home country people. Look at who owns the the property next door.
Look at who owns the mall you shop in. Look at who is bankrolling your
car manufacturer. Look real close you may be really surprised.
I am just saying that NASCAR realizes all of this and they know that for
the sport to grow they must add other manufactures.
NASCAR fans don't jump the gun until you know all the facts!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Jeff Sealy, Texas
from the dogs and Dave
thanks for the sat addition great race
today - but i wanted to see the race
to the finish
can t wait till tomorrow the dogs
and dave
From where I was sitting, I was able to see the entire race…what a race it was!
from slydog
Yo Momma!!!! I enjoy your daily letter, but
I was a lil disturbed when I read the segment in your 2/15/03 edition {
courtesy of the "Florida Times Union"} about Stewart & the Ormond
Beach speeding incident. Firstly, he was traveling almost double
the posted speed limit. Secondly, the location was evidently residential
according to a posted speed of 35 mph. Does he have no regard for
public safety??? Why was he shown preference by not being
cited? I will give him credit for his abilities on the track, but
even there he is required by sanctions to observe safety issues under penalty
of fines being imposed. Personally I find Tony a little arrogant
& self centered. Just my opinion /// waddaya think????
"slydog"
Tony may be all of those, but I still like the guy. Kinda reminds me of another driver that ended up being the greatest driver of all. Now I'm not saying that Tony will be as great a driver, but I do feel that the drivers need to be a little arrogant in order to race hard.
from Cliff
I suffered a glitch on my computer and lost 3 days of messages, one
of which was the 2-14-03 issue. I've been saving them for my wife.
Is there a possibility of getting another??
Thanks, and thanks for a great e-zine
Cliff Counter........
Thanks Cliff, any thing to help a fellow fan…..If anyone out there needs copies, let me know. I’ll resend them!
Time to do something about the weather: With NASCAR's fickle history of calling a race when weather is an issue, some drivers would prefer to see a mandate so they will know what to expect. "I think it shouldn't matter which race it is, it just needs to be consistent throughout all 35 or 36 [races] so we know what we're dealing with every time," said Jimmie Johnson, who finished third. "I agree with him," said second-place finisher Kurt Busch. "Then there's the fact that this is the Daytona 500 and you have to respect how long this race has been continuing on over the years, the prestige that it has, and of course the history behind it. "I think Dale Jarrett led us all in the right way saying we should try to complete this race. Mother Nature had other ideas." This is the third time in NASCAR history that a Daytona 500 has been rain-shortened. It happened in 1965 (completed 133 laps, 332.5 miles) and again in 1966 (completed 198 laps, 495 miles).
By DAVID POOLE
The Charlotte Observer
Some thoughts on Sunday's Daytona 500... 
Smooth move
No matter what you think about teamwork in Winston Cup racing, it's a fact of life - particularly in restrictor-plate racing. Michael Waltrip and Dale Earnhardt Jr. have had it working, winning seven of the past nine plate races. If Waltrip hadn't got a drafting boost from Earnhardt Jr.'s lapped car, he wouldn't have passed Jimmie Johnson for the lead. But if ifs and butts were candy and nuts, somebody else would have won Sunday.
Black flag
The Daytona 500 was shortened by rain for only the third time ever and the first time since 1966. As Fox killed time during the last rain delay, Dale Jarrett suggested this might be the one race NASCAR should always try to run to its full distance, even if it means coming back another day. That's a fine suggestion.
Quote of the race
“When you're at DEI, you understand that Dale wanted fast restrictor plate cars. ...People are still motivated and driven by Dale's presence."
- Michael Waltrip, on the late Dale Earnhardt.
