NASCAR's
Superman for 2001, Dale Earnhardt Jr. |
He didn't win the Winston Cup championship this year. He didn't finish in the top five in points, either. What Dale Earnhardt Jr. did do is suffer a tremendous loss, yet persevere through severe adversity and rebound to make this a successful season for him and Dale Earnhardt Incorporated. In my book, that earns him the title of Superman.
Going into the 2001 season, Dale Jr's life seemed to be what dreams are made of. Everything was falling his way. As the son of a racing legend, he enjoyed being in the spotlight and the success of a top-notch racing team. His first Winston Cup victories came in the 2000 season and Budweiser was sprayed several times in Victory Lane. Even the first race of 2001 resulted in a second place finish behind teammate Michael Waltrip. Junior was the "youngster" who liked to play video games and listen to rock music. His detractors thought of him as a spoiled kid, laughing, carefree, partying and moving up racing's ladder of success by riding on his famous dad's coattails. But all that changed in the blink of an eye.
On that fateful day back in February, the world of NASCAR was forever changed with the loss of Dale Earnhardt at the famed Daytona 500. It is decimating enough to lose a close family member, but it was even worse for Junior. In a split second, Junior lost his father, his mentor, his team owner, his friend and a fellow driver. Any average person would have reeled and recoiled from such a tragedy, perhaps never to return to the family business. But we've learned that Dale Earnhardt Jr., like his dad, is no average person.
Junior's world was rocked beyond belief. No one knew if he would even attempt to race the remainder of the season, let alone the very next week in Rockingham. But amongst the many memorial services, he came to the track out of a sense of duty, trying to compete despite the pain and the sadness in his heart. That race turned out to be a complete disaster as he crashed hard into the outside wall very early in the event. Racing fans held their collective breath and said to themselves "no, not again". After a few minutes we were able to exhale as the television cameras showed him exiting the car in a somewhat disoriented condition.
Some people doubted whether Junior should continue with the 2001 campaign. He couldn't possibly be mentally and emotionally stable enough to strap himself behind the wheel of a 200-mph racecar. Everywhere there were reminders of his father. There was the silent lap 3 and the thousands of fans wearing the Intimidator hats and shirts out of respect for the seven-time champion. And then there was the controversy. Soon after the crash, irate fans blamed Sterling Marlin for causing the accident that collected Earnhardt's car. Junior immediately held a press conference to denounce such a ludicrous allegation. The accident investigation and the "broken" Simpson seat belt issue raged on for months. Was NASCAR at fault for not requiring more safety equipment? Was the harness system defective or installed incorrectly? To make matters worse, a Florida newspaper sued to have accident photos released to the public.
During the second week of the season, Kevin Harvick was brought on board to drive for Richard Childress. Both the fans and the RCR team then started to ask questions about the future of Dale Earnhardt's car. Should the No. 3 car be retired? Should Harvick drive the No. 3 car? Will they change the paint scheme or renumber the car? It is difficult enough to concentrate on doing a very dangerous job under normal conditions. With everything that was happening in the world of NASCAR and in the Earnhardt family, certainly Junior and his team would pack their bags, call it quits, or at best just go through the motions in 2001 for the sake of the sponsors and the fans.
But as we look back at the results of this past season, it is obvious that many of us underestimated the man who pilots the No. 8 Budweiser Chevrolet. For the next five races after Daytona, Junior and the team staggered to an average 29th place finish. Who could blame them? They had all been through a traumatic experience. There was much mourning and distraction during this period. However, it is in the face of adversity that the best rise to the occasion.
Earnhardt
Jr leads the pack at Dover's Monster Mile. |
Junior was eventually able to get the team back to a level of top competitiveness. Over the next 10 races, the results for the Budweiser Chevrolet began to improve, including two 3rd place finishes. It was in early July that the racing gods must have been smiling down upon Daytona. Returning to the place where he lost his father and while absolutely filled with emotion, Junior piloted his Monte Carlo to the front of the drafting pack and right into Victory Lane. Hollywood could not have written a better script. The torch had finally been passed, from a legend to a super man.
With DEI's excellent restrictor plate program behind him, Junior was able to pull off another win at Talladega. He also outlasted the competition at Dover in September for his third win of the year. Altogether he collected three wins, two 2nd and three 3rd-place finishes. Overall there were a total of nine top-fives and 15 top-tens for the No.8 car. Including the nearly one million dollar payout for his runner up finish in the Daytona 500, Junior accumulated $5,384,630 in total earnings in 2001. That was more than every other driver on the circuit except champion Jeff Gordon. What he accomplished this past year is absolutely mind-boggling considering everything that has occurred since February. Which leads to the question, is he just a regular guy, or is he someone with super powers?
Earnhardt
Jr. sported this paint scheme in the Busch series, but
he has earned the title of Superman in 2001. |
A while back, my brother bought me a very nice (and expensive) racing jacket. It was a Dale Earnhardt Jr. AC Delco jacket with a special paint scheme he ran a couple years ago in the Busch series. On the back of the jacket is a huge, brightly colored Superman flying through the sky. When little kids see my jacket, they get all excited, point to it and shout to their mothers, "there's Superman".
Last night when I was wearing that jacket driving around town, I started realizing there was a real connection between the jacket and the driver. In 2001, Junior really was a super man of sorts. He defied the critics and excelled in a season in which the odds were stacked very strongly against him. In my opinion, Dale Earnhardt Jr. matured significantly this year as a man, a driver and a person. Someone who can manage to succeed with class in the face of tremendous adversity is a very special person. That is why I consider him NASCAR's Superman for the 2001 season..
The author can be contacted nascar@autoracing1.com
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