Dale Earnhardt's Legacy was in Victory Lane This July

Four wins in the past two weeks have been the indirect result of Dale Earnhardt's actions nearly a decade ago... 

The racing world lost Dale Earnhardt nine and a half years ago.  Nearly a decade later, his impact on the sport can still be seen even beyond his recent induction into NASCAR's Hall of Fame, the safer cars that NASCAR races to prevent another accident such as is, the absence of the number 3 on the Sprint Cup circuit, and the remnants of his team (Dale Earnhardt, Inc. having become a part of Earnhardt Ganassi Racing) winning the Daytona 500.  Particularly since the beginning of July, as reminders of his legacy have been all over the top three levels of NASCAR racing since the beginning of the month.

Win #1: Dale Earnhardt Jr. at Daytona (Nationwide Series)

 

The most visible, emotional and direct of the Earnhardt connections of the past few weeks was when his son raced a Wrangler #3 to Victory Lane at Daytona in tribute to Earnhardt's inclusion in the inaugural Hall of Fame class.  It was a special moment in the Earnhardt legacy, but it was only the beginning... 

Win #2: Kevin Harvick at Daytona (Sprint Cup)

 

The day after Jr.'s emotional victory at Daytona, Kevin Harvick drove to victory in the Sprint Cup race at Daytona.  Kevin was supposed to run a part-time schedule in the #30 AOL car for Richard Childress in 2001, and instead was brought in to replace Dale in the renumbered 29 car for the second race of the season.  While most NASCAR fans were understandably focused on Dale Jr. after his loss, I made note of the fact that Harvick achieved what most stock car drivers dream of - a full time ride with a competitive Cup team - in a way that no one wanted to get it.  There have been a lot of personnel changes over the years, but in a way the team that won last week at Daytona is the same team that had to somehow carry on without Dale Earnhardt behind the wheel all those years ago.  Kevin has scored 13 Cup victories as a driver for that team and in the meantime has also become one of the top Camping World Truck Series owners with 2 recent championships. 

Bonus: The Return of Steve Park

 

Daytona also saw the return of Steve Park to the Cup Series.  2003 was the last time Park drove in a Cup race, and aside from one truck race in 2009 his first time in a top-level NASCAR car since 2006.  He was Dale Earnhardt, Inc.'s first full-time Cup driver, winning 2 races for the team.  Although Park didn't make it to Victory Lane this weekend, according to the TV reports he was a welcome sight in the garage and finished 13th. 

Win #3: David Reutimann at Joliet (Sprint Cup)

 

The next week saw the Cup series go to Joliet and David Reutimann raced to his first full-distance Cup victory of his career.  It was also Michael Waltrip's first full-distance victory as an owner.  In 2000, Mikey's disappointing 15-year winless career was winding down.  But for 2001, his 16th full Cup season, he would finally get his chance and make good on it by winning his first race as a driver for Dale Earnhardt.  Nine years later, NAPA is still sponsoring his team, having stuck with him through thick and thin.  While Aaron's is regularly on the side of Reutimann's car and Tums was on it at Joliet, it is quite likely that Michael Waltrip Racing wouldn't be in a position to win Cup races if it weren't for NAPA, a connection that began at Daytona all those years ago and still continues to this day with sponsorship of Martin Truex, Jr., another former part of DEI. 

Win #4: Austin Dillon at Iowa (Camping World Truck Series)

 

The next day the Camping World Truck Series visited Iowa Speedway and different rolling Earnhardt tribute visited a different Victory Lane as Austin Dillon drove a black, red, and camo #3 Chevrolet to a dominating win.  8 days after the Dale Jr.'s Wrangler #3 won in Daytona Dillon made the #3 two-for-three in NASCAR's top series, a triumphant return for the number which has yet to see competition on the Cup level since Dale's death in 2001. 

Without Dale...?

 

Of course, without Dale Earnhardt the NASCAR of the 80's and 90's would have looked very different.  Seven championships and 76 wins would have gone to different drivers, but that is only the most obvious of changes.  Four wins in the past two weeks have been the indirect result of Dale Earnhardt's actions nearly a decade ago (or earlier).  His influence was such that made careers for drivers who might not have made it at NASCAR's top levels without him, people who are currently winning races might not have succeeded if it weren't for Dale Earnhardt. 

Without Dale, would Richard Childress be the top-tier Cup team owner that he is today, able to provide Kevin Harvick with a winning car or support to start his truck team?  Without Childress, would Harvick have faded into obscurity as a journeyman short track driver?  Would Richard Childress be able to provide his grandson Austin with the support he needs to make the most of his talents?  Would Michael Waltrip's career have ended without him ever reaching Victory Lane in a points race, and would he have been able to field a winning multi-car Cup operation today?  Would anyone in the Cup garage even know who Steve Park was?