The Daytona Not Quite 500s
The Daytona 500 has never been rained out, and Sunday's 109-lap race was only the fourth in history not run to 500 miles. Here's the history of the abbreviated events:
1965 - 332.5 miles - Rain - Fred Lorenzen
1966 - 495 miles - Rain - Richard Petty
1974 - 450 miles - Shortened due to U.S. energy shortage - Richard
Petty
2003 - 272.5 miles - Rain - Michael Waltrip
Michael Waltrip's No. 15 Chevy gets bathed in confetti for the second time in three
years. Credit: Autostock
Waltrip wins Daytona 500 for second time
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Michael Waltrip is the new master of Daytona. He doesn't win anywhere else.
It's a burden well worth bearing -- being the best driver in NASCAR's
biggest race,
at stock-car racing's most famous track.
Under dark clouds, Waltrip raced past leader Jimmie Johnson after a restart on lap 106 Sunday to win the rain-shortened Daytona 500 for the second time in three years.
Counting last year's Pepsi 400, he has three victories in the last five races at Daytona International Speedway. Those are the only ones in his 535 career starts.
"It's just amazing that we put that car in the front and then it started raining," Waltrip said. "Today, I really wanted some rain, and I got it."
Pre-race favorite Dale Earnhardt Jr., done in by a dead battery, helped his friend and teammate take the lead on the last green-flag lap.
"I had a plan," Waltrip said. "I knew what I had to do. I had to get behind Junior. I did that and I was able to squeeze out the win.
"The victory in July was the best thing in the world, but this is the Daytona 500."
Waltrip's first career Winston Cup victory came here in 2001, but his joy was wiped away by the fatal last-lap crash of Dale Earnhardt Sr., his boss and friend.
On Sunday, Waltrip followed Earnhardt Jr., who had been lapped, past Johnson in a tight two-car draft.
As the leaders neared the finish line, defending champion Ward Burton spun and slammed into the fourth-turn wall, bringing out the fifth caution flag of the day.
Moments later, rain fell for the second time, and cars were stopped on pit road to wait it out after completing 109 of 200 laps.
After a little more than an hour, NASCAR declared Waltrip the winner. As anticlimactic as the triumph might have been, his team celebrated in a garage 100 yards from Victory Lane.
Waltrip's wife, Buffy, and Earnhardt's widow, Teresa, hugged. Waltrip lifted the trophy high above his head as the crew sprayed beer and champagne all over him.
Waltrip has practically owned Daytona's famed 2.5-mile oval the past few seasons.
He finished second to Earnhardt Jr. in the 2001 Pepsi 400 and was fifth in last year's 500 after winning a qualifying race. Three-time Winston Cup champion Darrell Waltrip's younger brother finally got to fully enjoy a victory in July, taking that year's Pepsi race.
At the 500, the tandem of Waltrip and Earnhardt Jr. dominated.
Junior, the heavy favorite after winning three preliminary races in eight days, led 22 laps and was still out front when he started having electrical problems. He finally slowed on lap 88 and drove slowly into the pits the next time around. He lost two laps -- and his shot at victory.
Waltrip then became the man to beat. He wound up leading three times
for a total of
68 laps, including the final four.
Kurt Busch finished second, followed by Johnson and Kevin Harvick. Mark Martin, last year's series runner-up, was fifth, with Robby Gordon sixth and defending Winston Cup champion Tony Stewart seventh.
Officials moved up the start of the race about 20 minutes to try to get it in before the rain.
Pole-winner Jeff Green was shuffled back to ninth on the first lap, and Waltrip moved from fourth to first. Earnhardt Jr. fell to fourth, but worked his way back to second on lap five.
That's the way it remained until the first round of pit stops.
Stewart led for a while, but there were more pit stops after Terry Labonte was bumped from behind by Elliott Sadler and slid through the backstretch grass, bringing out the first caution.
Earnhardt made a gas-only stop and came out in front, with Waltrip next. They appeared content to run that way until Sadler broke up the teamwork by passing Waltrip on lap 55.
Two laps later, a big crash brought out the second yellow flag.
With most of the field racing in a two- and three-wide pack, Burton bumped Ken Schrader from behind coming off turn four.
That turned Schrader into Ryan Newman, last year's top rookie. Both slammed off the wall and slid across traffic into the grass, where Newman took a wild ride.
