Daytona dreary? Forget about it
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Dave Rodman
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By Dave Rodman, Turner Sports Interactive
January 28, 2002
2:31 PM EST (1931 GMT)
COMMENTARY
The party is about to begin at Daytona International Speedway.
And if anyone is thinking Speedweeks 2002, more than any other, should be dim, and dark, and fearful, forget it.
More than anyone else can, Dale Earnhardt Jr. can speak to any trepidation there might be about coming back to Daytona for the one-year anniversary of his father's death last Feb. 18 on the final turn of the Daytona 500.
But he doesn't want to speak any more about it, and he shouldn't have to. A lot of time has passed since that bleak February day and yes -- even though thoughts of the late champion's powerful and compelling personality are never far from the surface -- there comes a time to release and move on.
They say time heals all wounds and despite the fact that many, many people said they would never be able to watch another stock car race after Dale Earnhardt's death, that decision itself would go against everything the elder Earnhardt stood for.
As complicated as his life had become, he was at the core a simple man with a simple aim: To be the best he could possibly be at every waking second. He did it his way, and his son has established himself in exactly the same manner.
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Dale Earnhardt
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He has become a race winning threat to capture his first Daytona 500, a budding championship contender, a lifestyle icon for an entire generation and possessor of an autobiographical work steadily climbing the best seller list.
At the end of last March I was worried about how Junior was going to be able to move on and deal with his father's death. But I saw him at Texas Motor Speedway and realized, perhaps, that it was more myself that was struggling to deal with reality, while Junior, as ever, had a very firm grip on life in the fast lane.
Kevin Harvick and Junior and Tony Stewart and Michael Waltrip and Jeff Burton and Jeff Gordon and Rudd and Wallace and Jarrett will never replace Big E -- nor would they choose to even try. But they are indubitably committed to making us focus on the competition, personality and absolute magnetism of Winston Cup racing.
And that's what Speedweeks is all about.
Yeah, remembrance is part of that, and we'll all get that opportunity when Earnhardt's memorial is unveiled outside DAYTONA USA in the coming weeks. You can even trek across The Dale Earnhardt Memorial Bridge over U.S. Highway 92 to get there.
But do it with a smile on your face and anticipation in your heart.
That's what The Intimidator would expect and that's how Junior will come to Speedweeks. He has long since made his peace with the site of his father's death.
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Dale Earnhardt Jr.
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"I dealt with that stuff when I went back in July for the race," he said recently of a mid-summer, solo trip out to Daytona's Turn 4, where he had a chance to reflect on more than two-and-a-half decades with his larger-than-life father. "I had hard core emotions about going back after my father's death -- everybody knows the story."
And everyone knows how Junior's return ended with a party for the ages after he won the Pepsi 400.
"With all that happened, I have said my piece with that place or straightened out any wrinkles we might have had in our relationship," he said, "so I look forward to going back because I love Daytona -- I always have, always will.
"Going into that place, I probably won't have the same emotion as most people. Most people might be depressed or upset, but I'm going to keep on being upbeat and having a damn good time."
If you ask me, that's pretty damned good advice.
NOTE: Dave Rodman is a staff writer for NASCAR.com. The opinions listed here are those solely of the writer. To provide feedback to Dave, email him at dave.rodman@turner.com
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