After a rain delayed start, Dale Earnhardt Jr. earned a hard fought victory in a thrilling Daytona 500 under the lights at Daytona International Speedway. The joy on his face was unmistakable as he took a victory lap around the track to celebrate with thousands of his fans.
This was Earnhardt’s second Daytona 500 victory but that did not diminish the excitement level of the celebration. And although he could not decide which win was more satisfying, he savored every moment.
“When I crossed the finish line, I was relieved that I’ve done it again and I’ve done it with the people I’m with,” he said. ”Initially the reaction was, this is better because I’m back in Victory Lane. It’s different because it’s the people, you know. I was talking about that earlier. It’s better because you had a taste of it before. To win it the first time, you are blown away and sort of overwhelmed. The experience is a blur. It doesn’t sink in. You don’t absorb much of the whole thing. I can’t even remember half of it even after the fact, what we did that week. I don’t even remember going over and putting the car in there. It was just all so much of a flash.
“So now I realize that. I’m surrounded by so many great people. We got a great team. So many people are able to enjoy this. I’m reminded to let it sink in, reminded to enjoy it. I really enjoyed driving down in front of the fans there. I was having the time of my life inside that car going down the front straightaway.
“When I got to Victory Lane, I couldn’t wait to hug everybody, just enjoy it. Didn’t do that the first time ’cause you’re just blown away.
“So this one’s funner.”
This victory may also signal the beginning of a “new” Dale Earnhardt Jr., one who is willing to do whatever it takes to win.
This victory may also signal the beginning of a new era in Dale Earnhardt Jr.’s career as he seems to have found the missing ingredient
“There were a couple laps where I had to run Jeff Gordon right on the fence, down the turns, the straightaway, right on his door, to keep him from drafting by me. I hate to do that to my teammate. I hate to do that to anybody. But that’s what it took. That’s what you had to do,” he explained.
Earnhardt recounted conversations with crew chief Steve Letarte as they struggled last season to capture those elusive wins.
“I talked to Steve about how we were not in the right place at the end of these other races. We’d make a move and finish second. We knew we didn’t have a shot at winning, knew we didn’t have a shot at the leader at the end. Why? What do we need to do?” he asked.
“Tonight,” Earnhardt continued, “it was all about not giving an inch, not running fifth, not sitting there in fifth place all night and being okay with it. We wanted to be in the lead every lap, be in first every lap. That’s what my motive was.”
The victory at Daytona also means that he is guaranteed a spot in the Chase as long as he enters the next 25 races of the NASCAR Sprint Cup regular season and remains in the top 30 in points.
But even as he celebrates this victory, Earnhardt is anticipating a season of continued success.
“We have a lot of confidence coming off such a strong year, obviously winning this race. Our confidence couldn’t be higher,” he emphasized. “Confidence is a great thing. It’s half of the battle, you know, being confident in what you’re doing. When you have the most, you’re in perfect situations to have some good things happen, so hopefully we can seize the moment.”
This is only the first race of the season but for Dale Earnhardt Jr. fans, it doesn’t get much better than this.