MWR's Future, The Stewart Storm, and My Own Personal Sponsor Troubles

Qualifying

 

Coming into the 2007 season with about 50 teams competing for 43 spots, I had thought it just a matter of time before the slower teams lost sponsors, ran out of money and stayed home, eventually making it easier for the survivors to make the show. 

Michael Waltrip Racing is, from all I can read from here, a well-funded team with great manufacturer support.  He and Dale Jarrett are great spokespersons who can, even missing the show, get their sponsor more TV time than some of the teams that are in the top 35, and so MWR's managed to hold on to all of its major sponsors.  Their reward is now that the first of their competitors has fallen. 

While the 15 team is now locked into the top 35, that still leaves the former 13 and 14 cars out of the events.  Two less cars competing for 43 spots is a plus for any team not in the top 35 in owner points.  Roush will also have to come to Daytona in 2008 minus one car, while other major teams have already maxed themselves out at 4 cars.  If NAPA, UPS and Domino's can remain patient, 2008 looks to be a better year for MWR and all the other teams not in the top 35 right now. 

Pace Lap

 

Ed Hinton's Sunday prerace column had the title, "A Stewart storm could be brewing." He not only won the race, but did so in a way I've never seen before. He made it look easy at a track that has been heartbreaking for so many talented drivers over the decades. But remember sometimes as one storm passes the next is just on the horizon. And you have to look no further back than second place in Sunday's race to see that Hurricane Juan just might be forming in the distance. 

And now a word from our sponsors...

 

Much to the chagrin of those advertisers who spend millions upon millions of dollars in NASCAR, to put their logo on the car and then millions more to build an advertising campaign around the driver and team, I often don't buy the products of the drivers I follow. 

The best example of this is with Dale Earnhardt, Jr.  As much as I've criticized him in the past, I do actually like the guy.  But I don't drink alcohol, so there's no Budweiser in my cooler.  Nor do I buy a lot of merchandise of his.  I have a few die cast cars, but nothing with the Budweiser logos.  Why?  Because the Bud cars that Action can never seem to produce enough of go for prices outside what I'm willing to spend on a die cast car, and the $18 Winner's Circle cars in Wal-Mart are fakes with the JR Motorsports logo in place of the Bud logos.  They did, however, make the yellow Nilla Wafers car and the Taco Bell car, and I've added those to my collection.  I've also got a lot of Dale Jr. cards in my collection with the Budweiser logos washed out red or replaced with another logo. 

So, despite the fact that millions of fans are understandably sad that their collections of red number 8 merchandise will be out-of-date very shortly, I'm kinda excited.  I don't use a Sony computer or TV, but I do have a PlayStation 2, so I use one of Sony's products (a little too frequently sometimes, if you ask my wife).  Mountain Dew's name was thrown around as a potential sponsor, and I drink that (I brought a cold diet Dew with me to work this morning).  Next year I could be able to find affordable die cast Mountain Dew or Sony cars at the local Wal-Mart, the cards won't have their logos edited out of them, and I'll be able to get Dale Jr. stuff for my 2 year old son without wondering how soon it'll be until he asks what Budweiser is, or how I'll have to respond.  So I'm looking forward to a new sponsor for Dale's car. 

Black Flag

 

Tony Stewart dedicated his win at the Brickyard to his fans who have to put up with some...stuff...from fans of other drivers.  Between this incident and comparing NASCAR to pro wrestling, I can't imagine NASCAR's executives being too happy with Tony.  But for the most patriotic of major American sports to stifle the freedom of speech of its drivers is, to borrow Tony's term, bullshit.  There's a valid reason Tony compared NASCAR to pro wrestling, and maybe there's something going on in the stands that would make people feel less than welcome at a NASCAR race (I've heard a few stories, but anecdotal evidence tends to be unreliable).  In either case, maybe NASCAR should be less concerned with the words and more concerned about why they were said. 

The Postrace Show

 

This year's Governor's Cup events at the historic Milwaukee Mile (August 24-26) includes a reunion of the "Aero Cars:" Superbirds, Torinos and Daytonas.  There will also be a reunion of ARCA and USAC drivers, including former USAC and ARCA champion Ramo Stott as grand marshal.  For more information, read the press release. 

I know many readers will see a farily common multi-part article format here, but the credit for the inspiration really goes to Neil Steinberg of the Chicago Sun-Times.  I used to have little comments and ideas that never really were important enough to rate writing a whole article on, and one day reading Neil's column I just got the idea to put them all together under subititles with a common theme.  Thanks, Neil.

For those of you who have comments that you'd like to make to the world of NASCAR fans, send them to me at admin@carsandracingstuff.com and you might see them in a future column.