"It was a pretty hard hit and when I saw the grass, I figured I was in more trouble than hitting the wall," Newman said.
He was right.
The rear end of his No. 12 Ford sailed high in the air as the car pirouetted on its left front. With the right rear wheel assembly torn off, the car came down and dug into the grass, then started flipping.
It rolled once to the left and then three more full turns to the right,
finally winding
up on its roof, a battered mess. It took several minutes to get Newman
out of the car.
Bobby Labonte, who managed to avoid the accident in front of him, drove down the pit lane and was almost out of harm's way when Schrader's car suddenly slid into his path.
The two cars wound up pinned against the pit wall.
As the debris was being cleaned up and the cars hauled away, it began to rain. Soon after, NASCAR halted the race for the first time.
Rusty Wallace, who through a promotion had promised free beer to every adult ticket-holder at Daytona if he won, sent some fans home unhappy as well as wet. He started near the back of the field, never was in contention and wound up 25th.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. was forced to make an unscheduled pit stop to fix an alternator
problem. Credit: Autostock
Junior's victory plans altered
by alternator
By Eddie Pells, The Associated Press
DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (AP) -- Fast cars don't always win races. No one has dealt with that reality more often at Daytona than the Earnhardt family.
Dale Earnhardt Jr. might have had the fastest car at the Daytona 500
on Sunday, but
it wasn't the best.
A balky alternator -- the part that supplies power to the battery -- doomed his chances early. A wintertime Florida rainstorm did him in for good.
"It's really heartbreaking to do so well and then have something like that go wrong," Earnhardt said. "We know that this kind of thing happens to champions."
The son of the famed seven-time Winston Cup champion settled for 36th place, and watched teammate Michael Waltrip take the victory in the 109-lap race.
Junior again found himself star-crossed at NASCAR's most famous track -- the scene of some of his family's greatest triumphs and, of course, the ultimate tragedy of his father's death.
The Intimidator was 0-for-19 in NASCAR's biggest race before he finally broke through in 1998. His son is 0-for-4.
Earnhardt Jr. won three preliminary races at the track this week, but came up short in the big one.
"You can win everything at Daytona, but the 500 is another kind of deal entirely," Earnhardt said. "It took my dad 20 times to win this thing. Hopefully, we're not going to have to wait that long, but it just seems like weird things happen in this race."
Earnhardt, who led 22 of the first 64 laps, knew there was trouble on the restart after the first of two rain delays. The engine wouldn't crank, and his red Monte Carlo needed a push from a tow truck to get started.
A few laps later, the battery ran out of juice, and the crew replaced it during a time-sapping unscheduled pit stop that pushed Junior two laps behind the leaders.
After the second red flag, crew chief Tony Eury Sr. said the team had come up with a solution.
Crew members knew they had enough juice in the new battery to finish the race. Or, under an even better scenario, they knew they could replace the alternator in less than two minutes during a yellow flag. That meant Earnhardt, who had already made up one lap, could get his problems solved and stay one lap off the lead.
"He'd have made up the lap with no problem," Eury said.
But Earnhardt never got the chance.
Junior's troubles caused a stir of optimism elsewhere on the track. He was the favorite all week, and his early lead gave nobody reason to doubt him.
Then, the quick slide back began.
"Everybody's eyes lit up," second-place finisher Kurt Busch said. "Everyone's foot got heavy. It was a whole new race."
Great news for them, but not for Earnhardt, who won the Budweiser Shootout last weekend, the 125-mile qualifying race on Thursday and the Busch Grand National series race Saturday to put himself on the threshold of history. Only Fireball Roberts had ever won four races during Speed Weeks at Daytona, and nobody had won four under the current format.
But past victory is no guarantee of future success. The Earnhardts know that better than anyone.
"That's why it took Dale Earnhardt 20 years to win," Eury said. "Sometimes, it's just a $2 part."
Your
Momma
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